Our Favorite Free Personal Finance and Budgeting Apps for Renters

Balancing rent, bills, transportation costs, household purchases, and an entertainment budget can be tricky — especially if you have roommates who you share costs with or it’s your first year living out on your own. If you are struggling to set spending limits and feel like your paycheck somehow disappears as soon as it hits your bank account, worry not. We found a few of the best free budgeting apps that make smarter spending and saving easier. 

Read on for our list of personal finance and budgeting apps that are must-haves for renters looking to balance their budget.

If you live with roommates, Splitwise will save you some arguments about who is paying for all the toilet paper and trash bags. Log all purchases on the app, and it’ll keep a running tally of who owes who money. Plus, it’s integrated with Venmo and PayPal, so you’ll be able to pay each other back with ease.

If you are interested in investing but don’t feel you have enough savings left over after paying all of your bills, Acorns offers the solution. This budgeting tool rounds up your purchases, and then invests the difference for you. Even if you are only investing less than a dollar at a time, it’ll add up. Not only that, but it’ll also help you get used to the idea of investing.

For those who have trouble creating separate budgets — for food, entertainment, bills, etc. — Empower (formerly known as Personal Capital) helps by categorizing all of your purchases for you, and showing how much you spend in each one through user-friendly graphs and charts. It allows you to see your real-time net worth by collecting all of your financial account balances — like credit card and debit card statements, checking accounts, investment accounts, debts, and more — in one place, and it helps you meet customizable financial goals tailored to you, with advice and educational resources on saving and investing.

If you are cohabitating with a partner for the first time and are interested in sharing your finances, Zeta is a new banking app that makes having joint accounts easy. Track your bills, set savings goals together, track shared spending, and more.

Similar to Empower, Mint (an Intuit-made app) is a money management tool that helps you track spending habits across various spending categories. Mint can help empower you to start your personal budgeting journey by keeping an eye on your monthly spending habits, which in turn can help you make smarter financial planning decisions. In addition to tracking your cash flow, Mint will also give you a free credit score report, and flag any suspicious purchases made on any of your accounts. In addition to being a mobile app, it is also accessible on your desktop.

If you find yourself running out of much-needed cash for bills, Goodbudget is here to create a smart budgeting system for you. The app helps you set aside a certain amount of money for various expenses to help you stay on track with your bill payments. It also monitors your monthly income and helps you set goals for financial success. Never overspend on your monthly budget or worry about an upcoming bill again. (There is a paid and free version available.)

These free budgeting apps are all available on the Apple App Store and the Android Google Play store.