Best Budget Apps for New Zealanders - The Definitive Guide
Avoiding running out of money is possible with budgeting apps - our guide looks at eight popular options that help New Zealanders to manage their money and make better financial decisions
Updated 10 July 2024
Keeping track of your day to day spending isn't easy, and it's not uncommon to find yourself declined once in a while when using a card. Budgeting apps have proven to be a popular way to get control of spending by seeing where you spend your money (and when it's likely to run out).
Whether you need an app that budgets your bills, alerts you to when your bank balance is running low, or something to split bills, our list covers the best available in New Zealand. Best of all, many of the apps are free, and all are available on iOS and Android devices.
Know this first: Several of the apps integrate with New Zealand bank accounts. This means you'll have access to your data and can see your financial situation in a graph or table. We have highlighted each app's bank account sync-status under "Does it sync automatically with New Zealand bank accounts?"
Whether you need an app that budgets your bills, alerts you to when your bank balance is running low, or something to split bills, our list covers the best available in New Zealand. Best of all, many of the apps are free, and all are available on iOS and Android devices.
Know this first: Several of the apps integrate with New Zealand bank accounts. This means you'll have access to your data and can see your financial situation in a graph or table. We have highlighted each app's bank account sync-status under "Does it sync automatically with New Zealand bank accounts?"
Your free guide to budget apps, thanks to Booster and mybudgetpal
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Our Top 8 Budgeting Apps for Everyday New Zealand Life
Our list below includes apps for a number of different purposes. Our Best Budget Apps include:
- mybudgetpal for Budgeting, Tracking and Saving
- Money Lover for Budgeting Simplicity
- PocketSmith for Anyone with Multiple Income Streams
- Splitwise for Splitting Expenses
- Fudget for a No-Frills App
- Spendee for Customisation
- CashNav for Automated Updates
- You Need a Budget to Help Anyone Living Payday to Payday
Booster's mybudgetpalIn a nutshell, Booster's mybudgetpal is a program that that synchs with your bank account and is free to use. Additionally, you don't need to be a member of the Booster KiwiSaver Scheme.
Why we like it?
Does it sync automatically with New Zealand bank accounts? Yes Pros:
Cons:
Cost: Free Website: Booster mybudgetpal App (online only, not available on the Apple App Store or Google Play) |
Our Top-Rated All-in-One Budget App & Savings Account With Day-to-Day Flexibility
What sets Savvy apart?
More details: Our Savvy Review explains the product in detail, as does the Savvy website. |
​Money LoverMoney Lover sets out to make budgeting simple. With a free app, it offers an interface that is user-friendly, making it easy for anyone to enter transactions in just a few seconds. You don’t have to worry about re-entering recurring transactions, and in fact, it sends you reminders of your recurring bill due dates so you can say goodbye to late fees or credit card interest.
Why we like Money Lover? You can set up a savings plan/goal, as well as a debt and loan repayment plan. Easily see where you stand with any of your goals, make adjustments as needed, and even scan your receipts for safekeeping. Does it sync automatically with New Zealand bank accounts? No - you'll need to upload transactions manually. Pros:
Cons:
Cost: $0 Website: Moneylover.me Apple App Store: Download (rating 4.6/5) Google Play: Download (rating 4.5/5) |
PocketSmithMost budgeting apps don’t accommodate more than one income; PocketSmith does. Whether you have two jobs or a day job and a few side gigs, track all your income in one place with PocketSmith.
Why we like it? PocketSmith offers the ability to forecast your cash flow. If FIRE (financially independent, retire early) is on your radar, you must master this skill. Pocketsmith offers the tools to make this easier, by allowing you to forecast a budget to help achieve your goals Know this: PocketSmith is free if you manually input your transactions and want to project your cash flow for 6 months ahead. If you want auto synching and to forecast your cash flow for 10 years to truly achieve FIRE, the paid plans start at NZ$9.95/month. Does it sync automatically with New Zealand bank accounts? Yes Pros:
Cons:
Cost: Free to NZ$19.95/month, depending on what features you want. Website: Pocket Smith Apple App Store: Download (rating 3.3/5) Google Play: Download (rating 3.6/5) |
Splitwise (for Splitting Expenses)Do you live with flatmates or share expenses with friends and family? Keeping track can get difficult, right? Splitwise makes it easy to keep track of every detail, including the total bill, how much each person owes and the outstanding balance.
