6 Popular Budget Apps for Couples

Managing your finances may be challenging enough when you're single. Add a significant other into the mix, and things may get even more complicated. Even if you keep separate bank accounts, you’re likely splitting household expenses. You may also be planning a shared future, which might include buying a home, sending kids to college, and planning for retirement.

Fortunately, there are a number of financial apps that may make managing money as a couple easier. These (often complimentary) tools could help you keep tabs on your accounts, track your spending, and work toward your short- and long-term goals. And they’re generally easy to set up and use. 

Here’s what you need to know about budget apps for couples.

Why Do Some Couples Budget Together?

Setting up a budget as a couple allows you to learn more about each other’s expenses, debts, and investments. It may also help you to manage your shared monthly expenses, prioritize your spending, and reach your joint money goals — whether that’s paying for your wedding or making a down payment on a home — faster.

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6 Best Budgeting Apps for Couples

Here’s a look at eight popular budgeting apps that are either designed for or can work well for couples. All are offered in both the App Store (for iOS) and on Google Play (for Android).

1. Honeydue

With the Honeydue app, couples may see both partner’s bank accounts, credit cards, loans, and investments. (However, each of you may decide what accounts you want to share vs. keep private.) The app allows you to set spending limits for different categories. Once you do, it tracks your spending and sends alerts when you’re approaching your limit. You’re also able to use Honeydue to monitor savings goals and keep track of bill due dates. 

Cost: Free

2. Simplifi

Ideal for first-time budgeters, Quicken Simplifi is a user-friendly app that allows couples to connect all of their key financial accounts, such as bank accounts, credit cards, loans, and retirement accounts, for a shared bird’s-eye view. You may also use the app to set financial goals and generate a customized spending budget that may help you realize those goals. If you go off track, the app lets you know. 

Cost: Currently $3.99/month, billed annually

3. Empower 

Empower is a full-service personal finance app that does everything from managing your budget to monitoring your investment portfolio. The dashboard gives you a financial snapshot of your net worth, along with how you’re progressing toward different goals, such as your emergency fund and retirement savings. In terms of budgeting, the app has everything you need — it lets you sync all of your accounts, tracks your spending, and lets you know when bills are almost due. 

Cost: Free

4. Goodbudget

Goodbudget is based on the envelope method of budgeting. With the old-school envelope method, you put cash in envelopes earmarked for certain budget categories, such as groceries or clothing. Once you spend all the cash in the envelope, you’re unable to spend any more. Goodbudget provides a digital alternative to carrying around a stack of cash-filled envelopes. The app doesn’t link to your accounts, though, so you need to manually enter your amounts.

Cost: Free (or $10/month for more features)

5. You Need a Budget (YNAB)

You Need a Budget (YNAB) is a highly effective budgeting app that helps couples take control of their finances together. Its proactive approach encourages users to assign every dollar a job, ensuring that income is purposefully allocated toward expenses, savings, and debt repayment. YNAB’s collaborative features allow couples to sync accounts, track spending, and plan for financial goals in real-time, fostering transparency and teamwork.

Cost: Free trial ($9.08/month paid annually — $14.99/month paid monthly)

6. PocketGuard

Whether you're budgeting solo or as a couple, PocketGuard takes the work and drudgery out of the process. Once you link all of your financial accounts and set your financial goals, the app automatically builds your budget (based on your combined incomes, recurring bills, and goals). PocketGuard is even able to sift through your expenses and identify ways to save and improve your finances. 

Cost: Free trial ($6.25/month paid annually — $12.99/month paid monthly)

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Why Is Budgeting Important?

While the term budgeting often has negative connotations, a budget is simply a plan for how you want to spend your money. Rather than being restrictive, a budget may actually set you free — it enables you to prioritize your spending and focus your money on the things that are important to you. 

When you spend without any kind of a plan, you may end up allocating a large portion of your income to things that you actually don’t care that much about and end up with less to spend on the things that really do matter to you — such as buying a home or taking a honeymoon. A budget also ensures that your bills get paid in full and on time and may help you get out of debt. 

There are all different kinds of budgets. One popular approach is the 50/30/20 budget. It divides your take-home income into three spending categories: 50% goes toward needs, 30% goes toward wants, and 20% goes toward savings and debt repayment.

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Where to Store the Money You Set Aside

Once you and your partner start using a budget app, you may start saving more. Where might you earn high returns on that savings? There are many types of savings accounts that allow you to earn interest and grow your balance over time, including high-yield savings accounts, money market accounts, and certificates of deposit (CDs). 

To identify competitive rates on a savings account, you may want to look at annual percentage yields (APYs). This tells you how much your money may earn in a year and includes the effect of compounding interest (which is when you earn interest on the interest that gets added to the account). Comparing APYs allows you to compare accounts apples to apples.

Savings accounts may be a good way to save for things you want to pay for within the next few months to a year, such as a vacation or a wedding. However, even high-yield savings accounts typically don’t pay enough interest to hit long-term savings goals, such as retirement or a child’s college education. For that, you may want to consider investments such as stocks or mutual funds. However, those carry risks, so be sure to consider your investment goals and objectives.

Recommended: What Is the Average Interest Rate on a Savings Account? 

The Takeaway

A couple’s budgeting app may help you and your significant other get on the same financial page. These tools provide transparency and may also help you come up with (and stick to) a spending plan that enables you to cover your bills, have fun, and still put some money in savings. 

If you’re interested in finding the best rate on your savings, Lantern by SoFi can help. With our online banking marketplace, it’s easy to compare high-yield savings accounts based on APY, fees, and balance minimums.

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