These Budgeting Apps Actually Make You Feel Like You Have Your Life Together

As a young adult navigating life in Singapore, you're probably juggling studies, side hustles, internships, or even your first full-time job. Between cashless payments, instant food deliveries, and spontaneous weekend plans, it’s easy to lose track of where your money goes.

But hey, there's where budgeting comes in. Rather than restriction, budgeting is about awareness, control, and intention. A good budget helps you make smarter spending decisions, build healthy financial habits, and work toward meaningful goals, whether it is clearing education loans, saving for a solo trip, or investing early.

But manually tracking every expense in a spreadsheet just isn’t realistic for most of us. The good news is there’s an entire ecosystem of budgeting apps, both free and paid, designed to make personal finance effortless and intuitive.

Below, we’ve rounded up the best budgeting tools that match different needs, from daily expense tracking and expense splitting to long-term wealth planning. Your financial future starts with the next tap. What’s your pick?

Best free budgeting apps

1. Splitwise

Splitwise is a go-to app for tracking shared expenses between friends, roommates, or travel groups. It simplifies group finances by logging who paid for what and who owes whom. With clean summaries and debt balancing features, it makes splitting bills transparent and stress-free, even across multiple currencies.

Best for: Splitting shared expenses among friends, housemates, or travel groups

Pros:

• Ideal for shared expenses
• Supports multiple groups and currencies
• Clear, simple user interface

Cons:

• Limited for personal budgets
• No bank syncing
• Advanced features are locked in the Pro version

2. Goodbudget

Goodbudget brings the envelope budgeting method into the digital age. Instead of physical envelopes, you allocate money digitally to different spending categories. It's ideal for couples and families who budget together and want a hands-on approach to managing money. Available on iOS, Android, and the web with cloud syncing.

Best for: Envelope-style budgeting and family and couples sharing a budget

Pros:

• Family budgeting support
• Manual control improves spending awareness
• Clean, minimal interface

Cons:

• Manual transaction input
• The free plan limits envelopes and history
• No bank syncing

3. Money Lover

Money Lover is a user-friendly expense tracker and budget planner that helps you manage daily spending, set savings goals, and categorise expenses. It supports multiple currencies and cloud sync, and works well across mobile and desktop. The free version offers solid tools for basic personal finance management with clean visuals.

Best for: Those looking for a clear, easy-to-use budgeting app with multi-currency support

Pros:

• Supports multiple currencies
• Easy manual input with smart categorisation
• Syncs across devices and platforms

Cons:

• Ads in the free version
• Some features are locked behind premium
• No bank account syncing in the free plan

4. Wallet by BudgetBakers

Wallet by BudgetBakers, available on web and mobile, is a personal finance app that helps you track expenses, manage budgets, and set financial goals. It supports manual entry, budget-setting and detailed reports. The free version offers enough tools for basic budgeting, and a premium upgrade unlocks advanced planning features.

Best for: Budgeters who want a detailed, visual overview of their spending

Pros:

• Clean, customisable dashboards
• Goal-setting and reports are included in the free tier
• Syncs across devices and platforms

Cons:

• Ads in the free plan
• No bank account syncing in the free plan
• Only three accounts can be created with the free plan

5. The Expense Share

The Expense Share is easy to use for splitting expenses among friends, roommates, or groups. It offers customisable expense categories, recurring bill management, and clear settlement tracking. Designed for hassle-free shared finances, it keeps everyone accountable and simplifies group money matters.

Best for: Groups, roommates, or friends who want a straightforward, customisable tool for shared expenses

Pros:

• Customisable expense categories and groups
• Handles recurring bills and tracks who owes what
• No premium features locked behind paywalls

Cons:

• Limited direct payment or bank integrations
• No mobile app for iOS and Android yet

Best paid budgeting apps

1. YNAB (You Need A Budget)

Price: US$14.99 (about S$19) per month or US$109 per year (Free for college students for 12 months)

YNAB is a comprehensive zero-based budgeting app that helps you give every dollar a job. It syncs with your bank accounts, tracks spending in real-time, and offers strong goal-setting features. Perfect for serious budgeters, and free for verified students for one year, it is ideal for learning smart financial habits early.

Best for: Hands-on budgeters and students looking to master personal finance

Pros:

• Zero-based budgeting system with bank syncing and real-time tracking
• Excellent tutorials and financial education
• Free 12-month access for college students

Cons:

• Pricey for casual users
• Takes time to learn
• Manual upkeep is needed for accuracy

2. Monarch Money

Price: US$14.99 per month or US$99.99 per year

Monarch Money is a sleek, modern budgeting and financial planning app designed for individuals and couples. It combines account aggregation, budgeting, net worth tracking, and shared access in one intuitive dashboard. With strong customisation options, it's a solid choice for long-term planners who want visual clarity on their entire financial picture.

Best for: Couples or individuals planning long-term finances with shared access

Pros:

• Beautiful, customisable interface
• Supports shared budgets and joint accounts
• Real-time net worth and cash flow tracking

Cons:

• Limited international bank support
• Relatively new, still building features

3. Simplifi by Quicken

Price: US$5.99 (about S$7.50) per month

Simplifi is a modern money management app by Quicken focused on simplifying your financial life. It helps you track spending, set goals, monitor cash flow, and get a real-time snapshot of your finances. Whether you prefer the zero-based budgeting, the envelope system, the 50-30-20 rule, or your own custom approach, Simplifi is flexible enough to accommodate.

Best for: Busy users who want simple, real-time financial snapshots

Pros:

• Easy-to-use, clean interface
• Bank sync and automatic categorisation
• Goal setting and progress tracking

Cons:

• Web version is less robust
• Not ideal for advanced budgeting

4. Settle Up (Premium)

Price: US$3.49 (about S$4.50) per month, US$18.99 per year or a one-time payment of US$34.99

Settle Up is a simple app for splitting expenses among friends, roommates, or travel groups. It supports multiple currencies, works offline, and tracks who owes what with clear summaries. Premium enhances the core app with receipt attachments, advanced exports, cloud sync, and custom themes.

Best for: Groups that want a reliable app with more export and customisation features

Pros:

• No ads
• Attach receipts to expenses
• Export to Excel

Cons:

• Charts are available only on web and iOS

5. Splid Plus

Price: US$3.99 one-time upgrade

Splid is a lightweight, free-to-use app perfect for splitting group expenses, especially while travelling. It supports multiple currencies, works offline, and offers clear debt summaries. Upgrading unlocks exports, unlimited groups, and receipt attachments, making it ideal for frequent group outings, shared households, or international trips.

Best for: Travel groups or housemates looking for a simple, no-subscription tool with offline and export features

Pros:

• One-time payment (no subscription)
• Offline functionality
• No account required for participants

Cons:

• Mobile only, no full web version

Whether you’re trying to save more, spend smarter, or just not end every month wondering “where did my money go?”, the right app makes all the difference. From splitting bills with friends to tracking daily spending, there’s something for every type of spender (and overspender).