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 21 May 2021
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?"
Your free guide to budget apps, thanks to Booster and mybudgetpal
  • This MoneyHub guide is sponsored by our friends at Booster who power the popular mybudgetpal
  • mybudgetpal is a free web app that gives you a complete view of your finances; it tracks your spending so you can compare spending over different periods and isolate areas or habits that need attention.
  • Best of all, it is 100% secure and syncs with all New Zealand bank accounts. 

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:
  1. ​mybudgetpal for Budgeting, Tracking and Saving
  2. Money Lover for Budgeting Simplicity
  3. PocketSmith for Anyone with Multiple Income Streams
  4. Splitwise for Splitting Expenses
  5. Fudget for a No-Frills App
  6. Spendee for Customisation
  7. ​CashNav for Automated Updates
  8. You Need a Budget to Help Anyone Living Payday to Payday

Booster's mybudgetpal

In 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?
  • mybudgetpal gives you a complete view of your finances; it tracks your spending so you can compare spending over different periods and isolate areas or habits that need attention.
  • Spending limits are a feature (meaning you can save more and incur less unnecessary expenses by seeing where your money goes)

Does it sync automatically with New Zealand bank accounts?
Yes

Pros:
  • mybudgetpal syncs with your bank accounts every day and automatically sorts your transactions into expense categories. This means you can have a single view on where you're spending your money.
  • Spending limits help change behaviours.
  • A budgeting module lets you schedule upcoming bills and payment due dates to get motivated.
  • You don't need to be a Booster customer to use it.

Cons:
  • It's not an app as you access it via a secure website. The helpful FAQs explain that your data is safe and secure.

​Cost: Free
Website: Booster mybudgetpal App (online only, not available on the Apple App Store or Google Play)

​Money Lover

Money 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:
  • Get the big-spending picture all at once
  • Works across all devices including phones, tablets, and PCs
  • It’s free
  • Works with any currency (i.e. NZD) and updates it according to current exchange rates
  • See your spending in categories, making it easier to determine where you need to cut back

Cons:
  • You must manually input transactions rather than automatic uploads.

Cost: $0 
Website: Moneylover.me
Apple App Store: Download (rating 4.6/5)
Google Play: Download (rating 4.5/5)

PocketSmith

Most 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:
  • Has a safe-to-spend feature so you always know how much you can spend without going over your budget
  • If you have a paid account, all transactions are updated automatically via bank feeds from NZ banks
  • Forecasting your budget/a cash flow is the key to financial security and freedom
  • You can cancel at any time (or change your plan)
  • It’s affordable for what it provides, and if you pay upfront for 12 months, there is a 25% discount

Cons:
  • It’s got a hefty learning curve for the average user, but the efforts pay off with full oversight into all your money
  • The free plan is pretty basic

​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:
  • You can split bills/expenses with anyone and track them in the app
  • Splitwise sends reminders at month-end, so everyone knows where they stand
  • You can settle your amount owed at any time
  • You can settle up in any form of payment, but you must enter cash payments manually
  • It’s free

Cons:
  • You may be subjected to ads in exchange for the ‘free’ app
  • You can’t track your own expenses, only shared expenses

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
  • This MoneyHub guide is sponsored by our friends at Booster who power the popular mybudgetpal
  • mybudgetpal is a free web app that gives you a complete view of your finances; it tracks your spending so you can compare spending over different periods and isolate areas or habits that need attention.
  • Best of all, it is 100% secure and syncs with all New Zealand bank accounts. 

Fudget

Sometimes 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:
  • It’s easy to use – anyone can get set up and using it in minutes
  • You can set up recurring deposits or withdrawals by clicking the star next to the item
  • If you mark your expenses as paid, you can view reports on only what you’ve spent
  • It’s secure with passcode login 
  • Adding or changing an item takes only seconds

Cons:
  • Some users say it’s too simple
  • You can’t create categories

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)

Spendee

Sometimes 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?
  • Spendee syncs with ANZ, ASB, BNZ, Co-operative, Kiwibank, TSB, Westpac and PayPal. 
  • Spendee allows you to create budgets for each category, alerting you if you’re nearing your limit. It’s like someone tapping you on the shoulder and telling you not to spend – sometimes that’s all we need. We love the infographics that make it easy to see at a glance how you’re doing, rather than reading reports and trying to decipher them. A quick glance at an infographic while in the store may be enough motivation not to spend.

Does it sync automatically with New Zealand bank accounts?
Yes

Pros:
  • You can add multiple bank accounts, so you have all budgeting information in one place
  • Automatic categorization to save you time and hassle
  • You can set up multiple budgets for different categories
  • You can share your wallet or budget with others, which is great for group gifts, weddings, or large events 
  • You can track cryptocurrency too

Cons:
  • The graphs are basic, which may leave a little to be desired if you want detailed reporting
  • It doesn’t recognize manual transactions as recurring transactions

​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?
  • CashNav offers robust reporting options, of which our favourite is the comparison of this month’s spending to previous months. This keeps you accountable. If you spent more, figure out what happened and what you can change.
  • Maybe you need to budget for unexpected expenses better or you need a sinking fund for holidays and irregular expenses. If you spent less, congratulate yourself and put the ‘extra’ money away to save for a rainy day.

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:
  • CashNav sends reminders when you haven’t used the app in a while keeping you on track with budgeting
  • It’s easy to set up and link to your debit and credit card accounts
  • It’s free to use (it's marketed as a Westpac customer benefit)
  • You can easily identify where you spend too much or too often and figure out ways to pull back
  • You can view daily summaries, which can be empowering when you’re trying to get motivated

Cons:
  • You can’t enter transactions manually, such as cash transactions
  • You must be a Westpac customer to use it

​Cost: Free
Website: Westpac CashNav
Apple App Store: Download (rating 2.2/5)
Google Play: Download (rating 2.8/5)

​You Need a Budget

Living 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:
  • YNAB automatically syncs across all devices, so all household members are on the same page and don’t overspend unknowingly
  • You can set up goals and learn how to achieve them.
  • It works on iOS and Android phones, Apple Watch, Alexa, and iPads
  • You’ll learn a whole new budgeting method
  • It’s flexible, letting you roll with the punches when life throws you financial lemons

Cons:
  • You have to use it consistently for it to work because it’s a whole new way of budgeting
  • It’s rather expensive for a budgeting app. Our view is that, if used correctly, it will save over NZ$200 a year in fees, interest charges and other costs. But at $4/week, it's a commitment to anyone already financially stretched. 

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:
  1. Do you trust an app to link to your bank account?
  2. 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
  • This MoneyHub guide is sponsored by our friends at Booster who power the popular mybudgetpal
  • mybudgetpal is a free web app that gives you a complete view of your finances; it tracks your spending so you can compare spending over different periods and isolate areas or habits that need attention.
  • Best of all, it is 100% secure and syncs with all New Zealand bank accounts. 
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