7 Budgeting Apps to Help You Stay on Top of Your Money

• We’ve rounded up the best budgeting apps in Australia for different money habits.
• Raiz is for passive savers who want to invest spare change through round-ups.
• PocketSmith is for power users who want forecasting and deeper cashflow tools.
• Up, CommBank, Westpac, NAB and ANZ Plus all offer useful budgeting features inside their banking apps.
• Frollo is a free option thanks to Open Banking account connections.
• MoneyMe is better treated as a credit score tool than a full budgeting app.

Most budgeting apps promise control. The better ones show you what’s actually happening with your money before your bank balance ruins your weekend, because as we all know, life is getting more expensive.

Budgeting isn’t just just about colour-coded spreadsheets. Sometimes it’s knowing your bills are covered. Sometimes it’s working out why the small stuff keeps adding up faster than expected. Other times, it’s seeing your loans, credit cards, subscriptions, savings goals and spending habits all in one place without needing five separate logins.

The ‘best’ budgeting app depends on how you actually manage your money and what your goals are. Some people need a full financial command centre. Others need an app that rounds up spare change, tracks bills or gently reminds them their Uber Eats habit is getting out of hand.

Below, we’ve rounded up some of the best budgeting apps in Australia by use case, from passive investing and debt tracking to serious forecasting and budgeting tools already built into your bank app.

General advice warning: This article is general in nature and doesn’t take your personal financial situation into account. Before using any app that connects to your bank accounts, investments or credit profile, check the provider’s security, fees, terms and suitability for your own circumstances.

Best Budgeting Apps in Australia: Quick Comparison

App	Built For	Cost	Standout Feature
Raiz	Passive savers and novice investors	Paid plans	Automatic round-ups
PocketSmith	Power users and planners	Free and paid plans	Long-term cashflow forecasting
Up	Barefoot-style bank budgeting	Free banking app	Spendable Balance, Upcoming bills and Savers
WeMoney	Debt tracking and credit score awareness	Free app	Account syncing
Frollo	Free Open Banking budgeting	Free	CDR-powered account connections
YNAB	Zero-based budgeting	Paid subscription	Every-dollar budgeting method
MoneyMe	Credit score tracking	Free credit score tool	Free credit score insights

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1. Raiz: Built for Passive Savers

Raiz is the budgeting-adjacent app for people who want to start doing something with their money without it becoming a full-time commitment. Its big feature is automatic round-ups. You link an eligible debit or credit card, Raiz tracks the spare change from purchases rounded up to the nearest dollar, then invests it once your round-ups hit the minimum threshold.

You can also add recurring or lump sum investments, but for budgeting purposes, the appeal is simple: everyday spending can become an investing habit over time. It won’t turn a coffee run into a property deposit, but it can make starting feel less like a major life admin task. Raiz says users can start investing from as little as $5.

That makes it a strong option for beginners, especially those who find traditional budgeting too fiddly. Once it’s set up, you can spend as you normally would and let the round-ups do their thing.

The trade-off is that Raiz is more of a micro-investing platform than a pure budgeting app. If you want deep bill tracking, future cashflow forecasts or shared household budgets, you’ll probably want something more detailed.

• Built for: Novices, passive savers, people who like automation
• Watch out for: Fees, investment risk and the fact that it won’t replace a proper budget
• Our take: Good for the person who knows they should be doing something with their money, but doesn’t want a spreadsheet judging them.

2. PocketSmith: Built for Power Users

PocketSmith is the app for people who want a bit of financial foresight. Sure, it’s handy knowing how much you spent last weekend, but with PocketSmith, you can see how today’s spending might affect next month’s balance, before the bills, subscriptions and annual expenses come knocking.

The platform is built around linked accounts, budgets and long-term forecasting. PocketSmith says users can track income, expenses, assets and net worth, customise budgets and forecast cashflow decades into the future. There are also tools for upcoming bills, budgets, expected balances and cashflow statements.

It’s built for people with more moving parts. The self-employed, couples with multiple accounts, people with mortgages, investors and anyone juggling irregular income will get more out of PocketSmith than someone who just wants to stop spending $80 a week on takeaway.

That said, all that control does require a bit of attention. If your ideal budgeting app is something you open once a fortnight and understand at a glance, this might feel like too much.

