Budgeting and financial software

The software automatically links to your bank account, integrating your spending information for analysis and budgeting tracking. The traditional envelope budgeting system helps you stick to a budget by using envelopes to manage your money. Choose the financial goals that are most important to you, then add your bank accounts and set your income. You can try Mvelopes free for 30 days , too, before deciding which plan is right for you.

Entering your tax information is fairly simple—you can import your W-2 information from your employer or take a picture of it and the software will transfer the information into the form. The most basic version lets you file your federal and state return for free if all you use is form with no attached schedules. Paid versions of TurboTax include a feature to help you uncover deductions you may not have known were available to you. While you can use TurboTax on the web, you can also download the software to your device for added security.

The investment software provides personalized recommendations to help you diversify your portfolio, which you can follow or not follow as you see fit. FutureAdvisor manages the assets you transfer into the account for a flat annual fee of 0. When you transfer your assets into the account, FutureAdvisor works to consolidate them into accounts with its partners, Fidelity or TD Ameritrade.

Personal Capital allows you to manage all your financial accounts in a single platform. You can include your bank accounts, mortgage, and other credit accounts, plus your investment accounts, to have your complete financial picture right in front of you. If you have multiple accounts—as most of us do these days—using Personal Capital can save you from having to switch between multiple screens to understand where you stand.

The core software is free, but there may be fees for additional features. Tiller Money lets you see all your money in one place by automatically updating your checking, credit card, loan, investment, and other account data into a customizable Google Sheet or Excel template. Tiller Money lets you choose from templates that organize your data for you or you can customize your spreadsheet to suit your needs.

It'll also send you daily emails with a summary of your recent transactions and balances. Personal finance software is any application that helps with all aspects of your personal finances. You can choose different software for different goals. Some software is ideal for budgeting, others are good for investing, and others are right for debt tracking and savings goals. Personal finance software typically works by collecting your personal data, linking the software to your financial institution, investment accounts, and credit cards, and then helping you set up your financial goals.

Once it has access to your accounts, it can monitor your credit, track your spending and savings habits, help you create a budget, offer tips and investment advice, and send out bill pay and savings goal reminders.

Personal finance software varies in features, functions, and costs. Some software offers basic features with free and paid versions.

Other software helps you meet more complex financial goals and charges monthly fees. Personal finance software is worth the cost if it helps you meet your personal financial goals.

It may help you stick to a budget and save money or manage and track your investments and gain money. We researched and reviewed many personal finance applications and chose our top eight personal finance software options based on price, variety of features, the types of financial goals they help you meet, company reputation, and more. Securities and Exchange Commission. We considered price, ease of use, account linking, reporting features, and what additional financial services each software program provided if any.

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We and our partners process data to: Actively scan device characteristics for identification. I Accept Show Purposes. Your Money. Personal Finance. Your Practice. Popular Courses. Best Budgeting Software Expand. Best Budgeting Software. Compare Software. What Is Budgeting Software? Best Overall : You Need a Budget. Sign Up Now. Pros You can link your accounts or manually enter transactions Real-time information is always available from any device YNAB teaches you how to budget, rather than just automating the process.

Best for Couples : Honeydue. Pros No monthly fee Choose how much account information to share with your partner Transactions are automatically categorized Customizable alerts for overspending or upcoming bills. Cons Only available for iOS or Android no desktop app Limited financial education Few reporting features that allow you to look at the big picture. Best for College Students : PocketGuard. Pros Most features are available for free PocketGuard's In My Pocket feature instantly shows cash available to spend Smart algorithms identify areas you can save.

Cons The free version limits transaction categories and goals Advertisements are displayed even in the paid version of the app Reporting options are more limited. Best for Families : EveryDollar. Pros Created by personal finance expert Dave Ramsey Offers a day free trial Syncs in real-time across devices. Best for Investors : Personal Capital.

Pros Free to use A comprehensive financial dashboard helps you track all aspects of your finances Retirement planning and investment features help you accomplish financial goals. Cons Some users report connectivity problems with bank accounts You may be upsold on other services, such as wealth management services Some app features are more limited.

