Managing your personal finances is an art, and a science, and a series of best practices that can evolve based on your unique financial goals. In addition to keeping up with your daily life and progressing toward your financial goals, finding the perfect combination of tools to manage your finances is an ongoing (oftentimes challenging) project. Luckily, mobile apps are getting better and better at helping people track their money and achieve financial progress. We asked the Best Egg Team for their favorite personal finance apps. These apps run the gambit of personal finance—some help you save, some track your day-to-day, some help you plan for the long-term. Here are some of the best finance apps that can help reinvigorate your money and help you reach your goals faster.

The best finance apps: 7 apps that the Best Egg Team uses every day

Digit

Saving money is hard. Enter: Digit. It’s the app made for anyone who can’t seem to save on their own. Digit analyzes your spending and automatically pulls money out of your account here and there. It deposits that money into a savings account that earns 1% that you can access anytime.

From our team:

“After a while you check the account and you think, ‘Wow, there is a bunch of money in there!’” – Kevin

Any drawbacks? Digit automatically bills you a $5 fee each month from your checking account, but everyone we polled said that over time, they’re happy to pay the fee because of the savings they’d been able to earn.

Mint

Mint is one of the most popular finance apps out there. We previously ranked Mint as one of our favorite budgeting apps because of its ability to categorize spending and track your habits over time. But Mint is also known for its integrations with your bank, investment, and credit card accounts, which allows you to manage all of your money in one app.

From the team:

• “I use Mint for tracking all of my spending, budgeting and setting goals.” – Neil
• “I like that it is like a wallet, having all credit cards and bank accounts all in one place.” – Melody

Any drawbacks? Mint has mixed reviews from our team. Some say its functionality is perfect for their uses, while others say they prefer to use other apps to manage their budget.

You Need A Budget (YNAB)

For someone looking for a more involved experience in tracking their finances, You Need A Budget is a favorite. Built on the idea of zero-sum budgeting, YNAB focuses on developing good habits by making you assign a purpose to every dollar you earn.

Any drawbacks? YNAB is free for 34 days. After that, you’ll pay a monthly or yearly fee for the service, but the YNAB-ers on the team say they’re hooked and would pay more for the service if they had to.

From the team:

• “I especially like how it encourages you to extend the ‘age of your money’ to help you avoid living paycheck-to-paycheck and build savings.” – Bryce

Personal Capital

If you want to focus less on daily spending and focus on long-term goals, Personal Capital might be a good solution. In addition to being a pocket budgeting assistant, Personal Capital also has robust investment tracking features.

From the team: 

“It’s free to use and works very well. I’ve been using it for 5 years+ after I quit another personal finance app.” – Ev

Any drawbacks? While no one in our poll had complaints, other reviewers claim that they have difficulty linking all of their accounts, or that their accounts disconnect for odd reasons.

Qapital

Qapital treats your financial goals like fitness goals. While it helps to manage your money in the day-to-day like Mint and Personal Capital, it also helps you take Steps, Walk, Run Distance or Sprint to your financial goals.

From the team:

“You don’t have to think about it, just set your rules and go!” – Rebecca

Any drawbacks? You’ll start Qapital on a 30-day free trial before having to pick between plans that cost between $3 – $12 a month, depending on what you want to achieve.

M-1 Finance

For people who are just dipping their toes into investing and wealth management, M-1 Finance could be a smart choice. M-1 Finance has easy to use views of your investment portfolio, no trading or asset management fees, and resources curated by experts to help you figure out exactly where your money should be going.

From the team:

“The free version is great. I use the research section in the app a lot where you can find the latest news and stories on whichever stocks you’re invested in.” – Jimmy

Any drawbacks? While the folks on our team sang M-1 Finance’s praises, others have claimed that M-1 can lose some of its appeal for its weaker customer support.

Cleo

It might be because we’re nerdy about finance, but several people on the Best Egg Team describe Cleo as “Cool.” That’s because in addition to assessing your finances, Cleo shares insight into how you could save, alerts you to spending rules in your budget, and throws in little financial bits of wisdom in an uber conversational way. Ask Cleo to Roast You, Toast You, Hype You Up, or provide a mystifying Daily Fortune to analyze your recent financial decisions and trends.

You’ll feel like you’re texting with a good friend, but it’s actually Cleo helping you manage your money better.

Any drawbacks? This app isn’t for everyone. While many people love the personality of the Cleo app, some complain it’s distracting and doesn’t let them focus on their accounts. And like most spending apps, sometimes it categorizes transactions incorrectly, but it can be updated easily.

From the team:

• “It’s the only financial app I want to interact with on a regular basis… Cleo’s personality is what drew me in and makes me remember to check in. She’s like an old friend—not afraid to give it to you straight and call you out on your financial snafus, but there with a shoulder to cry on when you need it.” – Steph

The best finance apps we haven’t mentioned yet, but are essential to managing your money online

Here are a few of the apps we think are crucial to personal finance in 2020.

• Your banks’ and credit card companies’ apps: Most major banks have apps that allow you to do a lot of your normal banking activities on your phone now.
• Secure Mobile Payment Apps: You can use apps like Zelle, CashApp, and Paypal to help you pay merchants, family members, and friends quickly and securely.
• Spreadsheets: Be it to manage a budget, track your long-term financial goals, or to store your data from other financial apps, spreadsheet apps like Google Sheets or Excel are personal finance standards.

Download, try, delete, then try again

You might not find your favorite financial app overnight. Sometimes it takes a few months of using a personal finance app to get the full benefits. The best finance apps, however, are the ones that work best for you and your finances—so don’t be afraid to try something new. Your financial goals may be closer, and easier than you think.