Best budgeting apps for students
There are so many good budgeting apps on the market today that it can be tricky to find the perfect one—especially when you’re a student. To help you save time, we’ve picked six of the best free budgeting apps you can try right now.
Why should students use budgeting apps?
Understanding student living costs as well as the value of budgeting and long-term saving are good life skills that will serve you well after you leave uni.
Budgeting apps are really helpful tools for tracking expenses, setting financial goals and gaining visibility into your money's flow. There are many free budget apps available, but they sometimes have limited features compared to budgeting apps you pay for. Find out some great money saving tips for students.
Using a budget planner app or banking via an app with budgeting features can help you avoid unnecessary stress and financial worry. Let’s explore some of the highest recommended budget apps for students.
Six budgeting apps for students
1. Monzo
Monzo is a free banking app that allows you to open a fully regulated current account in the UK. The setup process is really simple, which means you can get banking almost instantly.
What’s great about the Monzo app is that it has many built-in budget features and money-saving tips. You can organise your money into several ‘pots’, which helps you to assign budgets to various types of expenses. Plus, the app provides regular insight into your money habits and gives tips on where you could save.
Getting a Monzo account has some other student-friendly benefits, including a 4.35% AER interest rate on a savings account, a weekly claim on a treat from Greggs and an annual railcard with Trainline.
2. Emma
Emma is one of the best money management apps available at the moment and has lots of cool budgeting features.
The app uses open banking to combine information from all of your bank accounts, savings accounts, credit cards and investments. It then uses this information to analyse your spending and set detailed budgets. It also tracks your subscriptions and any other fees you may not be aware of.
With the free Emma account, you can only connect two bank accounts. If you’d like to connect more then there are monthly subscription options.
3. Splitwise
Splitwise is an amazing free budget app for organising and splitting shared expenses. It’s handy for students who have housemates and need to share big and small costs.
Splitwise allows you to add and split expenses easily. When you need to settle a balance, you can do so quickly via instant online payment.
The app has various core features, including offline mode, calculating total balances and the ability to categorise expenses. You can pay for Splitwise Pro, which then offers cool benefits like receipt scanning, ad-free usage and an unlimited number of expenses that can be added.
4. Snoop
Snoop is another free budget app that connects all your bank accounts and tracks spending patterns. The app offers money-saving suggestions and health checks on your accounts so you can flag any unnecessary spending or unforeseen fees.
It’s great for students who want to see all their transactions in one place while also creating dedicated budgets for specific expenses, like groceries, takeaways or entertainment.
5. HyperJar
HyperJar is a prepaid debit card and money app that allows you to create dedicated ‘jam jars’ for specific expenses. Besides being free, HyperJar offers rewards and cashback from certain brands and has a splitting bills feature.
HyperJar is good for students who might need stricter rules around spending. It actually allows you to restrict or block spending at certain merchants, meaning you won’t be able to spend money from certain jars if you’ve enabled this feature.
6. Chip
If saving and investing are your main priorities, Chip is an automatic savings and investment app that aims to help you build long-term wealth.
With Chip, you have access to several savings account options, including cash ISAs and easy-access savings accounts. From an investment point of view, the app allows you to invest via Chip’s Stocks and Shares ISA.
What’s cool about Chip is that it also features an automatic spending analysis, so you know exactly how much you’re putting in and taking out. Plus, you can set specific savings goals and track how you’re faring against those goals.
How to pick the best budget app
Not sure which budget planner app is right for you? Weigh up certain features and choose one that best aligns with your budgeting needs and saving goals. Remember, make sure to do your homework and read all the T&Cs before choosing one (especially if you choose a budgeting app that’s not free).
At iQ, we know how important it is to stick to a budget, which is why we try to make living with us simple and cost-effective. Your rent at iQ includes all your bills, so you don’t have to worry about managing multiple bills or service providers. You’ll know what you need to pay and when ahead of time, making it easier for you to manage your bills each month while at uni.
If you have any questions, visit our website for more information. Another great way to reduce your monthly outgoings is to eat on a budget, this can be achieved by purchasing food in bulk/smartly, or even meal prepping.