Best for Saving : Albert. Pros Smart Savings allows you to save money for your goals effortlessly Earn an annual bonus of 0. Cons No desktop version No phone customer support Limited educational information about the budgeting process. Best for Beginners : Mint.

Pros The software is completely free to use Mint's financial dashboard tracks your net worth and shows you accounts all in one place Transactions are categorized automatically. Cons Goal setting options are limited Account syncing can be slow There's lots of advertising of financial offers.

Best Free Option : Goodbudget. Pros The free version offers robust features Charts and graphs make understanding your spending habits easier You can log in on multiple devices and easily transfer money between envelopes. Cons You're limited in the number of envelopes you can have with the free version There is no option to automatically sync your accounts You must manually categorize each transaction after importing your account data.

Honeydue Couples Free Track spending, customizable alerts, and communication tools iOS and Android Links with all financial accounts credit cards, checking, saving, etc. When you are looking for budgeting software, key features to keep in mind include: Account linking : Linking your accounts to your software means you don't have to upload transactions to monitor your spending and see if you're staying on budget.

However, you must provide your financial credentials so the program can access your bank and credit card transactions and aggregate them. Spending categories : Budgeting software may automatically characterize your transactions or you may have to do it manually. Most software comes with some preset categories, but you should also be able to add your own.

Reporting: The software you use should create charts and graphs showing your spending patterns. Other financial resources: Some programs provide a free credit score, investment tracking, net worth tracking, and more. Article Sources. Investopedia requires writers to use primary sources to support their work. As soon as you get paid, you tell YNAB how much of your income should go toward various categories, including expenses, goals and savings.

With all this decision making, YNAB is about as hands-on as you can get. YNAB allows you to link your checking and savings accounts, as well as credit cards and loans.

The app works on the phone, desktop, iPad, Apple Watch and Alexa. By design, it works best for users who want to get hands-on while planning for their money. Also, compared to the other apps that made our list, its price is high, and its Google Play ratings are low. College students can use YNAB for free for a year. Google Play rating: 3. First, an explanation of the names: EveryDollar is a free budgeting app. You manually enter incoming and outgoing money throughout the month.

You also categorize line items in your budget and set reminders for bill payments. You can also track debts, see reports on how you spent your money and print your transaction history. Cost: The basic version of EveryDollar is free. Why we recommend it: Personal Capital is primarily an investment tool, but its free app includes features helpful for budgeters looking to track their spending.

You can connect and monitor checking, savings and credit card accounts, as well as IRAs, k s, mortgages and loans. The app provides a spending snapshot by listing recent transactions by category. You can customize those categories and see the percentage of total monthly spending each category represents. Personal Capital also serves up a net worth tracker and portfolio breakdown.

The app can be accessed through both phone and desktop. Why you may want to think twice: If your goal is to plan out your spending and saving, you may want to go another route. Other apps have more in-the-weeds budgeting capabilities. The app is big on simplifying. You can connect your bank accounts, credit cards, loans and investments and track bills.

With that intel, the app shows how much you have left to spend after setting aside funds for necessities, bills and goals. PocketGuard also tracks your net worth and gives you the option to not link your accounts and instead track your finances manually.

The paid version, PocketGuard Plus, offers a debt payoff plan, the option to export your transactions and other features. Why you may want to think twice: This app does a lot of work for you. Also, a heads up for Android users: PocketGuard also has one of the lowest Google Play scores in our list of best budget apps. Cost: Basic PocketGuard is free.

Why we recommend it: Honeydue is designed so you and your partner can view both your financial pictures in one app. Both partners can sync bank accounts, credit cards, loans and investments.

Although you can choose how much you share with your significant other. Together, you can set up monthly limits on each of these categories, and Honeydue will alert you when you or your partner is nearing them. Honeydue also sends reminders for upcoming bills and lets you chat and send emojis. Why you may want to think twice: Like a few other apps on our list, Honeydue leans more toward reflecting and learning about past transactions, rather than planning ahead for expenses.