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Quick answer: The best genuinely free personal finance apps in 2026 are Empower Personal Dashboard (free net worth and spending tracking with linked accounts), Honeydue (free budgeting for couples), and the free tiers of Goodbudget and EveryDollar, which require you to enter transactions by hand. A spreadsheet is still a strong free option. Since Mint closed, most fully automated budgeting apps are paid.
How we put this guide together: We have not run our own long-term test of these apps. Prices, free-plan limits and app details come from NerdWallet’s guide to the best budget apps (updated June 2026), which compares the apps’ published plans and app store ratings. Apps change their free tiers often, so check the current terms before you sign up.
Free personal finance apps at a glance
| App | What’s free | Main limitation | Paid upgrade (as reported) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Empower Personal Dashboard | The whole app: links bank, credit, retirement and loan accounts; net worth and spending by category | Built for tracking, not hands-on budgeting | None for the dashboard |
| Honeydue | The whole app: shared view for couples, category limits, bill reminders | No desktop version | None |
| Goodbudget | Envelope budgeting with one account, two devices, limited envelopes | No bank syncing on the free plan | Premium: $10/month or $80/year |
| EveryDollar | Zero-based budgeting, entered by hand | No bank syncing on the free plan | Premium: $17.99/month or $79.99/year |
| WalletHub | Credit scores, reports and monitoring | Budgeting tools need Premium | Premium: $7.99/month billed annually |
| A spreadsheet | Everything you build yourself | Manual work | Free (Google Sheets) or with Excel |
Source: NerdWallet, “The Best Budget Apps for 2026” (updated June 2, 2026).
Free apps that link your accounts
Empower Personal Dashboard: best for the big picture
Empower is mainly an investment tool, but its free app lets you connect checking, savings and credit card accounts as well as IRAs, 401(k)s, mortgages and loans. It shows your net worth and lists recent spending by category, which you can customise. It suits people who want to see everything in one place. If you want to actively plan a monthly budget, a hands-on app will serve you better.
Honeydue: best for couples
Honeydue lets both partners link bank accounts, cards, loans and investments, while choosing how much each shares. It categorises spending automatically, lets you set monthly category limits together, alerts you as you approach them and reminds you about bills. NerdWallet notes there’s no desktop version.
Free apps where you enter transactions yourself
Goodbudget: best for envelope budgeting
Goodbudget uses the envelope method: you divide income into spending categories (“envelopes”) before you spend. The free version allows one account, two devices and a limited number of envelopes, and doesn’t connect to your bank. You add balances and spending by hand. Premium ($10 a month or $80 a year, per NerdWallet) adds unlimited envelopes and accounts, up to five devices, and bank linking.
EveryDollar: best for simple zero-based budgeting
EveryDollar, from Ramsey Solutions, follows zero-based budgeting, where you give every dollar a job. The free version doesn’t sync with your bank, so you enter income and spending manually. Premium adds bank connection and reports ($17.99 a month or $79.99 a year, with a 14-day free trial).
Popular apps that aren’t free
Several of the most-recommended budgeting apps are paid, with free trials. According to NerdWallet, YNAB costs $14.99 a month or $109 a year (34-day trial, free for a year for college students), Monarch Money $14.99 a month or $99.99 a year (seven-day trial), PocketGuard $12.99 a month or $74.99 a year, and Copilot Money $13 a month or $95 a year (Apple devices only). If you’re replacing Mint, see our Mint alternatives guide.
Is it safe to link your bank to a free app?
Apps that sync your accounts usually rely on data aggregators to connect to your bank. NerdWallet suggests choosing apps that use bank-grade encryption and support multi-factor authentication, and reading each app’s security page before linking accounts. If you’d rather not link anything, a manual-entry app or a spreadsheet avoids the issue entirely.
Which free app should you choose?
Our verdict: Choose Empower if you want a free, automatic view of your net worth and spending. Choose Honeydue if you budget with a partner. Choose Goodbudget or EveryDollar if you’re happy to enter spending by hand and want a structured budgeting method for free.
Consider paying if you want a fully automated, hands-off budget with bank syncing. Most apps that do this well, such as YNAB and Monarch, are paid, so use their free trials to compare.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a completely free budgeting app?
Yes. Empower Personal Dashboard and Honeydue are free, and Goodbudget and EveryDollar have free versions where you enter transactions manually. Most apps with full automatic budgeting charge a subscription.
What replaced Mint as a free app?
No single app replaced Mint for free. Empower offers free account linking and spending tracking, while popular Mint replacements such as Monarch Money are paid. See our Mint alternatives guide for options.
Does Goodbudget’s free version connect to my bank?
No. The free version requires you to add balances and spending manually, and allows one account, two devices and limited envelopes. Bank linking comes with Goodbudget Premium.
Is a spreadsheet better than a budgeting app?
It can be. A spreadsheet is free, private and fully customisable, but you enter everything yourself. Apps save time with automation and reminders. Choose the method you’ll keep using.
Further reading
Sources
- NerdWallet, “The Best Budget Apps for 2026: Pros, Cons and What Users Say” (Amanda Barroso et al., updated June 2, 2026). nerdwallet.com
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