If you’re looking for the best budgeting apps in Canada, you’ve come to the right place!
There’s no question that budgeting is important for anyone trying to save money and get their finances in order. But when it comes to budgeting apps, there are a lot of choices out there – from free budgeting apps to paid ones. How do you choose the right one for you? And what should you look out for?
In this blog post, we’ll compare some of the best budgeting apps in Canada, both free and paid. We’ll talk about how they work, what features they offer and what you need to consider before choosing one.
So whether you’re looking for a new way to track your spending or want to start saving more money, read on!
Best Free Budgeting Apps
There are a number of great free budgeting apps available in Canada, and here are some of our favourites:
1. Mint
- Cost: $0
- Best For: Budgeting and personalized financial insights
Mint is one of the most popular budgeting apps in Canada, and for good reason. It’s easy to use, comes with a ton of features and has a user-friendly interface. You can track your spending, create budgets and set financial goals, and even connect with other financial institutions.
How it works:
First, you need to sign-up on Mint online or through the Mint mobile app available on Google Playstore and App Store.
You can then log in to your Mint account and link your bank accounts, set up your budget and track your spending by categories.
In addition, you can monitor your net worth trends and get personalized financial insights on your spending habits on Mint.
The free Mint app for Canadians contains everything you need to manage your finances. So it’s no surprise that it is the #1 most downloaded personal finance app.
2. Wally
- Cost: $0
- Best For: Household budgets
Wally is a multinational free budgeting app that has been around since 2014. The app allows you to sync your bank accounts, set goals, create budgets and track your spending for free.
Unlike other apps, Wally also allows you to track joint accounts and household budgets in one dashboard.
How it works:
You first need to open a Wally account by downloading the app on App Store. You can then sync all your bank accounts, credit cards, loans, savings and joint accounts.
After that, you can create customized budgets based on your spending categories such as groceries, recurring bills, home improvement and entertainment.
With this, you can easily track your transactions and monitor the progress of your individual and household budgets.
3. KOHO App
- Cost: $0
- Best For: Spending and savings
The KOHO app is a fintech app with that includes many of the tools and products you need to manage your finances. The KOHO card is a reloadable card and a tool for budgeting, saving and spending tracking.
The card is available for both online and in-store purchases and it offers 1.20% interest on your balance and 0.5% cashback on all purchases.
How it works:
When you get the KOHO Prepaid Card by signing up on KOHO, you can use it for your everyday purchases just like with other regular prepaid cards.
Besides a competitive interest of 1.20% on your balance, you will also earn 0.5% cashback on all your purchases with the card. You can also round-up your purchases to the nearest dollar for automatic savings.
With real-time data on your spending habits, you can easily create customized budgets and improve your finances with the KOHO app.
There are no monthly fees and transaction fees. To get advanced benefits such as 2% cash back, you should consider the KOHO Premium Prepaid which has a $9 monthly fee.
Learn more:
4. PocketSmith
- Cost: $0
- Best For: Budget scheduling & custom dashboard
PocketSmith is a dedicated budgeting app that allows you to create customized budgets and track your spending in one place.
It is popular for its online budget calendar feature which allows you to schedule upcoming budgets and bill payments. The interesting part is that you can also see your projected account balance based on your upcoming bills.
PocketSmith is also designed to be a fully customizable personal finance app. So you are in full control of the insights and information you want to see within the app.
How it works:
When you sign-up on PocketSmith, you can link all your bank accounts and categorize your transactions based on your goals. In addition, you can schedule upcoming budgets and bill payments and see how your current account balance compares with your projected balance.
You will get a clear picture of your transactions with real-time reports, charts, graphs, and tables, helping you stay on top of your finances.
The free plan gives you access to 12 budgets, 6 months projections, 2 accounts, and manual transaction imports. To get automatic bank feeds, you’ll need to upgrade to one of the premium plans.
For advanced benefits, you can upgrade to the PocketSmith premium plan which costs $9.95 per month or the super plan which costs $19.95 per month.
