Have a 2025 goal of saving more money as a couple? Need to keep track of spending? Merging your finances for the first time as newlyweds? A budget app could help with all of that and more. Financial literacy, mental budgeting and self-control exert a favorable influence on an individual’s financial well-being, as found in a 2023 study by the National Library of Medicine.(1)
Compare the best budgeting apps allowing two or more people to help organize your shared finances and keep track of a family budget.
You Need A Budget, or YNAB, easily claims the top spot. With no in-app ads, it lets couples share a single YNAB subscription at no additional cost. Craft your own unique budget or let YNAB do it for you, link bank and investment accounts, view transactions, make custom bill categories and sync with various smart devices. YNAB uses the zero-based budgeting method, meaning every dollar gets assigned a job. The app comes highly recommended, with customers saying the expense is well worth it. It costs $14.99 per month ($179.88 for one year), or you can pay annually for $99. There's also a free 34-day trial.
Fee
$99. per year
Minimum deposit to open
$0
You Need A Budget, or YNAB, easily claims the top spot. With no in-app ads, it lets couples share a single YNAB subscription at no additional cost. Craft your own unique budget or let YNAB do it for you, link bank and investment accounts, view transactions, make custom bill categories and sync with various smart devices. YNAB uses the zero-based budgeting method, meaning every dollar gets assigned a job. The app comes highly recommended, with customers saying the expense is well worth it. It costs $14.99 per month ($179.88 for one year), or you can pay annually for $99. There's also a free 34-day trial.
Pros
No additional cost to add partner
Automatic budget or craft your own
Link bank and investment accounts
Workshops, planning and guides on couple budgeting
Like other apps on this list, Origin lets you add a partner at no additional cost. You can sync bank accounts, track spending and investments, view your net worth, view current investments and invest together, personalize a portfolio, do estate planning, file taxes and talk with financial planners. Each partner gets their own login, and the app doesn't have ads. However, you can't avoid the subscription fee. Origin offers a free 7-day trial, then costs $12.99 monthly, or a yearly plan for $99 for a little bit of savings.
APY
4.50%
Fee
$12.99. per month
Like other apps on this list, Origin lets you add a partner at no additional cost. You can sync bank accounts, track spending and investments, view your net worth, view current investments and invest together, personalize a portfolio, do estate planning, file taxes and talk with financial planners. Each partner gets their own login, and the app doesn't have ads. However, you can't avoid the subscription fee. Origin offers a free 7-day trial, then costs $12.99 monthly, or a yearly plan for $99 for a little bit of savings.
Monarch Money lets you add a spouse or anyone else in your household to a single subscription, making it great for couples and families. Connect your bank accounts, view everything on a dashboard, track subscriptions and sync your credit cards. Couples can create shared savings goals to contribute to and track together on the dashboard. For budgeting, the app offers two options: Flex Budgeting, which focuses on buckets and allows for flexible spending, or Category Budgeting, which sorts your spending into groups. Priced the same as YNAB, Monarch Money costs $14.99 per month ($179.88 for one year) or $99 per year when billed annually. While you can't avoid the fee, Monarch is ad-free.
Fee
$14.99. per month
Monarch Money lets you add a spouse or anyone else in your household to a single subscription, making it great for couples and families. Connect your bank accounts, view everything on a dashboard, track subscriptions and sync your credit cards. Couples can create shared savings goals to contribute to and track together on the dashboard. For budgeting, the app offers two options: Flex Budgeting, which focuses on buckets and allows for flexible spending, or Category Budgeting, which sorts your spending into groups. Priced the same as YNAB, Monarch Money costs $14.99 per month ($179.88 for one year) or $99 per year when billed annually. While you can't avoid the fee, Monarch is ad-free.
Pros
Sync accounts and credit cards
No additional cost to add partner
Two budgeting methodsP
No ads
Cons
Unavoidable subscription fee
Annual Percentage Yield (APY)
N/A
Intro or bonus offer
Get 50% off your first year with code LOVE50. Offer valid until February 28, 2025.
Famzoo is great for couples with kids and large families who want to budget together. Famzoo is a child-focused family budget app praised for its customizable chore chart and budget features. Parents can create mock loans, set up 'bill' pay for their kids, assign chores, set up IOUs between family members and budget together using the envelope method. There's no age limit for kids to sign up, no limit on how many kids you can add to your plan, and the first four kids' prepaid cards are free. But Famzoo itself isn't free and starts at $5.99 per month.
