Mint offers the best-known free budgeting app on the market.

The company protects your information by using bank-level encryption for all data, best practices for password security, third-party audits, and more.

YNAB says privacy and security are its top priority. The company offers extensive educational resources and customer support to keep you on track. The goal is to eventually get at least one month ahead, so you’re spending money you earned 30 days ago. YNAB offers a proactive budgeting approach rather than tracking what you have already spent, like some competitors.Īfter signing up, you create your first budget and assign every dollar a purpose, such as your rent or car payment. To begin, the company suggests learning the basics about the app through video courses, a live workshop, or reading a guide.

YNAB allows you to sync your bank accounts, import your data from a file, or manually enter each transaction. If you prefer to pay less upfront, the cost is $14.99 per month. The company offers a free trial for 34 days (no credit card required), and after that, the cost is $99 per year.

YNAB rises to the top of our list because of its budgeting philosophy.

Apple budget app