The best iPhone budget apps that don't need your bank login (2026)

Yes, you can budget on an iPhone without giving any app your bank login. Many budget apps let you log spending yourself, and YNAB, Goodbudget and Spendee make bank sync optional. The right choice depends on your method. For one number that tells you what you can spend today, look at My Money, Today’s Budget or BUDGT. For envelopes, Goodbudget. For a detailed plan with the option to link a bank later, YNAB. For simple tracking that also runs on Android, Cashew, Monefy, Money Manager or Spendee. The trade-off is the same for all of them: without a bank feed, your budget only knows what you log.

How did we choose these apps?

An app made the main list only if all of these were true on September 26, 2026:

• It works without a bank login. You can set up a budget and log spending without connecting a bank. Apps where bank sync is an optional extra are included.
• It has an iPhone app on the US App Store. A native app, not only a website.
• It is actively updated. Every app below had an update between June and September 2026.
• It is built for everyday spending. A budget or spending tracker you use day to day, not an investment or net worth dashboard.

We read each App Store listing, including compatibility and in-app purchases, and the developer’s website or help pages. We did not rank apps by star ratings or download counts, and we did not buy paid tiers, so paid features are described as their developers describe them. After My Money, the apps are grouped by budgeting style, not ranked.

How do these budget apps compare?

“Free” means free to download. Every app here except My Money sells optional upgrades through in-app purchases.

Which apps show one number to spend today?

These three turn a monthly budget into a daily amount and carry what you don’t spend into the following days. None of them connects to a bank.

My Money (our app)

My Money turns your monthly budget into one number, how much you can still spend today, and carries unspent money into the following days, capped at 5 days’ worth. You log by typing one line such as “Coffee 5”, by voice, or from up to 5 screenshots or photos of receipts and payment records, with speech and screenshot text read on the iPhone; the Quick Log action for Siri, Shortcuts and the Action Button logs a line without opening the app. It is free with no ads, needs no account or bank connection, and keeps records on the iPhone. The limits: it is iPhone only (iOS 17 or later), every entry is logged by you, and there is no shared ledger, no currency conversion and no advertised iCloud sync, so you back up with export.

Best for: one person who wants a daily number and quick manual logging on iPhone. My Money on the App Store

Today’s Budget

Today’s Budget, from the team that made Daily Budget Original, works out what you can safely spend today from your income, bills and savings. You can spread a big expense over time (the developer’s example is a $600 holiday spread over two months, which costs $10 a day), share a wallet with someone, and check your number in widgets or on Apple Watch. There is no sign-up and no bank connection; data stays on your iPhone and in your own iCloud. It needs iOS 18 or later.

Best for: a daily number shared with a partner, or checked on your wrist. Today’s Budget on the App Store

BUDGT

BUDGT deducts recurring bills such as rent and subscriptions, divides the rest of your monthly budget by the days left in the month, and shows a color-coded daily limit. Day Weight gives chosen days such as weekends a bigger share, and Travel Mode lets you enter foreign-currency spending at your own exchange rate. Data stays on the device with no accounts or cloud sync, it works offline, and it exports to CSV. It is also on Android, with a free trial followed by weekly to yearly subscriptions.

Best for: a daily budget that never leaves your phone, including on trips abroad. BUDGT on the App Store

Which apps help you plan the whole month?

Envelope and category-planning apps take more setup, but show where each part of your income is meant to go.

Goodbudget

Goodbudget uses the envelope method: you divide your money into virtual envelopes, fill them on a schedule, and check what’s left in each while you’re out. Your budget syncs across iPhone, Android and the web, and it is built for sharing a budget with a partner or family. The free plan includes 10 regular and 10 annual envelopes, one account and two devices. Automatic bank sync is only in Premium and only for US banks, so the free plan is manual.

Best for: envelope budgeting shared by two or more people. Goodbudget on the App Store

YNAB

YNAB is a planning app: you assign the money you have to categories, then track spending against them. Linking bank accounts is optional, and its listing says you can add transactions manually if you prefer. One subscription lets you share plans with up to six people, on iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Android and the web. It starts with a free trial, then needs a monthly or annual subscription.