• Built for: Power users, long-term planners, multiple-account households
• Watch out for: Setup time and feature overload
• Our take: If Raiz is set-and-forget, PocketSmith is sit-down-and-sort-your-life-out.

3. Up: The Banking App for Budgeting

Up is less a standalone budgeting app and more a bank account that has clearly thought about how people actually spend money.

Its budgeting strength comes from how its tools fit within the banking experience. Spendable Balance lets users switch between their available balance and the amount they can safely spend after upcoming expenses are accounted for. Basically, it helps stop your balance from pretending all your money is actually available.

Upcoming tracks regular bills, payments and subscriptions, while Pay Day and Insights help users understand what’s coming in, what’s going out and where their money is going. Savers, Round Ups and Pay Splitting can also help separate and automate money for bills, expenses and goals.

This makes Up a good fit for people who like the Barefoot Investor-style bucket approach. Money comes in, then gets split into specific accounts called Savers. Rent. Bills. Holiday. Emergency fund. You can still see the full balance, but those splits make it harder to forget what that money is actually for.

The limitation is that Up works best when you actually bank with Up. If your financial life is spread across a major bank, a credit card, a mortgage offset and a separate savings account, it won’t give you the same full picture as a dedicated aggregation app.

• Built for: Everyday banking, bucket budgeting, simple savings goals
• Watch out for: Limited usefulness if Up isn’t your main account
• Our take: Good if you want your bank to do more of the nagging before you accidentally spend your electricity bill at dinner.

4. WeMoney: Built for Debt Tracking

WeMoney is a broader financial wellness app built around connected accounts, spending, debt visibility and credit score tracking.

The app lets users connect financial accounts, track transactions, set personalised goals and monitor their credit score. WeMoney also leans into debt repayment, including tools to break debt into manageable steps and surface offers that may help consolidate repayments. It also highlights transactions, which can help spot unused subscriptions before they quietly become part of the furniture.

That makes it useful for people who want more than category tracking. If your main concern is debt, credit cards or working out which repayments are doing the most damage, WeMoney offers a clearer picture than a basic bank app.

The thing to watch out for is the in-app product offers. Readers should understand how these offers are presented and whether the app may receive commissions or benefits. That doesn’t make it bad. It just means you should read the terms before treating every suggestion as personal advice.

• Best for: Debt tracking, credit score awareness, whole-of-money visibility
• Watch out for: Product recommendations and offer-based features
• Our take: Useful for people who don’t just want to know what they spent, but how the whole financial picture is looking.

5. YNAB: Best for Zero-Based Budgeting

YNAB, short for You Need A Budget, is less about passive tracking and more about changing the way you make spending decisions.

Its method is built around giving every dollar a job, which means assigning the money you already have to spending, saving or debt categories before it leaves your account. In practice, it shifts budgeting from “where did my money go?” to “what does this money need to do next?” YNAB also offers targets, reports, a loan planner, account syncing and shared subscriptions for partners, families or close-knit groups.

The pricing is also worth noting. YNAB currently offers an annual plan at USD$109, or a monthly plan at USD$14.99 per month, before any applicable tax, with a 34-day free trial.

That makes YNAB one of the more expensive options in this list, especially for Australians paying in USD. But the value depends on the person. If you’re committed to zero-based budgeting and want a system that encourages you to plan before you spend, YNAB can be powerful.

If you just want a spending tracker, it’s probably too intense.

• Best for: Zero-based budgeting, disciplined users, people who want The Method
• Watch out for: USD pricing and the steep learning curve
• Our take: Brilliant if you want a system. Annoying if you just wanted an app.

6. Frollo: The Free Budgeting App

Frollo is a free budgeting option in Australia, particularly if you want an app built around Open Banking. That’s the regulated, permission-based system designed to give customers more control over how their financial data is shared.

The app uses Consumer Data Right connections where available, allowing users to link accounts without handing over banking passwords. From there, Frollo can show bank accounts, credit cards, loans, super, investments, assets and liabilities in one place. Handy if your money is spread across enough places that checking it requires a Do Not Disturb sign on the door.