5. PocketGuard
- Cost: $0
- Best For: Budgeting and Autosaving
PocketGuard is another top free budgeting app available to Canadians that allows you to improve your spending and savings without stress. With this app, you can create customized budgets, track all your accounts in one dashboard.
The interesting part is that you can save automatically and negotiate better rates on your recurring bills on PocketGuard.
How it works:
Sign-up and download the PocketGuard app on Google Playstore and App Store. You can then link all your bank accounts, loans, credit cards and investment accounts.
After that, you can categorize your transactions across different categories such as groceries, entertainment and rent.
With PocketGuard, you can see the expenses that consume the major part of your budget through spending pie charts. That way, you can easily keep track of your transactions and create customized budgets according to your spending categories.
In addition, PocketSmith has an Autosave feature that helps you save automatically according to your saving goal.
6. Wallet
- Cost: $0
- Best For: Bill sharing
Wallet is a personal finance app offered by BudgetBakers.com. The app allows you to create a budget, track your spending, manage debt and save money. It supports over 15,000 banks and cards so you are likely to sync all your accounts on the app.
Unlike other budgeting apps, Wallet allows you to share your bills with families, friends or roommates.
How it works:
You first need to sign-up on Wallet by downloading the app on Google Playstore or App store. You can then add all your bank accounts and upload your transaction data.
In addition, you can share your selected accounts with your family, friend, or partner to contribute to your bill payments.
Wallet allows you to categorize your transactions and track them easily with insightful reports. You will also get access to a bill tracker to help you avoid late payments.
With actionable insights, you will understand what should go into your budget and save money along the way.
Best Paid Budgeting Apps
If you’re looking for a more comprehensive budgeting app that offers more features, then you may want to consider paid budgeting apps.
Here are some of the best paid budgeting apps in Canada:
7. You Need a Budget (YNAB)
- Cost: $14.99 per month or $99 per year
- Best For: Active and pro-active budgeting
YNAB is another great option for budgeting beginners. It’s easy to use and comes with tutorials to help you get started. You can track your spending, create budgets and set financial goals, and even connect with other financial institutions.
The company claims that new YNAB users can save a minimum of $600 within their initial two months of registration and $6,000 after their first year.
What sets YNAB apart from the other budgeting apps in the roundup is its focus on giving every dollar a job – the first of its Four Rules. Budgeting with YNAB is more involved and requires you to account for every dollar. So if you’re looking for a set-it-and-forget-it app, YNAB is not for you.
How it works:
Sign-up and start a free trial for 34 days. After that, you can subscribe to the monthly plan which costs $14.99 or the annual plan which costs $99.
When you sign up, you can sync all your bank accounts and set customized goals. You can then create a budget, track and measure your progress in one dashboard.
Unlike other budgeting apps, YNAB takes your success seriously by offering weekly personal support and teaching.
With this, you can easily manage your spending, save money, pay off debt, improve your wealth and overall financial wellbeing.
8. Spendee
- Cost: $0 to $22.99 per year
- Best For: Automation
Spendee is a freemium personal finance app founded in 2017. The app allows you to connect not just your bank account, but also your crypto and electronic wallets. It has a free plan and two annual plans ranging from $14.99 per year for Spendee Plus and $22.99 per year for Spendee Premium.
With the premium plan, you can stay on top of your finances hassle-free with automatic transaction synchronization and automated categorization.
How it works:
When you sign-up on Spendee, you can sync all bank accounts and have your transaction data automatically synchronized. Your transaction data will also be automatically categorized according to your goals.
Unlike other apps, Spendee allows you to connect your crypto and electronic wallets and share your bills with families, friends, and roommates.
Spendee also allows you to create smart budgets that will help you save money in the long run. You can backup all your transactions and get alerts and reminders about your bill payment or budget limit.
With clear graphic reports of your financial habits, you can easily monitor your spending and improve on areas that consume a significant part of your budget.
