Top 10 Best Money and Finance Apps to Download in 2024

 

Personal finance technology has exploded in capabilities over the last decade. There is now a mobile app for practically any money management need – from budgeting, to investing, to tax preparation and more. The sheer volume of options can get overwhelming though when determining which finance apps are truly the most useful for your lifestyle.

 

To simplify your search, we compiled reviews of the 10 highest rated money management tools in their respective categories currently available in 2024:

1. Best Budgeting App: YNAB 

 

You Need a Budget (YNAB) stands atop the budgeting app landscape with a perfect blend of user-friendliness, flexibility and supporting resources. YNAB connects directly to bank accounts and credit cards to auto-import and categorize transactions, allowing hands-off tracking. 

 

Custom categories and budget amounts can be endlessly tailored to your lifestyle. YNAB prioritizes giving every dollar an assigned “job” whether that be groceries, rent, vacation savings or paying down debt. Their philosophy helps curb aimless spending. 

 

While the $99 annual fee seems steep, YNAB justifies cost through live workshops, courses, and an enthusiastic online community. The comprehensive resources make mastering budgeting concepts simple for novices and veterans alike. If desiring to graduate from spreadsheets, YNAB brings unmatched polish.

Features:

 

• Auto-import transactions from accounts
• Flexible categorization options
• iPhone + Android app  
• Bank-level encryption 
• Educational resources/support 

2. Best Investing App: Webull

 

Active stock and options traders looking to cost-effectively analyze markets, execute trades, and have eyes on accounts around the clock will love Webull. Their flagship mobile app provides everything self-directed investors need for executing personal financial strategies from anywhere.

 

Real-time streaming data spans major market indexes, equities, funds and futures. Customizable charting allows annotating with technical indicators to visualize pricing patterns. Alerts trigger trading opportunities.

 

Trades execute rapidly with lower fees than traditional online brokers. Generous promotional offers include free stocks for signing up and depositing funds. For DIY stock pickers, Webull packs amazing financial analysis firepower all in your pocket.  

Features:

  

• $0 commission stock, ETF, options trades
• Pre/post market trading hours 
• Charting with multiple indicators  
• Paper trading simulations
• Level 2 market data   

3. Best Micro-Investing App: Acorns 

 

Have you struggled to know where to begin investing small sums of money? Meet Acorns – the micro-investing app allowing anybody to turn virtual spare change into diversified portfolios.

 

When connecting Acorns to everyday debit/credit purchases, they automatically round up each transaction to the next dollar, investing the excess cents. Say you buy a $3.50 coffee, Acorns takes the $0.50 remainder and funnels it into your portfolio. These micro-deposits add up faster than imagined. 

 

For hands-off set-it-and-forget investors without the time, interest, or knowledge to choose individual stocks, Acorns offers perfect autopilot. Portfolios contain ETFs spanning thousands of stocks and bonds from around the globe.  Rebalancing maintains target asset class weightings. Start with literally just $5! 

Features:

 

• Automatic round-up investing  
• Globally diversified ETF portfolios
• Automated rebalancing   
• Low monthly fee tiers   
• Goal-based recommended portfolios

4. Best Personal Finance Tracker: Personal Capital 

 

Those yearning to efficiently aggregate all financial accounts in one place should use Personal Capital. By securely linking investment portfolios, bank accounts, credit cards, mortgages, auto loans etc, Personal Capital produces an interactive high level dashboard showing cash flow trends, balances, fees paid, net worth shifts over time, and more.

 

Powerful analytic tools make monitoring spending patterns, budget tendencies, portfolio allocations, fees paid and net worth effortless from anywhere on desktop or mobile. Alerts notify concerning account fraud, big portfolio changes, unusual cash flows, etc so growing wealth receives proper attention.

 

While the advisory services and premium features trigger fees, the core financial dashboard remains free and invaluable for tracking total financial health. Personal Capital offers account consolidation power unmatched elsewhere.  

Features:

 

• Overview of cash flow and transactions 
• Analyze portfolios across accounts
• Track household net worth  
• Secure account linking encryption
• Custom notifications and alerts

5. Best Debt Reduction App: Debt Payoff Planner

 

Anyone struggling under piles of oppressive credit card debt understands the burdensome stress it causes. Thankfully, the aptly named Debt Payoff Planner app helps motivate your climb to freedom.

 

Users input balances, interest rates, minimum payments, and optional extra monthly contributions across multiple credit accounts. The sleek interface shows total debt trends over time under different payment scenarios alongside motivating celebratory gifs when hitting milestones.  

 

Debt Payoff Planner empowers people to devise the most strategic repayment allocation guiding allocation of any bonus or windfall income influxes toward balances first. Say goodbye to wasteful interest payments!