Maintenance Fees
$5.99 monthly
Age requirements
Any age
Famzoo is great for couples with kids and large families who want to budget together. Famzoo is a child-focused family budget app praised for its customizable chore chart and budget features. Parents can create mock loans, set up 'bill' pay for their kids, assign chores, set up IOUs between family members and budget together using the envelope method. There's no age limit for kids to sign up, no limit on how many kids you can add to your plan, and the first four kids' prepaid cards are free. But Famzoo itself isn't free and starts at $5.99 per month.
Pros
Family envelope budgeting
Financial literacy education and tools
Mock loans, chore charts and bill pay
No overdraft fees
Cons
Unavoidable monthly fee
Fee
$5.99 per month
Additional Card Fee
$0 $3 Additional Card Fee (after first 4 free cards)
Empower offers traditional budgeting and investing tools with no monthly fees or advertisements. Its free Personal Dashboard syncs various accounts like bank accounts, loans and investments, letting you track income, expenses and transactions. You can organize with labels, set savings goals and view data using a pie chart for budgeting. While it's great for an overview of your finances, it's less focused on detailed budget planning compared to apps like YNAB.
APY
3.75%
Fee
$0 per month
Minimum deposit to open
$0
Empower offers traditional budgeting and investing tools with no monthly fees or advertisements. Its free Personal Dashboard syncs various accounts like bank accounts, loans and investments, letting you track income, expenses and transactions. You can organize with labels, set savings goals and view data using a pie chart for budgeting. While it's great for an overview of your finances, it's less focused on detailed budget planning compared to apps like YNAB.
Honeydue is a free budgeting app for couples with no monthly fees, and it connects to over 20,000 financial institutions. It offers in-app chat, bill reminders, budgeting tools and the option to set household spending limits. You control what to share — balances, transactions or nothing at all. Honeydue receives decent feedback from users, though customers note that budgets are limited to monthly intervals and the app has ads.
Fee
$0 per month
Card fee
$0
ATM withdrawal
$0
Honeydue is a free budgeting app for couples with no monthly fees, and it connects to over 20,000 financial institutions. It offers in-app chat, bill reminders, budgeting tools and the option to set household spending limits. You control what to share — balances, transactions or nothing at all. Honeydue receives decent feedback from users, though customers note that budgets are limited to monthly intervals and the app has ads.
Goodbudget is more of a hands-on approach to budgeting, and you can set up a household budget and share it with your partner. The free version lets you create up to 20 envelopes to sort your expenses and spending, while the paid version for $8 per month lets you create unlimited envelopes. You can also track debt payoffs with its Debt Accounts features and plan savings goals. The downsides are that you must manually enter all your purchases and income, and you need the paid membership for email support access. But we have to note that the paid membership is less expensive than top competitors like YNAB and Monarch Money.
Fee
$0. per month
Minimum deposit to open
$0
Goodbudget is more of a hands-on approach to budgeting, and you can set up a household budget and share it with your partner. The free version lets you create up to 20 envelopes to sort your expenses and spending, while the paid version for $8 per month lets you create unlimited envelopes. You can also track debt payoffs with its Debt Accounts features and plan savings goals. The downsides are that you must manually enter all your purchases and income, and you need the paid membership for email support access. But we have to note that the paid membership is less expensive than top competitors like YNAB and Monarch Money.
Pros
Free and paid versions
Share with household
Envelope budgeting
Track debt payoffs and savings goals
Cons
Requires manual entry
Annual Percentage Yield (APY)
N/A
Fee
$0. per month
Fee
$0. per month
Minimum deposit to open
$0
Methodology: How we choose the best budgeting apps for couples
Finder’s banking experts compare over 70 budget apps to find the best apps for couples. The apps must be affordable and accessible across mobile devices and must allow for shared access. We also compare features, app store ratings and monthly fees, and we favor apps with the ability to craft custom budgets and account-linking features. We consider these criteria:
Monthly fee under $15
Can be shared by at least two people
Must offer some budget or tracking tools
Mobile app store ratings above 3.5 stars
How to choose a couples budgeting app
When choosing a budgeting app for two people, make sure you agree on these factors:
Fees. Many budget apps have monthly fees, like the popular YNAB. If paying for a budget app throws a wrench in your budget, consider free options like Zeta or Honeydue.
Budgeting method. Two of the most popular budget tactics these apps use are the envelope and zero-dollar methods. The envelope system sorts your expenses in digital envelopes to see where all your money is going, while the zero-dollar method gives every dollar a purpose.
App reviews. You’ll see more ratings than written reviews, but the people who take the time to leave a written review are usually very happy or very upset. Take some time to read through reviews on both the App Store and Google Play Store to see what users are saying.
Account syncing. Some apps, like YNAB, automatically import transactions from your bank accounts, while others, like Goodbudget, require you to enter all transactions manually.
