logo

Our Favorite Free Personal Finance and Budgeting Apps for Renters

Lilly Milman

By Lilly Milman

Sep 27, 2023


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.

Splitwise 

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.

Acorns

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.

Empower

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.

Zeta

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.

Mint

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.

Goodbudget

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.

We rate and sort every listing based on fair market rent.

Start your search

Top metro areas

Albuquerque Metro Apartments

409 apartments starting at $550/month

Atlanta Metro Apartments

1,349 apartments starting at $650/month

Austin Metro Apartments

1,524 apartments starting at $542/month

Bakersfield Metro Apartments

356 apartments starting at $400/month

Baltimore Metro Apartments

893 apartments starting at $500/month

Birmingham Metro Apartments

507 apartments starting at $495/month

Boston Metro Apartments

2,946 apartments starting at $650/month

Charlotte Metro Apartments

933 apartments starting at $549/month

Chicago Metro Apartments

2,544 apartments starting at $400/month

Cincinnati Metro Apartments

671 apartments starting at $595/month

Cleveland Metro Apartments

820 apartments starting at $450/month

Colorado Springs Metro Apartments

763 apartments starting at $500/month

Columbus Metro Apartments

1,185 apartments starting at $490/month

Dallas Fort Worth Metro Apartments

2,874 apartments starting at $400/month

Denver Metro Apartments

1,810 apartments starting at $450/month

Detroit Metro Apartments

1,118 apartments starting at $500/month

El Paso Metro Apartments

262 apartments starting at $550/month

Fresno Metro Apartments

294 apartments starting at $700/month

Hartford Metro Apartments

169 apartments starting at $750/month

Honolulu Metro Apartments

580 apartments starting at $500/month

Houston Metro Apartments

1,161 apartments starting at $400/month

Indianapolis Metro Apartments

715 apartments starting at $475/month

Jacksonville Metro Apartments

963 apartments starting at $550/month

Kansas City Metro Apartments

1,175 apartments starting at $410/month

Las Vegas Metro Apartments

1,570 apartments starting at $600/month

Los Angeles Metro Apartments

5,539 apartments starting at $400/month

Louisville Metro Apartments

376 apartments starting at $495/month

Memphis Metro Apartments

1,018 apartments starting at $450/month

Miami Metro Apartments

934 apartments starting at $950/month

Milwaukee Metro Apartments

711 apartments starting at $485/month

Minneapolis Metro Apartments

1,545 apartments starting at $500/month

Nashville Metro Apartments

629 apartments starting at $837/month

New Orleans Metro Apartments

318 apartments starting at $600/month

New York City Metro Apartments

1,168 apartments starting at $500/month

Oklahoma City Metro Apartments

1,198 apartments starting at $525/month

Omaha Metro Apartments

462 apartments starting at $445/month

Orlando Metro Apartments

1,321 apartments starting at $550/month

Philadelphia Metro Apartments

1,988 apartments starting at $500/month

Phoenix Metro Apartments

1,808 apartments starting at $598/month

Pittsburgh Metro Apartments

1,015 apartments starting at $400/month

Portland Metro Apartments

2,095 apartments starting at $415/month

Raleigh Metro Apartments

843 apartments starting at $595/month

Richmond Metro Apartments

686 apartments starting at $625/month

Riverside Metro Apartments

474 apartments starting at $550/month

Sacramento Metro Apartments

1,002 apartments starting at $525/month

Salt Lake City Metro Apartments

676 apartments starting at $600/month

San Antonio Metro Apartments

1,246 apartments starting at $525/month

San Diego Metro Apartments

1,739 apartments starting at $590/month

San Francisco Metro Apartments

1,955 apartments starting at $895/month

San Jose Metro Apartments

699 apartments starting at $1,000/month

Seattle Metro Apartments

1,976 apartments starting at $495/month

St. Louis Metro Apartments

1,024 apartments starting at $495/month

Tampa Metro Apartments

1,010 apartments starting at $795/month

Tucson Metro Apartments

505 apartments starting at $499/month

Tulsa Metro Apartments

452 apartments starting at $500/month

Virginia Beach Metro Apartments

527 apartments starting at $700/month

Washington Metro Apartments

884 apartments starting at $620/month

Wichita Metro Apartments

390 apartments starting at $425/month