Features:

 

• Set debt payoff target date  
• Strategize repayment allocation  
• Celebratory gifs upon milestones
• Track & chart debt snowball paydown 
• Sync across devices

6. Best Budget Spreadsheet App: Goodbudget  

 

For those that prefer a traditional spreadsheet method for budgeting instead of slickGraphs, the convenient GoodBudget app warrants a look. GoodBudget formats monthly finances across spending categories in simple rows and columns spanning income, expenditures, and goals.

 

Unlike some rigid budget templates, rows dynamically calculate category totals automatically as new expenses get added to provide real-time feedback on surplus or shortage. If dining out expenses overwhelm assumptions, simply adjust entertainment limits downward next month.

 

While functional mostly as an offline tool, GoodBudget syncs entries across devices when needing to reference budgets away from home. Exportable reports help year-end tax preparation showing charitable donations as well. For spreadsheet loyalists, GoodBudget brings simplicity.

Features:

  

• Easy to update spending log
• Sync across devices  
• Set saving goals
• Emailable PDF budget summary reports  
• Secure cloud or local data storage  

7. Best Cash Back App: Dosh 

 

As inflationary prices soar, everyone appreciates a good deal. Surprisingly, generous cashback offers hide in plain sight once you start looking. That is why loyal followers rave about Dosh and their automatic cash back accumulation into your account for normal everyday shopping conducted through partner merchants.

 

After securely linking credit/debit cards, Dosh monitors transactions in the background at places like Nike, Macy’s, Hilton, Expedia. When qualifying purchases register, anywhere from 3% to 12% cash back gets credited to your Dosh Wallet for redemption. Recent upgrades allow linking investment accounts like TD Ameritrade for automatic balance sweeps into those funds. Triggers compound wealth!

Features:

 

• Automatic cash back bonuses   
• Wide variety of participating brands
• Secure account connectivity  
• User-friendly app  
• Sweep cash to external accounts

8. Best Loan Comparison App: LendingTree  

 

If cringing at the thought of exorbitant interest rates from local bank branches, explore financing alternatives using LendingTree’s free online marketplace matching borrowers with ideal lending partners. Whether pursuing credit cards, auto loans, business lines of credit, student loan refinancing, mortgages, or more unique products like dental financing – LendingTree simplifies gathering competitive offers. 

 

By inputting your financial profile and loan needs just once, LendingTree can securely shop anonymized applications around to their network of over 1,800+ banking/lending institutions. The most attractive options cascade in over ensuing days – often with substantially lower rates than traditional outlets! Their app also aids credit monitoring and providing rate estimations.    

Features:

   

• Rate comparisons from 1,800+ lenders  
• Prequalification estimates   
• Credit score monitoring & analysis
• Home affordability calculator & planning
• Student loan refinancing portal  

9. Best Receipt Tracking App: Expensify   

 

Business travelers and self-employed individuals needing to closely track reimbursable expenses love Expensify. Remote workers can easily snap receipts for everything from client lunches, to office supplies purchases, to car mileage deductions using Expensify’s phone app. Their patented SmartScan technology reads receipt data automatically populating pertinent purchase info. 

 

Uploads sync seamlessly to the cloud dashboard for straight-forward categorization by project, customer, expense type, etc – making professional expense reports a breeze. Especially helpful for chasing clients down for owed reimbursements, receipt images provide supporting proof not found logging expenses manually. For serial receipt organizers without effort, Expensify simplifies dramatically.

Features: 

 

• SmartScan extracts key receipt data  
• Forward expenses easily for approval  
• Integrates with accounting software  
• Mileage reporting for drivers  
• Schedule reimbursement reminders   

10. Best Tax Prep App: TurboTax Tax Return App  

 

No list spotlighting financial helper apps is complete without including the legendary TurboTax mobile solution for DIY tax prep and filing. With over 30 years perfecting digital tax preparations trusted by millions, TurboTax makes the annual headache of crunching income, deductions, credits, capital gains, rental reports and the rest as painless as possible regardless of personal tax situation complexity. 

 

Intuitive Q&A guidance combined with intelligent data imports minimize inputs. TurboTax runs accuracy checks continuously in the background screening for errors and missing information. Filers can snap a photo of their W2 or import tax forms electronically when available. State returns cost additional depending on complexity. But for straightforward federal filing without CPAs, TurboTax probably offers the smoothest experience.

Features: 

 

• Guided tax situation questioning 
• Import W-2 & 1099 tax forms   
• Deduction assistant for maximize returns
• Error checking technology  
• State tax returns available 

Choose Apps Aligned to Financial Priorities

 

While no single app excels equally across all personal finance functions from budgeting, debt reduction, investing, taxes and beyond – each featured above earned their category crown by dramatically simplifying a major money management struggle point.

 

Hopefully the tailored app recommendations help pinpoint tailored solutions to address your unique financial pain points in this coming year and optimize success! Consistent usage pays compound dividends over time as app algorithms gain familiarity with your spending patterns and money behaviors.