Why we like it? Splitwise works with any type of expenses, whether you’re splitting a trip, the rent, or a restaurant bill. You add expenses in less than a minute on your phone and track payments as they come in. Once you settle up, just input the amount paid, and the balance automatically updates. Does it sync automatically with New Zealand bank accounts? No - you'll need to upload transactions manually. Pros:
Cons:
Cost: Free Website: Splitwise Apple App Store: Download (rating 4.4/5) Google Play: Download (rating 4.4/5) |
Your free guide to budget apps, thanks to Booster and mybudgetpal
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FudgetSometimes you just want something straightforward that looks at your budget, tells you where you stand and that’s it. Fudget provides just that. While it doesn’t have a lot of bells and whistles, that’s what some people love about it - it keeps everything simple.
Why we like it? You can create multiple budgets, tracking your income and expenses, knowing where you stand at any time. You set up the frequency of reporting, daily, weekly, or monthly, and can choose your currency, using the app on any Android or Apple device. Does it sync automatically with New Zealand bank accounts? No - you'll need to upload transactions manually. Pros:
Cons:
Cost: US$6.99 one-time fee (around NZ$11) Website: Fudget Apple App Store: Download (rating 4.8/5) Google Play: Download (rating 4.7/5) |
SpendeeSometimes you want to add manual transactions to an app, whether you pay cash or something changes and you want to update your budget app. Spendee offers the best of both worlds, automatically syncing with all major New Zealand bank accounts, but also allowing manual updates too. This allows for more accurate record-keeping, especially if you do a great deal of spending in cash.
Why we like it?
Does it sync automatically with New Zealand bank accounts? Yes Pros:
Cons:
Cost: US$22.99/year (around NZ$37/year) if you want bank synchronisation Website: Spendee Apple App Store: Download (rating 4.5/5) Google Play: Download (rating 2.9/5) |
CashNav (Westpac Customers Only)If you aren’t the type to manually enter transactions, consider CashNav. You link your everyday bank account to it, and CashNav uploads your transactions automatically. Now there’s no excuse why you can’t budget. CashNav automatically categorises your expenditures, but you can change the categories if they aren’t right. The only thing you can’t change is the category names themselves.
Why we like it?
Does it sync automatically with New Zealand bank accounts? Yes - but as it's a Westpac app, only Westpac bank accounts feed into CashNav. Pros:
Cons:
Cost: Free Website: Westpac CashNav Apple App Store: Download (rating 2.2/5) Google Play: Download (rating 2.8/5) |
​You Need a BudgetLiving payday-to-payday is anything but fun; and according to research from the BNZ, 41% of New Zealanders do it.
You Need a Budget ('YNAB') helps stop this from happening. Using the ‘envelope method’ it helps you live on last month’s money, not the money you didn’t earn yet. YNAB focuses on ‘ageing’ your money so that eventually, you have 30 days of expenses in your account at all times. What would it feel like to not rely on the money that’s coming in – paying your bills late because you haven’t gotten paid yet or not paying them at all if you have an irregular income? Why we like it? YNAB looks forward not backward – so rather than looking at the money you spent and can’t get back, you look at your money moving forward. YNAB claims it’s easier to budget that way or at least it’s harder to overspend when you’re looking forward. You’re less likely to make a mistake when you’re aware of it. Does it sync automatically with New Zealand bank accounts? No - you'll need to upload transactions manually. Pros:
Cons:
Cost: US$134.99 per year (around NZ$200/year) Website: You Need A Budget Apple App Store: Download (rating 4.8/5) Google Play: Download (rating 4.3/5) |
Best Budgeting Apps - Our View
- Before downloading and setting up a budgeting app, think about what you want to achieve and how much data you're comfortable with sharing. Specifically:
- Do you trust an app to link to your bank account?
- Would you prefer the automated updates?
- If you're fine with these, it's best to focus on the apps that link to your bank account (as not all do) given benefits from the power of your data.
- Alternatively, if you’d rather be in charge of inputting the transactions, consider a manually updated app – many of which are free because of the lack of updating they must do.
- Don’t overlook the other features - setting goals, viewing reports and having everything on one screen gives you powerful information. The general idea is to help you know what’s ‘safe to spend’ at any given time.
- Budgeting is important, and making it easy is even more important. Find the app that you think is easy, fun, and are most likely to use consistently to stay on budget.
Your free guide to budget apps, thanks to Booster and mybudgetpal
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