There are a lot of best budget apps Australia that one can take advantage of in order to meet up with the high demand of the economy. With the increasing inflation in Australia, you must keep a tab on your finances. Knowing and sticking to a monthly budget is crucial to your financial success. Whether you are just starting in life or have a family, you must know how to plan effectively for your finances.
Just like everything now, some apps can help you with effective budgeting. To relieve the stress of searching out the good ones, I’ve carefully compiled the best budget apps Australia that are good and reliable.
What Is a Budgeting App?
A budgeting app is a software application designed to help individuals and businesses manage their finances by creating, tracking, and maintaining budgets. These apps are typically available on various platforms, such as smartphones, tablets, and computers, making it convenient for users to access and manage their financial information on the go.
With a budgeting app, you can set budgets based on your income and expenses and categorize different expenditures, such as housing, groceries, entertainment, transportation, and more. Also, Budgeting apps often provide visual representations of spending patterns and financial trends through charts and graphs. This can help you identify areas where they can cut back or adjust. Some apps offer customizable alerts and notifications to remind users of upcoming bills, track unusual spending patterns, or notify them when they’re nearing their budget limits.
These apps might generate detailed financial reports, summaries, and analyses that provide users with a comprehensive overview of their financial health, which helps you to make informed financial decisions towards achieving your monetary goals.
10 Best Budget Apps Australia
Here are the six best budget apps Australia that offer unique tools and features to help you manage your finances.
1. WeMoney
WeMoney is one of Australia’s best budget apps, designed for a ‘360-degree view’ of your finances. This app lets you easily track your expenses and keep a tab on your credit score. It has a free and premium plan, and the premium goes $9.99 per month.
The free app allows you to link your accounts, and it supports loans, saving credit cards, investment accounts, cryptocurrency, and buy now pay later accounts. This helps you to keep a tab on your net worth.
Also, the app allows you to set a monthly budget and money goals, tracks your subscription and bills, and categorize your expenditure. WebMoney is very secure as it uses bank-level encryption, and you need a Photo ID to create an account. WeMoney is available on both Android and IOS platforms.
2. Buddy
One of the best budget apps Australia is Buddy, a Swedish budgeting app that allows you to set monthly budgets and easily track your expenses. It is known as a joyful app created with bright colors and customizations to help you save money.
Unlike other budgeting apps, Buddy does not require you to sync your bank account to the app. You can easily add your transactions to the app. Also, you can conveniently sync your transactions with a loved one or partner and create shared budgets.
Buddy has a free version, and the premium plan is $4.99 per month or $34.99 per year. Buddy is also compatible with the iOS platform.
3. Raiz
Although a micro-investment app, Raiz has some of the best budgeting features and is well known for its ’round-up’ feature, which rounds up your money to the nearest dollar and invests the remaining money.
Also, Raiz has a “My Finance feature” feature that gives you a personalized view of your spending and helps forecast your future cash flow. You can also categorize your transactions, which enables you to keep a better tab on your money.
It comes with a free plan, and the paid plan is $3.50 per month for accounts less than $15,000, or 0.275% per year for those $15,000 and over. You can easily download it on an Android or iOS device.
4. Frollo
Frollo is the best free Australian budgeting app that allows you to sync all your financial accounts into one place. After that, this app categorizes your transactions for easy management and tracking.
Frollo allows you to create more than one money goal in the process and track their progress individually. Also, Frollo sends you money notifications and tips and helps you to inform you of your upcoming bills. You can download it on your mobile phone, whether iOS or Android.
5. Splitwise
Another best budget app in Australia is Splitwise. Splitwise is best for couples and households who want to manage their income, as it allows for easy management of shared bills and expenses. Splitwise has a bill-splitting feature that automatically splits payments between partners, households, or members of the groups and tallies up who-owes-who what.
Splitwise has a free downloadable plan, but you must make in-app purchases to access some pro features. These pro features include currency conversion, no ads, and easy saving of default bills.
6. Beem
Beem is a free, fast payment app that allows you to send and receive money in seconds. In addition to being a payment app, it offers features for tracking and splitting shared bills or group expenses.
Although it is not solely designed as a budget app, it is helpful for managing shared expenses, whether with our family, friends, or business partners. It is available on both the IOS and Android store.
7. Empower
Empower, formerly known as Personal Capital, is one of the top budget apps Australia that provides a comprehensive overview of your finance, from your daily spending to tracking financial performance.
