Which budgeting app should a beginner actually use in 2025? The honest answer depends on how hands-on you want to be with your money, whether you’re comfortable linking bank accounts to a third-party app, and what you’re trying to fix — overspending, saving for a goal, or just seeing where your money goes each month. This guide walks through the main options, what they cost, and who each one suits.
What makes an app good for beginners specifically
A budgeting app is software that tracks your income and spending, usually by connecting to your bank and credit card accounts, and organizes that data into categories so you can see patterns. For someone new to budgeting, the best apps share a few traits:
- Automatic transaction import — you shouldn’t have to manually enter every coffee purchase to get useful data.
- Plain-language categories — spending grouped into things like “groceries” or “subscriptions” rather than accounting jargon.
- A gentle learning curve — setup shouldn’t require an afternoon of tutorials.
- Clear pricing — no confusing tiers or hidden fees for basic features.
With those criteria in mind, here’s how the major players compare.
The main contenders
YNAB (You Need A Budget)
YNAB is built around a specific method: give every dollar a “job” before you spend it, rather than just tracking what you’ve already spent. This is called zero-based budgeting — income minus assigned expenses equals zero, meaning every dollar is accounted for somewhere, whether that’s rent, savings, or fun money.
This makes YNAB less of a passive tracker and more of a planning tool. Beginners who want to change their habits, not just observe them, tend to get the most out of it. The trade-off is a steeper learning curve than apps that just categorize your spending automatically. YNAB offers a free trial period, after which it requires a paid subscription — there’s no permanently free tier.
Best for: people who want to proactively plan spending, not just review it after the fact.
Mint’s successors (Credit Karma and alternatives)
Mint, long considered the default free budgeting app, was shut down by its parent company, with users pushed toward Credit Karma’s tools instead. Credit Karma offers some budgeting and net-worth tracking features, but it’s primarily a credit-monitoring product, and its budgeting functionality is less complete than what Mint offered. Anyone still searching for “Mint” in 2025 should know that gap in the market is exactly why apps like Monarch, Empower, and Copilot have grown quickly — many built specifically to catch former Mint users.
Best for: people who liked Mint’s automatic tracking style should look at its direct successors rather than trying to force Credit Karma into that role.
Monarch Money
Monarch positions itself as a modern replacement for Mint, with automatic account syncing, customizable categories, and shared budgeting for couples or households. It’s a paid app with no permanently free tier, but it includes a free trial. The interface is clean and leans toward simplicity, which suits beginners who want automation without the more rigid planning structure of YNAB.
Best for: beginners who want an automated, Mint-like experience and don’t mind paying a subscription.
Empower (formerly Personal Capital)
Empower’s budgeting tools are free, but the company’s business model centers on its paid wealth management service, so expect occasional prompts to speak with a financial advisor. Its real strength is net worth tracking — pulling together bank accounts, investments, and retirement accounts into one dashboard. The budgeting features are functional but secondary to this bigger-picture view.
Best for: beginners who already have some investments and want budgeting alongside a broader financial snapshot, not just spending categories.
Copilot Money
Copilot is a paid, subscription-only app, currently available primarily on Apple devices, known for a polished interface and smart categorization that improves the more you use it. It’s aimed at people who want automation but also want to review and adjust categories regularly, rather than a fully hands-off tool.
Best for: Apple users who want a visually clean app and don’t mind paying for it from day one.
Goodbudget
Goodbudget takes a different approach: it’s based on the envelope system, a budgeting method where you divide money into virtual “envelopes” for different spending categories and stop spending in a category once its envelope is empty. Unlike most apps on this list, Goodbudget does not automatically import bank transactions in its free tier — you enter transactions manually or upgrade for some automation. That manual element is actually a feature for some beginners, since it forces more deliberate awareness of spending in the moment.
Best for: people who want the discipline of manual tracking and prefer the envelope method over automatic categorization.
EveryDollar
EveryDollar, created by personal finance personality Dave Ramsey’s company, also follows a zero-based budgeting approach similar to YNAB, but with a simpler interface. The free version requires manual transaction entry; automatic bank syncing is reserved for the paid tier. Beginners drawn to Ramsey’s broader debt-payoff philosophy often start here since the app integrates with that method.
Best for: beginners following a structured debt-payoff or savings plan who want a straightforward zero-based tool.
Matching apps to financial goals
If your goal is simply seeing where money goes
Look at Monarch or Empower. Both automatically categorize spending with minimal setup, giving you a clear picture without requiring a new budgeting method to learn.
If your goal is stopping overspending
YNAB, Goodbudget, or EveryDollar suit this better, since all three are built around assigning money to categories in advance rather than reviewing spending after it happens. Deciding where money goes before you spend it tends to curb impulse purchases more effectively than after-the-fact tracking.
If your goal is building savings or paying off debt
EveryDollar’s integration with a broader debt-payoff framework can help if you want structure and accountability beyond the app itself. YNAB also works well here, since its category system can include dedicated savings goals with target dates and amounts.
If your goal is tracking overall financial health, not just monthly spending
Empower is the strongest choice, since its net worth dashboard pulls in investment and retirement accounts alongside everyday spending, giving a fuller picture than apps focused solely on budgets.
A few practical considerations before choosing
- Bank-linking security — most of these apps use third-party services to connect to your bank rather than storing your login credentials directly. It’s reasonable to research an app’s data-handling practices before connecting accounts.
- Free trials expire — several apps mentioned here offer free trials rather than permanent free tiers, so check what happens to your data and budgeting history if you decide not to continue paying.
- Manual vs. automatic entry — automation saves time but can also make budgeting feel passive. If you struggle with mindless spending, a manual-entry app may build better habits even though it takes more effort upfront.
Conclusion
There isn’t a single best budgeting app for every beginner — the right choice depends on whether you want automation or hands-on control, and whether your priority is visibility, saving, or debt payoff. YNAB and EveryDollar suit people who want to plan spending in advance; Monarch and Empower suit those who want automatic tracking with minimal setup; and Goodbudget offers a manual, envelope-based option for anyone who wants deliberate control over every dollar. Trying the free trial or free tier of two or three of these is a reasonable way to find the fit before committing to a paid subscription.