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Saving money can often feel like an uphill battle. Whether you’re dreaming of a tropical getaway or trying to build an emergency fund, the struggle to set money aside is real.
But these days, there’s an app for that.
Gone are the days of spreadsheets. With a money-saving app, you can track your expenses, set goals, and watch your savings grow in real time. These tools also offer insights and personalized recommendations tailored to your spending habits. All you need is a phone to get started.
Acorns: Best for micro-investing
Acorns can help you discover investing and start with just small amounts of change. It does this by rounding up your everyday purchases to the nearest dollar and investing the difference for you.
Let’s say you buy a cup of coffee for $2.50. Acorns will automatically round up that purchase to $3. Once you reach $5 of roundups, Acorns will invest that money. It may seem like a small amount, but these little increments can add up significantly over time.
Getting started with Acorns is incredibly simple. All you need to do is download the app, create an account, and link your bank account. From there, Acorns will start monitoring your transactions and rounding up your purchases.
With Acorns’ Multiplier feature, you can multiply the round-ups on your purchases by 2x, 3x, or even 10x. You can also open an Acorns checking account that comes with perks like real-time round-ups, early direct deposit, and no minimum balance requirements.
The biggest drawback of the account is its fees. There are three membership tiers, ranging from $3 to $9 monthly. Some features, like building an emergency fund, are only available for the higher membership tiers.
Consider Acorns if you want to get your feet wet with investing and don’t mind paying a fee.
Truist Long Game: Best for gamified saving
Truist Long Game combines the excitement of virtual gaming with the practicality of saving money. With this app, you can set up savings goals and earn virtual coins for every dollar you save. You can use these coins to play games and potentially win cash prizes.
You need to link a Truist account to the Long Game app to get started. You can set savings goals in the app and track your progress. The app is free and available for anyone with $20 in a Truist checking, savings, or CD account.
However, the odds of winning are relatively low. The chance of winning even $1 from the lowest-tier game that offers cash prizes is 0.02%. You’ll probably see better returns from a high-yield savings account.
Truist Long Game is a good fit for people with relatively low balances who enjoy playing games on their phones.
Qapital: Best rule-based saving
If you’re a rule follower, you may want to use Qapital to help you save. With Qapital, you can choose and set savings rules and create a personalized strategy that works best for you.
For example, you can tell Qapital to round up your debit card purchase, set aside $5 any time you go to the movies, or save $1 every time you hit the gym. You can set specific goals within the app and track your progress.
Another standout feature of Qapital is its ability to create goal-oriented savings accounts. You can set up multiple savings goals, each with its dedicated account. Whether saving for a vacation, a down payment, or building an emergency fund, Qapital keeps your goals organized and on track.
Qapital offers other features, including automated investing and a budgeting tracker that offers personalized insights into your spending habits. If you’re interested specifically in investing, there are other apps out there to help you get started.
The major drawback to Qapital is that it isn’t free. There are three membership plans, each costing a monthly fee between $3-$12. Unlike other money-saving apps, you have more limited investing options with Qapital and can only link one bank account.
Current: Best all-around banking app
Current offers an all-in-one mobile banking app that can house your checking and savings accounts.
Current’s Spend account, or its checking account, lets customers earn cash back rewards and build credit through a secured card linked to their account.
Each Spend account gives you access to three Savings Pods, which allow you to set savings goals and track your progress. You can create different pods for various goals, such as a vacation, emergency fund, or down payment. Savings Pods allows you to easily visualize your progress and stay motivated to reach your financial goals. These accounts also have no monthly fees and boast competitive interest rates.
Current offers a round-up feature that automatically rounds up your purchases to the nearest dollar and saves the spare change for you. The app also has an integrated crypto trading platform, so you can buy and sell dozens of coins without paying fees.
Because Current is an online-only bank, you won’t have branch access and may have to pay additional fees to deposit cash. But if you don’t mind banking exclusively online, the high yields and other features could make Current worth it.
If you’re looking to earn more on your daily funds, consider a high-interest checking account.
Mint: Best for automated budgeting
Mint isn’t so much a savings app as a budgeting app, but having a good budget is key to building your savings.
When you set up your Mint account, you’ll link all of your bank, credit card, and loan accounts to the service. This will let you view your account balances from a single dashboard. Mint will also import transaction data from your accounts to see your complete income and spending.
Once you link your accounts, you can set up a budget. Tell Mint how much you want to spend each month and the categories you spend on, like groceries, entertainment, or transportation. Mint will automatically categorize your purchases for you. You can view your budget and track your spending in real time.
Mint also offers a goal-setting feature that allows you to set savings goals. Whether saving for a vacation, a new car, or an emergency fund, you can set deadlines for your goals and monitor your progress over time.
Another valuable feature of Mint is its personalized recommendations and money-saving tips. Mint analyzes your spending patterns and suggests ways to save money based on your financial behavior. Whether finding better credit card options, reducing subscription costs, or cutting back on unnecessary expenses, Mint offers tailored suggestions to help you save more.
Mint is free and can be extremely useful when used correctly. But it can take some time to set up — the app might improperly categorize your purchases, which can mess up your budget tracking.
Which money-saving app is right for me?
Each money-saving app takes a different approach to saving. Some help you build a budget and set savings goals, while others automate the process for you. The right app for you will depend on your needs.
If you’re already a disciplined saver, you may not get any added benefit from using a money-saving app. These apps are best for those who want to catch up on savings or keep track of their spending, says R.J. Weiss, a certified financial planner.
“The automation features in these apps address common hurdles like procrastination and oversight, helping align your financial habits with immediate and long-term goals for what’s usually a reasonable monthly fee,” he says.
The bottom line
Saving apps can help make a difficult task — saving money — much easier. Choosing the right app requires thinking about your habits, financial situation, and goals. Someone who likes their bank and has already started saving may need the helping hand of a budgeting app. On the other hand, someone starting from scratch may want to open an account with a bank with an app designed to help you save.
Whatever your goals are, a money-saving app can help. Plus, the sooner you start saving, the sooner you’ll reach your goal.
Opinions expressed are author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included in the post.