We recommend budgeting apps or official banking apps with a CHOICE Expert Rating of 70% and above.

The CHOICE Expert Rating, our overall score, is made up of the versatility score (60%) and ease of use score (40%).

This score is made up of manual entry of data (10%), implementation of categories (20%), identification of expenditure (20%), clarity of data shown (20%), ability to sync data (10%), and ability to set budgets (20%).

This score is made up of ease of categorisation (25%), ease of identifying expenditure (25%), clarity of data shown (25%), and ease of syncing data between devices (25%).

The price as of July 2023 for a year’s subscription.

All apps with a subscription cost offer both monthly and yearly payments. Fudget Pro and Monefy Pro both have a one-off cost.

Android app available.

iOS app available (iPhone and iPad).

Whether a web-based version of the program is available using a username and password (accessible via web browsers like Firefox or Chrome).

Whether desktop-based software for Windows is available.

Whether desktop-based software for macOS is available.

Whether you can lock the app with a security PIN.

File types you can import into the budgeting software as a replacement for manual data entry. Most financial programs can create .CSV, .QFX and .QIF files for import into budgeting software.

The third-party service that is used to retrieve customer account details from supported banks, securely. Bank sync is not available on all apps.

Whether a free version of the app is available. This version will sometimes offer more limited features than the paid version.

Free trial period for the paid version of an app.

Whether you can sync your bank account with the program so that it automatically pulls in data, including income, expenses, and regular bills. This is the easiest approach to accurate budgeting, as the software handles most of the data entry for you. The caveat is that you have to entrust a third-party app with your bank account details. 

Whether you can manually setup a recurring transaction and automatically enter them into your budget.

Where you can create and view, or will be notified of, upcoming recurring transactions that have been generated automatically or that you have created manually.

Place transactions into categories or tag them as a specific type of transaction to make them easier to find and organise into reports. Fudget does not categorise expenses, but expenses can be entered as category names.

Whether the app can gather budget information from a specific period, such as a week, month or year, and present it as a report.

Whether the app can gather data from a specific time period, such as a week, month or year, and show your income and spending patterns.

Whether the app can gather budget data and use it to predict upcoming income and expenses.

Whether the app can compile budget data into graphs and charts for easy reference. Pocketbook's graphs and charts are only available via the web version.

Whether you can use the software to set and track your savings goals.

Whether you can attach an image, such as a photo of a receipt or purchased product, to a transaction.

This allows a transaction to be identified as tax-related, rather than the user having to create a manual note. It helps during categorisation and expense assessment.