9. Good Budget
- Cost: $0 to $8 per month/$70 annually
- Best For: Envelope budgeting
True to its name, this is a great app to create good budgets based on your spending habits. The app functions on the envelope budget system that helps you categorize your budget according to different spending categories.
Good Budget has a free plan with limited features and a premium plan that costs $8 per month or $70 annually with unlimited envelopes and accounts.
How it works:
When you sign-up on Good Budget, you can link all your bank accounts and import your transaction data.
You can then create a digital envelope budget according to your spending categories which you can sync and share with people that matter. In addition to tracking your transactions, you can track your debt payments and save money through this app.
10. Moka
- Cost: $3.99 – $15 per month
- Best For: Financial coaching
Moka (formerly Mylo) is not like the regular budgeting apps discussed above. It is an automated saving and investing app with financial coaching that helps you create and manage your budget with ease.
The app offers access to cashback upon making purchases at its partner stores. The interesting part is, you can have your near-to-dollar purchases rounded and saved to your account on Moka.
How it works:
First, you need to sign-up for the Moka 360 plan which costs $15 per month. You will then have free access to a financial coach that can help you with your budgeting, savings, loans and debt needs.
The Moka financial coach can also help you with customized actionable insights on how to get on top of your finances.
Besides that, you will also have free access to a debt repayment tool that helps you pay off your credit card debt faster and cost-effectively.
Free vs Paid Budgeting Apps
When it comes to budgeting apps, there are two main types: free and paid.
Free budgeting apps
The most common type of budgeting app is the free one. These apps typically offer a range of features, like tracking your spending and creating budgets, but may have some limitations.
For example, you might not be able to access detailed reports or have limited support from the app’s creators.
Paid budgeting apps
Paid budgeting apps usually offer more features than free ones, like the ability to create multiple budgets, track investments and connect with other financial institutions.
They also often come with customer support in case you have any questions or need help using the app. However, they can be more expensive than free apps, so it’s important to weigh the costs and benefits before deciding which one is right for you.
So how do you choose between paid and free budget apps?
Here are a few things to consider:
How much do you want to spend? Paid budgeting apps can be more expensive than free ones, so if you’re on a tight budget, it might be best to go with a free app.
What features do you need? If you need a lot of features – like the ability to connect with other financial institutions or track investments – a paid app might be the best option. But if you’re just looking to track your spending and create budgets, a free app will do the trick.
How much support do you need? Paid budgeting apps often come with customer support in case you have any questions or need help using the app. If you’re not sure how to use a budgeting app or need help getting started, this might be something to consider.
How often do you plan on using the app? Paid apps typically offer more features than free ones, but if you only plan on using the app once or twice a year, it might not be worth shelling out the money.
Ultimately, the best way to choose between paid and free budgeting apps is to figure out what’s important to you and then compare the features of each app. Once you know what you need, it’ll be easier to decide which one is right for you.
Why is budgeting important?
Budgeting is important for a number of reasons.
Track your spending: First and foremost, it can help you track your spending and make sure you’re not overspending each month. This is crucial for anyone trying to save money or get their finances in order.
Save towards financial goals: Budgeting can also help you plan for future expenses, like vacations or big purchases. By setting money aside each month into a specific savings account, you can make your dreams a reality!
Get a better understanding of your finances: Lastly, budgeting can give you a better overall understanding of your financial situation. This includes things like how much money you’re earning, what bills you need to pay each month and how much debt you have.
Learn more: Why You Need A Budget
Conclusion
No doubt, budgeting is one of the critical aspects of your financial life. It doesn’t matter what your current financial situation is, you can easily get on top of your finances by knowing what goes in and out of your bank accounts.
The above budgeting apps will help you make the process easier and more cost-effective compared to doing it yourself or hiring a financial advisor.
When narrowing your selection, remember to consider your current expenses and the app that has your favourite features.
The bottom line is that you can’t make the wrong choice with any of the above free and paid budgeting apps in Canada so far you choose the one that suits your needs.
Kindly explore our existing blog posts to learn more about other financial products and services that will help you make the best of your money in Canada.
