"Free" in the personal finance app world is one of the most abused words in marketing. Most apps offer a 30-day free trial, then charge £10–£15/month. A few offer a genuinely limited free tier. And almost none offer a genuinely useful free tier.

This guide cuts through the noise. We tested every major budget app and graded each one on whether the free tier is actually useful — or just a long advertisement for the paid version.

What We Looked For

A budget app's free tier earns a high grade if it:

Doesn't expire after a trial period
Lets you track real spending (not just view a demo)
Covers at least expenses, budgets, and one other area (subscriptions, loans, or net worth)
Doesn't constantly push you toward upgrading

The Rankings

1. FinTrackrr — Best Genuinely Free Budget App

FinTrackrr's free tier is the most useful we found. You get:

Up to 100 expenses tracked per month
2 active budgets with category limits and alerts
5 subscription trackers with renewal reminders
Bill tracking and due-date alerts
Basic investment and loan tracking
Net worth dashboard
AI financial insights (50 points/month)

That's more than most apps offer on their paid plans. There's no trial period — it's free forever. You can upgrade to Plus (£9.99/mo) for unlimited tracking and export features, or Premium (£19.99/mo) for receipt OCR scanning.

Verdict: A — Real free tier, no tricks.

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2. Empower (formerly Personal Capital)

Empower offers genuinely free budgeting and net worth tracking — with a catch. The app is primarily a wealth management platform. The free tools exist to funnel you toward their paid investment advisory service (which requires a £100,000+ minimum).

For budgeting: you get expense categorisation and a net worth tracker. But the subscription and loan tracking is minimal, and the app constantly nudges you toward financial advisor conversations.

Verdict: B — Free and real, but designed for high earners with investment portfolios.

3. Goodbudget

Goodbudget is genuinely free up to a point: 10 envelopes (budget categories) and 1 account. It's based on the envelope method — you assign money to categories at the start of the month and track against those envelopes.

The free tier is functional but narrow. No investment tracking, no subscription management, no net worth view. And envelope-based budgeting isn't for everyone.

Verdict: B− — Honest free tier, but limited to one budgeting method.

4. Rocket Money

Rocket Money's free tier lets you track spending and see your subscriptions — but to actually cancel subscriptions (its flagship feature) or access premium analytics, you need to pay $6–$12/month. The free tier also requires full bank account access.

Verdict: C+ — Free tier exists but the app's main value proposition is paywalled.

5. YNAB

YNAB doesn't have a free tier. It has a 34-day free trial, after which you pay £14.99/month or £109/year. It's one of the most expensive budget apps on the market.

It's a genuinely excellent app for zero-based budgeting. But calling it "free" would be dishonest.

Verdict: D — No real free tier. Trial only.

6. Monarch Money

Monarch is well-designed and feature-rich, but there's no free tier at all — just a 7-day trial. $9.99/month or $99.99/year.

Verdict: D — No free tier.

7. Copilot

iOS only, no free tier, $13/month. It's beautifully designed. But not free.

Verdict: F for this comparison — Not applicable.

Free Budget App Comparison Table

App	Free Tier?	Expenses	Budgets	Subscriptions	Net Worth	Paid Plan From
FinTrackrr	✓ Permanent	100/mo	2 budgets	5 tracked	✓	£9.99/mo
Empower	✓ Permanent	Unlimited	Basic	Limited	✓	Advisory only
Goodbudget	✓ Permanent	Unlimited	10 envelopes	✗	✗	$8/mo
Rocket Money	✓ Limited	Unlimited	Basic	View only	✗	$6/mo
YNAB	✗ Trial only	Unlimited	Unlimited	✓	Limited	£14.99/mo
Monarch Money	✗ Trial only	Unlimited	Unlimited	✓	✓	$9.99/mo

When a Paid App is Worth It

Free apps are excellent starting points. But there are situations where paying for a budget app makes sense:

You have complex finances: Multiple income sources, business expenses mixed with personal, investments across accounts — paid apps like YNAB or Monarch handle this better.
You want zero-based budgeting: YNAB's methodology is uniquely effective for people who want complete control of every penny.
You want joint account management: Monarch Money is the best for couples tracking shared finances.
You want receipt scanning: FinTrackrr Premium (£19.99/mo) adds OCR receipt scanning — snap a photo, it fills in the expense automatically.

The Verdict

If you want a free budget app that covers expenses, budgets, subscriptions, bills, loans, investments, and net worth — without a trial period and without bank syncing — FinTrackrr is the only app that does all of this for free.

Every other app either has no free tier, a limited trial, or requires bank account access as a condition of use.

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