The Best Budgeting Apps for Couples to Manage Money Together

Budgeting can seem like enough of a challenge on your own, but add in a partner and suddenly it can feel overwhelming with multiple sources of income and more spending to track.

Whether you’re on the same budgeting page or not, these top budgeting apps for couples can help you align your finances.

We’ve analyzed some of the top budgeting apps available for Apple and Android devices to help you manage combined finances.

Since situations vary, we’ve provided multiple options, allowing you to pick the option that best fits your personal finance life.

Breaking Down the Best Budgeting Apps for Couples

These budgeting apps will help couples tackle shared expenses, achieve joint money goals and build a strong financial future together.

Trim has a few tricks up its sleeves for couples who want help saving for the future and managing their current expenses. The app connects to your bank to make budgeting easier, automatically importing transactions to analyze spending patterns and make smart recommendations.

Trim can also find and help cancel any unwanted subscriptions that you may have forgotten. For services that you wish to keep — such as your cable, internet and phone — Trim can attempt to negotiate lower pricing deals. Trim will even go as far as attempting to negotiate down your medical bills if desired.

The pricing for the Trim app depends on how you want to pay. With the free edition, you’ll pay up to 15% of your annual savings if you opt for bill negotiation. You can also opt to sign up for Trim’s premium subscription for $10 a month. If you want an AI-powered budgeting tool, Trim is a solid option for couples.

Goodbudget is for couples who like the cash envelope system but are ready to stop carrying cash everywhere.

This app uses virtual envelopes for your various spending categories. If you’re using the free version, you get 20 envelopes. The paid version allows you unlimited envelopes.

Another difference between the two versions: You can use the app on only two devices with the free version; whereas with the paid version, you can use up to five devices.

With Goodbudget, you’ll need to be comfortable manually updating your envelopes when you make purchases or uploading your transaction history from your bank. The app does not sync to bank accounts to track spending in real time.

Honeydue helps you and your partner stay on the same page by letting you track spending and saving together, collectively manage debt and save for the future.

Like its name implies, Honeydue has a feature that reminds you and your honey when bills are due. You can also chat with your partner directly in the app about all things financial.

Firstly is a budgeting app that’s ideal for couples who are carrying the financial responsibilities of raising children plus assisting their aging parents. The app is created as a one-stop shop for managing family finances.

In addition to tracking spending and wealth building, Firstly helps to encourage money convos by letting users send in-app communication to their partner or another family member. You can also set family savings goals, like putting aside money for a big vacation or to purchase a larger house. You set your savings rules and authorize Firstly to pull a certain percentage or a set amount from your checking accounts each month.

Firstly was previously known as Honeyfi until Strategic Financial Solutions acquired the app in March 2021 and rebranded it.

Mint has been around for over a decade and is known as a tried-and-true money management system. You and your other half can get on budget together by syncing your bank accounts and creating as many spending categories as you’d like.

Mint sends you reminders about upcoming bills so you and your partner stay on top of paying everything on time. It’ll also alert you when you’re low on funds. You can use Mint to meet savings goals and for insight on where you’re overspending.

One downside of this app, however, is that it can feel a bit cluttered with ads and offers — a common criticism of free apps.

Learn more from our Mint review.

Simplifi remains one of our favorite budgeting apps for couples or individuals. When we first tested Simplifi, its simple layout and design made budgeting feel less intimidating. If you’re looking for a way to budget without confusion, Simplifi is a steadfast recommendation.

The Simplifi app enables you to connect all of your financial data, including bank accounts, credit cards, loans and 401(k) accounts. You and your significant other can keep a close eye on your accounts, establishing a bird’s-eye view.

Once connected, you can set financial goals and budgets to work toward your ideal future. If you go off track, Simplifi will even show you how much money you had planned initially to spend and how much you did spend.

Depending on whether you pay annually or monthly, Simplifi will cost you either $5.99 a month or $43.08 a year — well worth it for such a solid budgeting app.

Personal Capital is for the couple that’s serious about their future together — particularly their financial future.

In addition to keeping tabs on your day-to-day spending, the app links to your 401(k)s and IRAs so you can see how you’re tracking toward retirement. It even offers a free retirement planner tool.

Personal Capital also factors in financial information like your mortgage and other loans to give you a complete picture of your net worth.

Learn more from our Personal Capital review.

PocketGuard syncs your bank accounts, credit cards, loans and investments so you and your partner get an overall view of your shared finances. It automatically builds your budget based on your income, recurring bills and financial goals you’ve set.

The premium version — PocketGuard Plus — includes additional features like customized spending categories and ways to track cash purchases.

You Need a Budget, or YNAB, is for couples who want to stay on top of every dollar they make and make sure that money is going to good use.

This app is set up around the zero-based budgeting method and is designed to help you and your significant other save money and get out of debt. YNAB identifies areas of overspending and gives you suggestions on how to adjust. It also makes recommendations for your budget based on your goals.

You can access this budgeting tool from almost any device — including your Apple watch or Amazon Echo. With YNAB, you’ll never have an excuse not to pull up your budget.

Learn more from our YNAB review.

Zeta is a budgeting app designed specifically for couples. It’s set up so you can manage shared and individual accounts together, but you’re in control of what information you want your partner to see.

You can sync your bank accounts or choose to manually update your budget. If you want to leave a note for your significant other about a questionable transaction, you can do that within the app. Zeta also has a split transactions feature so you can get your other half to pay you back for household bills.

When it comes to planning a vacation or saving for a house, Zeta has a section for money goals so you can stay on track.

What to Consider When Selecting a Couples Budgeting App

We’ve given you a bunch of options to choose from. Now it’s time to nail down what will work best for you and your significant other.

Think about how you’ll use your budgeting app. Do you want something that syncs to your bank account to capture spending in real time? Or do you and your partner have a regular household budget meeting where you’ll manually record transactions in the app over a couple of drinks?

Are you OK with ads or do you prefer a platform that limits those distractions?

Cost is another factor. Free is a great price, but some people feel more motivated to actually use what they’ve downloaded when they’re forking over money for it.

If you do go with a budgeting app that charges a monthly fee, test it out with a free trial first. If it isn’t something you’d give a 5-star rating, cancel the trial and try something else.

And if you’re Team Apple and your honey is Team Android, don’t sweat. All the options above are compatible with both operating systems.

Nicole Dow is a former senior writer at The Penny Hoarder. Michael Archambault is a senior writer at The Penny Hoarder specializing in technology. Jen Smith also contributed. 

---

---