Personal Capital (Empower Personal Dashboard) Personal Capital, now branded as part of Empower, is positioned as more than just a budgeting app. It combines everyday money tracking with long-term financial planning, giving users both a short-term view of spending and a strategic look at retirement and investments.

Unlike lightweight budgeting tools, it emphasizes wealth management. The app not only shows where the money goes each month but also tracks assets, liabilities, and portfolio performa

Lunch Money Lunch Money is a newer face in the personal finance space, but it has already managed to stand out. Built as a fully online service, it appeals to people who find older budgeting tools clunky or too U.S.-centric. The app feels fresh, works smoothly in the browser, and was designed from the start to support multiple currencies — something that matters for anyone earning or spending across borders. Everyday experience

GoodBudget (Free version) GoodBudget is built around a simple but time-tested idea: the envelope system. In the past, people would keep cash in separate envelopes for rent, food, or leisure, and once an envelope was empty, that category’s budget was gone. GoodBudget takes the same method and brings it into the digital age, replacing paper envelopes with a cloud-based app that works on phones and the web. Everyday use

Mint (Intuit) Mint, a service created by Intuit, has been around long enough to become a household name in personal budgeting. It isn’t trying to act like full accounting software, and that’s part of the appeal. Instead, it focuses on pulling together everyday money details — checking accounts, credit cards, even small investment balances — and turning them into a single, easy-to-read dashboard. Day-to-day experience

Zoho Books Free Zoho Books Free is the no-cost tier of Zoho’s accounting system. It isn’t built for big companies with dozens of employees — the free plan is more about freelancers, small shops, or anyone who just wants an organized way to handle money without committing to subscriptions. At its core, it’s about tracking expenses, sending invoices, and keeping records tidy. How it works in real life

Wave Accounting Wave Accounting is a free, cloud-based finance tool that has built a name mostly among freelancers and very small businesses. It doesn’t feel like a typical “personal budget” app — instead, it leans more toward proper bookkeeping, but without the heavy price tag that usually comes with it. How it’s used in everyday work