Account compatibility. Most budget apps use Plaid to sync bank accounts to the app. If your primary bank account isn’t compatible with Plaid, consider Simplifi by Quicken.
Can couples just use a joint bank account?
Joint bank accounts are extremely popular for couples. If you and your partner aren’t fans of budgeting apps or prefer a simpler way to manage finances together, a joint bank account could be a good solution.
Joint bank accounts function much like regular bank accounts, but they’re shared between two or more people. With a joint checking account, each person gets their own debit card and equal access to the funds. However, both account holders are equally responsible for any fees, such as overdraft charges.
Creating a shared budget can be tricky. Consider these five tips to craft a shared budget:
Communication
Open communication is extremely important in creating a shared budget. Be honest about your spending habits, talk openly about savings goals and disclose any debts that need to be paid.
Who’s paying for what?
Splitting bills 50/50 sounds fair at a glance, but that would only make sense if you and your partner make the exact same wage. Consider splitting shared expenses in a way that matches your salaries: If you make 60% of all the income, pay 60% of the bills. And make sure you’re on the same page about personal expenses, such as student loans or gym memberships.
Check credit scores
Credit scores don’t merge once you enter a relationship — they don’t even merge once you’re married. Be sure to check your credit reports and scores to locate negative marks and mistakes, and be strategic with who takes out loans for the best APRs.
Merge subscriptions
Once you merge your finances, see if there are any bills or subscriptions that you can share, like Netflix, Spotify or Duolingo. Don’t pay double for services that only require one subscription.
Savings and retirement
If you’re in it for the long haul, talk about retirement plans and long-term savings goals. Do either of you have a Roth IRA or 401(k)? Do you have an emergency fund that can pay for both of your expenses for at least three months?
Bottom line
At the end of the day, a budget app is meant to help you save money, track your spending or just keep track of your expenses. If the app is more of a burden on your budget, opting for a joint bank account and a classic spreadsheet might be the way to go.
To the dismay of many, Mint is no longer available as of March 2024. Mint transitioned to Credit Karma, allowing Credit Karma users to import their Mint history and transactions there. But Credit Karma isn’t a good option for couples as it doesn’t allow joint accounts. If you’re looking for an alternative, check out more Mint alternatives.
Is a joint bank account a good idea for budgeting?
A joint bank account can help streamline the budgeting process if you both already have access to all your funds. And with the right joint account, you may not even need a separate budgeting app. Some accounts have built-in budgeting features, like Ally Bank with its envelope budgeting “buckets” and SoFi® with its savings Vault feature. Also SoFi and Ally don’t charge monthly maintenance fees.
Bethany Hickey is the banking editor and personal finance expert at Finder, specializing in banking, lending, insurance, and crypto.
Bethany’s expertise in personal finance has garnered recognition from esteemed media outlets, such as Nasdaq, MSN, Yahoo Finance, GOBankingRates, SuperMoney, AOL and Newsweek. Her articles offer practical financial strategies to Americans, empowering them to make decisions that meet their financial goals. Her past work includes articles on generational spending and saving habits, lending, budgeting and managing debt.
Before joining Finder, she was a content manager where she wrote hundreds of articles and news pieces on auto financing and credit repair for CarsDirect, Auto Credit Express and The Car Connection, among others.
Bethany holds a BA in English from the University of Michigan-Flint, and was poetry editor for the university’s Qua Literary and Fine Arts Magazine. See full bio
Bethany's expertise
Bethany has written 462 Finder guides across topics including:
Our review puts YNAB under the microscope. We take a closer look at how the budgeting service can help consumers with their finances.
How likely would you be to recommend Finder to a friend or colleague?
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Very UnlikelyExtremely Likely
Required
Thank you for your feedback.
Our goal is to create the best possible product, and your thoughts, ideas and suggestions play a major role in helping us identify opportunities to improve.
Advertiser disclosure
Finder.com is an independent comparison platform and information service that aims to provide you with the tools you need to make better decisions. While we are independent, the offers that appear on this site are from companies from which Finder receives compensation. We may receive compensation from our partners for placement of their products or services. We may also receive compensation if you click on certain links posted on our site. While compensation arrangements may affect the order, position or placement of product information, it doesn't influence our assessment of those products. Please don't interpret the order in which products appear on our Site as any endorsement or recommendation from us. Finder compares a wide range of products, providers and services but we don't provide information on all available products, providers or services. Please appreciate that there may be other options available to you than the products, providers or services covered by our service.
We update our data regularly, but information can change between updates. Confirm details with the provider you're interested in before making a decision.