It also offers automatic transaction categorisation, budgets, goals, recurring bill tracking, net worth tracking and smart alerts for things like upcoming bills, unusual spending or low funds.

Frollo gives you account aggregation, spending visibility and budgeting tools without adding another paid subscription to the pile. The app is free, with no ads or promotions. For a lot of people, that simplicity matters.

The trade-off is that Frollo may not feel as polished or feature-heavy as paid tools like PocketSmith or YNAB. But for a free app that helps you see where your money is going, it earns its place here.

• Best for: Free budgeting, Open Banking users, account aggregation
• Watch out for: Less advanced forecasting than paid tools
• Our take: A practical pick for people who want a clear money picture without creating yet another monthly expense.

7. MoneyMe: The Credit Score Tool

MoneyMe belongs in this guide, but it should not be confused with a full budgeting app.

The MoneyMe app lets users check their credit score for free, track it over time and receive tips and insights into the factors that may influence it. MoneyMe’s broader app is built around lending products, including personal loans, car loans, debt consolidation and credit cards, so this is more of a credit and lending-adjacent tool than a day-to-day budget manager. Always something to watch out for.

That doesn’t make it irrelevant. Credit score visibility can be useful, particularly if you’re planning to apply for finance or trying to understand how lenders might view you. Think of it as a financial health check, not the app you open to work out whether groceries have blown out again this week.

• Best for: Credit score tracking
• Watch out for: Loan-related features and product offers
• Our take: Better as a financial health check than your main budgeting app.

Budgeting Tools You Might Already Have

Before downloading another app, it’s worth checking what your bank already offers. Most major Australian banks now include some version of spending categories, bill tracking, savings goals or budget planning inside their own apps.

Because if all your money already moves through one bank, the best budgeting app may be the one you already use. 

Banking Apps Built For Budgeting

Bank App	Budgeting Features	Best For	Limitation
Up	Spendable Balance, Upcoming bills and Savers	Barefoot-style bucket budgeting	Best if you bank with Up
CommBank	Money Plan, Category Budgets, Spend Tracker	CBA customers wanting basic structure	Less useful across non-CBA accounts
Westpac	Spend categories, Budget Planner, Bills Calendar, Cashflow, Savings Finder, Subscription Manager	Broad in-app budgeting tools	Best if Westpac is your main bank
NAB	Spending tool, Budgets, automatic categories	Simple category-based budgeting	More practical than powerful
ANZ Plus	Budget tracking, automatic spend sorting, savings goals	ANZ Plus users	Specific to ANZ Plus accounts

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The Big Four Bank Apps

CommBank’s Category Budgets feature lets users set weekly, fortnightly or monthly budgets across spending categories, while Money Plan can show spending by week, fortnight or month.

Westpac has a larger suite of in-app tools, including spend categories, Budget Planner, Bills Calendar, Cashflow, Savings Finder, Tax Organiser and Subscription Manager. 

NAB’s Spending and Budgets tools automatically categorise transactions and let users set budgets across different categories.

ANZ Plus also offers budget tracking, automatic spend sorting and multiple savings goals through its app. 

Bank apps are convenient because they don’t ask you to connect to another service or pay for another subscription. They’re usually strongest when your spending happens in one place. Once your money is spread across different banks, cards, loans and investments, a dedicated budgeting app starts to make more sense.

Which Budgeting App Should You Choose?

As always, you’ll need to assess all of the above based on your own needs, but in general, the best budgeting app is the one you’ll still be using after the first couple of check-ins.

• If you want something automatic, start with Raiz or your bank app.
• If you want a full view across accounts, look at Frollo or WeMoney.
• If you want detailed planning, PocketSmith is the serious option.
• If you want a stricter budgeting method, YNAB is built for that.
• If your main concern is credit health, MoneyMe is useful, but it should sit beside your budgeting app rather than replace it.

For most Australians, the best budgeting app will likely be either Frollo, WeMoney or the budgeting tools already built into your bank app. PocketSmith is a good choice for deeper forecasting, Raiz is best for passive investing, and YNAB is for people who want a proper system and are willing to pay for it.

The right app won’t fix your finances on its own. What it can do is make the pattern harder to ignore. And for most people, that’s where a better budget actually starts.

Common Questions About Budgeting Apps