Best Apps to Manage Your Finances in 2025

Whether you want to budget, save, invest, or simply keep bills under control, the right app makes money management far easier. This 2025 guide reviews the top apps by category and shows how to choose the best tools for your goals.

Updated: August 16, 2025

Why use an app to manage money?

Apps bring automation, clarity, and accountability to finances. They can track transactions in real-time, categorize spending, visualize cash flow, automate savings, and even make investing as simple as one tap. For many people, the right app removes friction and turns good intentions into repeatable habits.

Top apps by category (what to use and why)

Budgeting & Expense Tracking

YNAB (You Need A Budget) — Best for hands-on budgeting and zero-based planning. YNAB forces you to ‘give every dollar a job’, which is great if you want an active control system. Paid but highly rated for behaviour change.

Mint — Best free, all‑in‑one tracker. Mint aggregates accounts, tracks spending, and offers bill reminders—great for passive tracking and beginners.

PocketGuard — Best for quick “what can I spend today” insights. Simple, debt-focused, and good for people who need guardrails rather than full-budgeting.

Savings & Cash Management

Monzo / Revolut / Wise — Modern challenger banks that combine checking, multi-currency wallets, instant spending notifications, and automated round-ups. Ideal for travel and fast transfers.

Acorns-style micro-investing apps — Good if you prefer automating spare-change investing for long-term growth while saving.

Investing & Wealth Tracking

Vanguard / Fidelity / Charles Schwab — Top picks for long-term, low-cost investing with strong research and retirement options.

Robinhood / Webull — Good for active traders and beginners who prefer commission-free trades and an accessible mobile UX, but consider educational limits and tax reporting.

Empower (formerly Personal Capital) — Best for net-worth tracking and retirement planning with robust investment analytics and advisory services for higher net worth users.

Bill Management & Credit Monitoring

Truebill / Rocket Money — Tracks subscriptions, negotiates bills, and can cancel unwanted services. Great for trimming recurring costs.

Credit Karma — Free credit score monitoring and alerts to help you track credit health and spot issues early.

Specialized Tools

Tiller — Spreadsheets that auto-populate with transactions for users who prefer full customization. Ideal for power users and spreadsheet enthusiasts.

Monarch, Simplifi & Lunch Money — Newer multi-account aggregators that blend budgeting, forecasting, and custom reports for people who want a full-picture dashboard without the complexity of YNAB.

How to pick the right app for you

Define your primary goal: Are you trying to budget, save, invest, or simplify bills? Pick one app that does that job well.
Security matters: Look for two-factor auth, SOC2 compliance, and strong encryption—especially for apps that store bank credentials.
Cost vs value: Free apps are great for casual use, but paid apps (YNAB, Tiller) offer deeper features that can pay for themselves if they help you save or invest more.
Data portability: Can you export your data if you switch apps? This avoids vendor lock-in.
Compatibility: Make sure the app supports your bank(s) and investment accounts.

Setting up an app the right way

Start by linking only read‑only accounts and allowing the app to categorize transactions for a week. Review categories and correct mistakes so the app learns your spending patterns. Set automated rules for recurring bills and savings, and create alerts for overspending.

Real-world workflows (example stacks)

Simple saver: Mint for tracking + Monzo for day-to-day and round-ups.

Investor + planner: Empower for net-worth tracking + Vanguard for long-term investing + Tiller for custom reports.

Debt-buster: PocketGuard for daily guardrails + EveryDollar or YNAB for aggressive debt repayment plans.

Privacy & security checklist

Enable two-factor authentication (2FA).
Use unique passwords and a password manager.
Prefer read‑only bank connections or tokenized access through Plaid/TrueLayer.
Review app permissions and revoke access for apps you no longer use.

Costs & hidden fees to watch for

Some challenger banks and investing apps charge for premium features, subscription tiers, or foreign-exchange markups. Read fee schedules for withdrawals, transfers, and brokerage services before committing significant balances or trading frequently.

Final verdict: build a stack, not a single app

There’s no one-size-fits-all app. The most effective approach in 2025 is a small stack: one primary budgeting/tracking app, a separate investing platform, and a cash-management challenger bank for day-to-day spending. This gives you the best features without overloading a single app with competing priorities.