Best free budget apps in 2026: what's free and what's paid

Most budget apps call themselves free, then lock the second wallet, the second budget, sync or bank import behind a subscription. We checked 14 popular apps and wrote down what the free version actually gives you.

Updated October 13, 2026 · Written by the team behind Wally, one of the apps below

The comparison table

Prices are US prices from each app's official pricing page or US App Store listing. They differ by country, and they change, so check the store before you pay.

Swipe the table sideways on a phone. "Paid" means the feature exists but needs a subscription or purchase. "Unconfirmed" means we found no official statement either way.

Paid apps with a trial: YNAB, Monarch, Copilot

These three have no free version. You get a trial, then a subscription. What you pay for is mostly the live bank connection, and it only covers some countries.

YNAB

YNAB (You Need A Budget) costs $14.99 a month or $109 a year after a 34-day trial. Its zero-based method is excellent, and one subscription covers up to six people. Bank import works in the US, Canada, the UK and selected European countries. A plan holds one currency: YNAB suggests a separate plan for each currency. See how Wally compares to YNAB.

Monarch

Monarch costs $14.99 a month or $99.99 a year after a 7-day trial, with a Plus plan at $199 a year. It connects to banks in the US and Canada, tracks net worth and investments, and scans receipts. Everything is shown in dollars, without conversion between currencies.

Copilot

Copilot Money costs $13 a month or $95 a year after a one-month trial. It runs on iPhone, iPad, Mac and the web, with no Android app, connects to US banks only and supports US dollars only.

Free with limits

These apps have a real free version, but the free plan stops at one or two wallets or budgets, and the useful extras cost money.

Spendee

The free plan gives one cash wallet and one budget, and exports only the last 365 days. Plus ($1.99 a month or $14.99 a year on Spendee's site; the US App Store shows higher prices) unlocks more wallets and budgets. Bank connections and receipt scanning need Premium ($5.99 a month or $35.99 a year). Wally as a free Spendee alternative.

Money Lover

After a 14-day trial, a free account keeps one wallet, one recurring transaction and very few budgets, and always shows ads. Premium is a $19.99 one-time purchase on the US App Store. Bank sync is a separate "Linked Wallet" subscription ($2.49–$2.99 a month) that Premium does not include. Money Lover is also testing Apple Pay and Google Pay tracking.

Wallet by BudgetBakers

The free tier allows three accounts; a fourth, data export and bank updates need Premium. Prices are shown only inside the app (US App Store items start at $5.99, lifetime is $49.99). Multi-currency is supported.

Goodbudget

An envelope budgeting app. The free plan is ad-free and gives 10 regular and 10 annual envelopes, one account, two devices and one year of history. Premium ($10 a month or $80 a year) adds unlimited envelopes and accounts and US bank sync. Goodbudget does not handle several currencies in one budget.

PocketGuard

PocketGuard Plus costs $12.99 a month or $74.99 a year after a 7-day trial. PocketGuard's terms describe the free basic version as limited, and its help center lists up to two budgets and one cash account; import and export, recurring income and receipt photos are part of Plus.

Toshl Finance

Free forever with two accounts and two budgets. Recurring entries and receipt photos need Pro ($2.99 a month or $19.99 a year), and bank connections need Medici ($4.99 a month or $39.99 a year). Toshl supports about 200 currencies, including crypto.

CoinKeeper

Popular in Russia. The free version allows unlimited accounts and currencies but only 10 categories and no sync, so data stays on one phone. Sync, recurring operations, CSV export and import from Russian banks need Platinum.

Mostly free

Wally

Wally has no subscription, no paid tier and no ads. Budgets, unlimited wallets in 150+ currencies and crypto, recurring payments, charts, profiles and sync between Android and iPhone through your own Google Drive are all free. On Android it adds purchases from your bank's notifications; on iPhone it records Apple Pay payments through a Shortcuts automation. Neither needs a bank login, and both run on the phone. You can also ask about your spending in ChatGPT or Claude. Questions about Wally.

Cashew

An open-source budget app for Android, iPhone and the web, free and without ads. It syncs through your own Google Drive and can scan notifications and SMS. Cashew Pro ($1.49 a month, $11.99 a year or $19.99 once) unlocks more than one budget and goal; in the open-source code the Pro prompt can be dismissed.

Money Manager (Realbyte)

A long-standing manual tracker. The free version shows ads and is limited to 15 accounts (10 on the iOS listing); the ad-free app costs $5.99 on iOS. Exchange rates are entered by hand, there is no bank or notification import, and there is no live sync between devices, only backups.

Bluecoins

A detailed tracker for Android and iPhone. The free Android version shows ads. Premium is a one-time purchase that removes ads and unlocks online sync, report export and auto-logging from bank notifications and SMS.

Which one to pick

• Everything free, on Android and iPhone: Wally. Budgets, several wallets and currencies, sync and automatic import without paying or seeing ads.
• A live bank connection in the US, and you are fine paying: YNAB, Monarch or Copilot (Copilot only on Apple devices).
• Envelope budgeting with a partner on a small free plan: Goodbudget.
• Open source: Cashew.
• You travel or earn in several currencies: pick an app with real multi-currency support (Wally, Toshl, Spendee, Wallet, Cashew). How to keep a budget in several currencies.

How we checked

On October 13, 2026 we read each app's official pricing page, help center and US App Store listing. Where the sources disagreed we say so, and where we found no official statement we wrote "unconfirmed". We make Wally, so read this page with that in mind; if something here is wrong or out of date, write to support@watch-my-wallet.com and we will fix it.