Empower has many saving tools that allow you to save, build emergency funds, pay down debt funds, and make retirement savings. Also, it has financial advisory tools like education cost planning, cash flow tracking, investment fee analyzer, investment checkup, and real-time net worth tracking that helps you to plan effectively for the future. Empower is more pitched to the US audience but is also available for Australians to use.
8. PocketSmith
PocketSmith is a budget app that offers a lifetime free plan and a tool that allows you to create two accounts with 12 different budgets and projects your finances over the next six months.
With PocketSmith, you can manually add foreign currency, plan a budget for travel, and spend the money overseas. Also, this app is ad-free even on the free plan. The free plans require you to input your transactions manually, but with the paid plan, you can automatically link all your accounts, including your credit cards, the premium version is $10.95 per month, and the top tier plan goes for $21.95 per month.
9. YNAB (You Need A Budget)
YNAB is an award-winning budgeting program and one of the best budget apps Australia specializing in helping you get out of debt and save money. One of the unique things about the app is that it allows you to figure out your financial goals and priorities, which has produced positive results over the years.
YNAB also offers financial goal-tracking features and good customer care service to help you enjoy an enjoyable budgeting experience. YNAB can be accessed on a mobile device, desktop, or tablet.
10. Goodbudget
Goodbudget is based on the envelope budgeting system, where you allocate funds into different virtual envelopes for various categories such as rent, groceries, bills, and so many more.
The Goodbudget app is excellent for managing a shared household budget as it allows the budget to sync to more than one person. Also, the budget plan offers educational resources, podcasts, budget boot camp webinars, and informative blog posts to expand your knowledge on budgeting. It’s available as a web app and a mobile app.
How to Choose the Best Budget App Australia
Choosing the right budgeting app for your needs requires careful consideration of various factors. Here are some factors you should consider when selecting Australia’s most suitable budget app.
- Platform Compatibility: Choose an app compatible with your devices and operating systems (iOS, Android, Windows, Mac, etc.).
- User Interface and Experience: Opt for an app with an intuitive and user-friendly interface. A clutter-free design can make budgeting less overwhelming.
- Syncing and Integration: If you want automatic transaction tracking, select an app that can sync with your bank accounts, credit cards, and other financial institutions.
- Security and Privacy: Check the app’s security measures, such as encryption and two-factor authentication, to protect your financial data.
- Budgeting Method: Decide if you prefer a zero-based budgeting approach (assigning every dollar a purpose) or a more flexible approach. Choose an app that supports your preferred method.
- Cost: Some budgeting apps are free, while others offer more features through paid versions or subscriptions. Consider your budget for an app and whether the additional features are worth the cost.
- Features and Customization: Look for features that align with your needs, such as expense categorization, budget tracking, goal setting, and customizable spending limits.
- Customer Support: Check if the app offers reliable customer support if you encounter any issues or have questions.
- Offline Access: Some apps require an internet connection for real-time syncing, while others offer offline access. Choose based on your preference.
- Long-Term Viability: Consider the app’s reputation, company history, and updates to ensure it will be supported and updated in the long run.
Remember that no single budgeting app is universally the best. The right choice depends on your preferences, financial goals, and comfort with the app’s features. It’s a good idea to start with a few top contenders, try them out, and assess which one feels most intuitive and effective for your budgeting needs.
What is the Best Budget App Australia
The best budget app Australia is the one that suits perfectly with your finances. Each of the above-listed apps is recommended and has excellent features that allow you to effectively manage your resources, track your expenses, and keep a tab b on your net worth. It is just that they differ in some ways, as some specialize more in shared budgeting among group members while others are suitable for only one person. Some allow foreign currency, and some don’t. It all falls back to what you want and the app that suits you best.
Do Budgeting Apps Cost Money?
Budgeting apps can be free and paid, depending on their features and functionality. The Free apps may include features like manual expense entry, basic budget creation, expense categorization, and simple reporting. The premium version usually has more advanced features like automatic transaction syncing, advanced reporting and analysis, investment tracking, goal setting, and customized alerts.
Do Budgeting Apps Request for Your Banking Information?
Yes, most budgeting apps request your naming information. Many budgeting apps offer the option to link your financial accounts, such as bank accounts, credit cards, and investment accounts, to track your transactions and balances automatically. This feature can save you time and provide a more accurate picture of your financial situation. However, linking your accounts does require providing your banking information, such as your account numbers, usernames, and passwords. So, you must ensure the app is appropriately secured and reliable.
Conclusion
The above 10 best budget apps Australia are unique and effective in helping you manage your finances. Carefully review each and choose the best one that suits your need, preference, and budget. Additionally, don’t go for a budget app with poor customer service.
