We tried 3 budgeting apps to compare their free and paid versions

Keeping on top of your finances can be a difficult and complicated job when analysing your spending with a pen and paper.

When spreadsheets and calculators are involved, a budgeting review can often be left to just once a year, if that.

Thankfully there are now dedicated budgeting apps which offer detailed analysis of your spending habits as you go, help managing debt and accountability when trying to hit a savings goal.

But with so many on the market, which one is right for you?

The team at NimbleFins has tried some of the most popular platforms to give our take on their features, pros and cons, plus how much they cost and what you can get on their free versions.

What to look for when selecting a budgeting app

There are hundreds of budgeting apps out on the market with some best for spending insights, some that remind you about paying bills and others that focus on proactive budgeting, goal setting or even saving and investing.

When deciding which budgeting app to use, think about the features which will be most useful to you.

If you want to track expenses you'll need an app that connects with all your bank, credit cards and investment accounts.

If you think your financial needs are likely to change you'll probably want to use an app that offers customisation and flexibility.

Do you want to pay for your app? Many apps have free basic services and then introduce a fee for more advanced features. If considering whether to pay for the app, think if the money you'll be saving will outweigh the monthly/annual fee.

With your chosen app potentially accessing your bank and personal data, it's important to ensure it is safe.

You can check out whether an app is regulated by searching the FCA register and openbanking.org.uk. Not all regulated apps appear on the Open Banking website as some will appear under another approved company.

Emma

Emma is one of the most popular budgeting apps due to its user-friendly design and powerful insights.

It connects with most UK banks and financial institutions, helping users track spending, manage subscriptions, and find ways to save. It analyses your spending to highlight ways you could save money and also offers the chance to invest and save money.

There is a nifty feature for paid users where you can boost your credit rating by reporting your rent payments - so you don't need to take out a credit card or loan to improve your score.

Emma offers both free and premium versions, with the premium plans providing features like custom categories and detailed analytics.

Cost: Free version. Three paid versions - Plus (£4.99 a month/£41.99 a year), Pro (£9.99/£83.99) and Ultimate (£14.99/£124.99)

Free features:

Paid features: These depend on which level of the paid version you have selected but generally you will get more bank logins, cheaper foreign exchange fees and higher interest rates. You also get access to more than 1,000 cashback offers.

Any setbacks:

You might not find the paid features particularly useful, particularly if you only spend from one or two accounts.

Trustpilot review score: 4.2/5 (240 reviews)

Review sample

Positive: "This app has a meaningful impact on my life, I cannot do without it! I hear the comments saying the free version is too restrictive to get meaningful value from it, but being a premium subscriber is worth it in my opinion. I can have all of my current accounts, credit cards, pension, ISA, crypto, debt, etc in one place. I can track my net worth accurately and also get some insights into my spending."

Negative: "I have only ever used the free plan, and over the years, I’ve watched it be stripped of features, with all functionality put behind a paywall."

YNAB (You Need A Budget)

Known for its proactive budgeting approach, YNAB is excellent for users who want to assign every pound a purpose.

Although it comes with a monthly fee after a free trial, it's designed for users to plan ahead for their spending, helping them understand and control their outgoings.

On payday you tell YNAB how much of your income you want to assign to different categories such as spending, savings and debt.

YNAB is popular among those who prefer a structured budgeting system and have goals like debt repayment or significant savings.

It's an American app and prices are in dollars, but you can switch the currency to pounds for your spending habits etc. It works with most UK bank accounts and you can search its list to check your bank is included.

Cost: 34 day free trial and then $14.99/month (£11.55) or $109 annually (£84).

Free features:

Paid features:

There is quite a lot of admin! YNAB encourages users to get on top of their finances so that means you need to get hands on.

Trustpilot review score: 4.7/5 (2,111 reviews)

Review sample:

Positive: "This company has transformed my relationship with money completely. I went from living paycheck-to-paycheck on constant stress to having savings and being able to afford big purchases without taking out loans. I would 100% recommend this company to anyone regardless of their income."

Negative: "I don’t recommend YNAB unless you plan on sticking it through a very steep learning curve and watching a lot of videos, and you don’t mind having your transactions extremely delayed."

Snoop

Snoop focuses on helping users save money by analysing spending patterns and providing personalised money-saving tips.

There isn't a great deal of difference between its free and paid version at the moment.

It connects with various banks and financial accounts, offering insights on subscriptions, bills, and shopping.

Snoop’s unique “snoops” help users discover ways to reduce expenses and make the most of their spending.

Cost: Free version. Paid Snoop Plus version is £4.99/month or £39.99/year.

Free features:

Paid features:

Any setbacks: A lot of the money-saving deals can be found elsewhere so you may not see much of a benefit there if you already know where to look. Although it has only had 67 reviews, the average score is low. (At the time of writing just over 50% of people had rated it 5 stars, but 28% had rated it 1 star)

Trustpilot review score: 2.7/5 (67 reviews)

Review sample:

Positive: "I've been using snoop for a couple of years and I find it a really simple way to get an overview of my finances. I have several accounts and Snoop aggregates spending month on month. Very useful. I haven't tried the paid for subscription, but I don't feel I need it."

Negative:

"I am quite financially astute: I budget carefully and monitor expenditure regularly. As I use 2 banks I thought the app would streamline this process. It didn’t. It connected fine with the accounts but came up with a lot of very muddled data. Graphs that weren’t explained and multiple categories. When I was finally able to decipher it I found that the actual sums it came up with bore no relation to reality."

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