Budgeting apps: the best options for tracking your money on the go | Consumer affairs

Good for: Beginners and subscription management.

Cost: Emma – free; Emma Pro – £ 59.99 per year, with the first seven days free.

Advantages: Very easy to install and use. Cashback and rewards for your spending at select retailers such as Body Shop, B&Q, Gousto, Boots and more.

The inconvenients: A little gamified and the push to subscribe to Emma Pro can get annoying.

Money dashboard

Offers most of the same features as Emma Pro, but at no cost. These include customizable categories for your expenses – for example, you can group all payments for gifts around Christmas – and the ability to add accounts manually. Money Dashboard also plots a graph of your projected monthly spending with an expected balance at the end of the month. The level of customization of the app is ideal for those who have accounts and investments with various vendors.

Good for: More complex finances.

Cost: To free.

Advantages: In-depth budget analysis with custom categories based on your individual spending. Desktop version also available.

The inconvenients: takes time to set up and its automatic categorization of expenses could be better.

Yolt

Yolt lets you organize all your accounts in one place and you can go even further by using its prepaid debit card for your daily expenses. Once you’ve connected your accounts, Yolt lets you track your spending, see upcoming transactions, create budgets, and set savings goals.

Good for: Control spending.

Cost: To free.

Advantages: encourages you to define expenditure budgets. Features like rounding off your spare currency and scheduled payments allow you to maximize your savings.

The inconvenients: Yolt does not allow weekly pay days. There is no Financial Services Compensation Scheme protection for the money you hold in the prepaid account.

Plum

Plum takes budgeting a step further and does the hard work for you as it uses artificial intelligence to automatically calculate an affordable amount to save based on your spending habits. It lets you know if you might be paying too much on your regular bills and suggests ways to save money. Plum offers more than one plan and its premium options also provide the ability to invest your money as well as earn money, set savings goals, and create savings spaces to separate your money.

Good for: Automated backup.

Cost: Plum Basic – free; Plum Plus – £ 1 per month; Plum Pro – £ 2.99 per month (30 day free trial with both).

Advantages: Helps you save with little effort, also allows you to round up your change and earn interest on your savings.

The inconvenients: You have to pay to get certain features offered by other apps for free, such as goal setting and reimbursement. Monthly fee of £ 1 if you want to invest your money.

Alternatives

App-only banks like Starling Bank and Monzo combine the logistics of a checking account with the addition of handy budgeting features like personalized expense analysis, the ability to separate your money into jars or spaces savings and automatic savings with spares roundups as you pass.