There are plenty of apps that can help you spend money – we’re looking at you, online shopping apps and games with in-app purchases.
But there are also some apps that can help you save money.
Whether you’re trying to draw up your monthly budget (and stick to it) or looking to round up purchases to top up your savings account, there’s an app on this list for you. Let’s take a look at some of the best money-saving apps Australia has to offer.
Budgeting Apps in Australia
Forget about manually managing your budget in ugly spreadsheets. A budgeting app can take the hard work out of tracking your finances – and even make them look presentable.
There are plenty of contenders for the title of best budget app in Australia, but here are 3 well-reviewed options that are worth a look:
MoneyBrilliant
- Standout features: Alerts for low balances and upcoming bills; tax-deductible suggestions; money priorities dashboard tailored to you; notifications about better deals
- Price: Free (basic version); $9.90/month or $99/year (MoneyBrilliant Plus)
- Available on: iPhones and Android phones
- Learn more about MoneyBrilliant
Pocketbook
- Standout features: Automatically organises spending into categories; helps you set a budget for each category just by tapping and swiping; provides finance notifications; syncs with most banks including ANZ, BOQ, Commonwealth Bank, NAB, Suncorp, Westpac and many more
- Price: Free
- Available on: iPhones and Android phones
- Learn more about Pocketbook
Moneytree
- Standout features: Keeps all your accounts, cards, super and cash amounts in one place; helps you view and analyse your spending habits with intuitive categories and graphics; also tracks loyalty points and rewards cards
- Price: Free, with optional monthly and yearly plans for paid services (Moneytree Grow and Moneytree Work)
- Available on: iPhones and Android phones
- Learn more about Moneytree
Don’t forget to explore your bank’s free app before exploring other options. It might have all the budgeting tools and support you need.
Round-Up Savings Apps in Australia
Remember putting loose change in a piggy bank? Many of those piggies only collect dust now, since most transactions are digital, but there’s a new way to put aside your spare “coins”.
When it comes to apps that round up purchases, Australia is still catching up to other countries. But we do have a few good options to choose from:
Sipora
- Standout features: Rounds up debit card purchases to the nearest $1, $2 or $5; large selection of stores to spend your savings on including Glassons, Vans, The Good Guys and many more
- Price: Free
- Available on: iPhones and Android phones
- Learn more about Sipora
Raiz
- Standout features: Invests your everyday spare change into a diversified portfolio; choose from 6 portfolio types ranging from conservative to aggressive; unlimited deposits and withdrawals
- Price: $2.50/month (accounts below $10,000) or 0.275% per year (larger accounts)
- Available on: iPhones and Android phones
- Learn more about Raiz
Other Money-Saving Apps in Australia
These great money-saving apps don’t fit in one of the categories above, but they’re still worth considering:
Splitwise
- Standout features: Great for organising and tracking shared expenses (e.g. with housemates, travel groups and family); adding expenses is easy; in-built system for sending online transfers and recording cash payments
- Price: Free, with optional paid subscription for premium features (e.g. receipt scanning and currency conversion)
- Available on: iPhones and Android phones
- Learn more about Splitwise
Quit That!
- Standout features: Tracks how much money you’ve saved since quitting alcohol, smoking, or any other expensive habit; records time since quitting as well
- Price: Free
- Available on: iPhones and Android phones
- Learn more about Quit That!
Keep reading: Looking for other ways your apps can improve your life? Check out these handy car-related apps.
If you need a temporary boost while these apps help you find your financial feet, a small cash loan from Cigno might be the answer. Borrow up to $1,000 here.