Best for: a detailed plan for every category, with the option to link a bank later. YNAB on the App Store

Which apps are simple spending trackers?

These focus on logging by category and showing where money went. All four also run on Android.

Cashew

Cashew is an open-source budget and expense tracker for iPhone, iPad, Android and the web. Budgets can be monthly, weekly or a custom period, and it handles several currencies with current conversion rates. Data is stored on your device, with optional backup and sync through your own Google Drive, and on iPhone Siri Shortcuts can add transactions from Apple Pay payments. It needs iOS 18 or later.

Best for: a free-to-start tracker across platforms and currencies. Cashew on the App Store

Monefy

Monefy is built for speed: the developer says a purchase takes two taps, and you only need to enter the amount. Data stays on your device or in your own Google Drive or Dropbox, which you can also use to sync between devices or with a partner, across iPhone and Android. The core app is free; an optional upgrade adds extras such as unlimited accounts.

Best for: quick category tracking for a couple on different phones. Monefy on the App Store

Money Manager (Realbyte)

Money Manager is a bookkeeping-style app that uses double-entry, so each entry updates the balance of the account, card or cash you paid from. It covers weekly, monthly and annual budgets, credit and debit cards, multiple currencies and a calendar view, and it is also on Android. The free app offers an optional data sync subscription, and a separate paid edition removes ads and lets you view and edit your records from a computer over Wi-Fi.

Best for: people who think in accounts and balances. Money Manager on the App Store

Spendee

Spendee organizes money into wallets, such as cash, and shows budgets and spending by category. The free basic plan includes one cash wallet and one budget that you fill in by hand; connecting a bank is a Premium feature, and the paid plans add unlimited wallets and budgets and shared wallets. It has a web version and an Android app, and its listing also describes an AI receipt scanner.

Best for: starting manual and keeping bank sync as a later option. Spendee on the App Store

Which budget app should you pick?

• You want one number for today: My Money for quick logging by text, voice or screenshot on iPhone, free; Today’s Budget to share the number or see it on Apple Watch; BUDGT to keep everything offline or to use it on Android too. The daily budget method explains how the number works.
• You like envelopes: Goodbudget.
• You want a plan for every category and may link a bank later: YNAB, or Spendee for a lighter tracker with optional bank sync.
• You also use Android or a computer: Goodbudget, YNAB, Cashew and Spendee run on Android and the web; BUDGT, Monefy and Money Manager are on Android.
• You spend in several currencies: Cashew, Monefy, Money Manager and Spendee support multiple currencies, and BUDGT’s Travel Mode uses your own exchange rate. My Money does not convert currencies.
• You share money with someone: Goodbudget, YNAB, Today’s Budget, Monefy and Spendee have ways to share. My Money is one person, one ledger.
• You think in accounts and balances: Money Manager.

Whichever you choose, manual budgeting works when logging takes seconds and you check your bank app weekly for anything you missed. See budgeting without linking your bank for the trade-offs and screenshot expense tracking for logging bills faster.

What other apps did we check?

• Daily Budget Original, the earlier app from the Today’s Budget team, does not connect to banks and keeps data on the device. The daily budget is free; extra features are sold as in-app purchases. App Store
• Safe To Spend spreads what is left after bills across the days until your next payday, with no account and data stored on the device. It requires iOS 26 or later. App Store
• Debit & Credit is an account-based finance app for iPhone and Mac that never asks you to create an account. Instead of a bank login, it can import Apple Card transactions and statement files such as CSV, QIF and OFX. App Store
• EveryDollar lets you build a monthly budget in its free version; connecting financial accounts is part of its paid upgrade. App Store
• We left out Toshl Finance because its iPhone app had not been updated in the 12 months before our check (last update December 13, 2024), and Actual Budget because its official mobile apps are deprecated; on iPhone it runs as a web app added to the Home Screen.