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Saving money can mean many different things. It isn’t just transferring funds to a savings account when you have extra cash, although we’ll never tell you this is a bad idea. It can also mean building regular savings into your budget with the help of “set-it-and-forget-it” tools, scanning your receipts to pay yourself back when spending, looking for discounts and cashback offers when you shop, and more. Fortunately, there’s probably an app to give you a hand.
No matter how you’re looking to save, many apps can help you accomplish your goals. That’s why I’ve pulled together this list of the best money-saving apps, which includes budgeting apps, shopping apps, and a few that fall into a category of their own. Here’s how to use each app and who each one is best for.
How we evaluate products
Many of the companies we chose for our best money-saving apps list are current or past FinanceBuzz partners. We did not review all companies in the market. When evaluating these companies, we considered factors such as app features, what makes the app useful, and who might benefit most from it. We selected many different types of apps for saving money including budgeting and money management apps, bill- and subscription-tracking apps, investment apps, and coupon and cashback shopping apps.
Jump to the best apps for saving money
Compare the best money-saving apps
| Best for | App type | Learn More | |
| Qapital | Making your saving automatic | Money management | Read review |
| Monarch | Getting overspending under control | Budgeting and money management | Read review |
| Acorns | Investing a little at a time | Investing | Read review |
| Rocket Money | Spending less on bills | Money management and bill-tracking | Read review |
| Hiatus | Getting rid of services you don’t need | Bill-tracking | Read review |
| Capital One Shopping | Getting deals and discounts when you shop | Coupon and price comparison | Read review |
| Ibotta | Earning rewards when you shop online | Cash back shopping | Read review |
| GetUpside | Earning rewards when you shop in-store | Cash back shopping | Read review |
| Fetch | Paying yourself back by scanning receipts | Receipt-scanning and shopping rewards | Read review |
2 apps to make saving money automatic
Acorns
Acorns lets you set aside money to invest a little at a time with round-up transfers from linked accounts or cards. How this works is: You link a credit/debit card, then Acorns rounds up your transactions to the nearest dollar and sends the “extra” to your Acorn Invest account whenever you have at least $5. From there, you can invest in ETF portfolios curated by pros (and automatically rebalanced and reinvested by an algorithm).12
Investing isn’t the same as saving money, but it may help you grow your money, depending on market performance and how you invest. Acorns costs $3, $6, or $12 a month for a subscription, with Acorns Bronze being the cheapest — and plenty robust. I typically recommend Acorns for beginners because getting started with investing may be less intimidating with baby steps, and funds come right off the top of your spending. Other great micro-investing apps include Stash, Betterment, and Robinhood.
Visit Acorns | Read our Acorns review
Qapital
The Qapital app promises “set and forget” financial management, offering more ways to set up automatic savings transfers than any app we’ve seen. Qapital’s platform covers saving, investing, budgeting, and co-budgeting, but I like it most for putting your savings on autopilot.
The app features more than 15 savings options, including choices for round-up transfers to save your spare change, recurring payday transfers, and more. It even includes a “rule” called Guilty Pleasure that, when enabled, sends a specified amount to your savings account when you make a transaction at a merchant you want to avoid. I’ve never seen anything like this in a budgeting app — I know my savings would skyrocket if I enabled it for bookstores.
Automated savings apps like Qapital make it easier to save money by helping you do it with more regularity and less effort. Qapital offers a 30-day free trial and costs $3, $6, or $12 a month after that, depending on which subscription tier you choose (for saving, Basic is just fine).
Visit Qapital | Read our Qapital review
3 apps that help you save money by budgeting
Monarch
Monarch Money is one of the best budgeting apps for keeping track of what you spend and where you spend it. With this app, you can customize a budget using the zero-based budgeting method with personalized spending categories, getting as specific about your spending as you want to get. Then, you link your bank account to the app and it automatically tracks and categorizes your transactions for you. It’ll tell you whether you’re on target with your budgeting limits and exactly how much you have left to spend in each of your categories.
I recommend Monarch Money if you’re prone to overspending and want to get that under control in order to save more. But unfortunately, it isn’t free. The Monarch app typically costs $14.99 a month or $99 a year, though there can be promotions on the yearly price. Don’t choose Monarch if money is really tight or you don’t plan to spend much time with the app.
Visit Monarch | Read our Monarch Money review
Rocket Money
If your goal is to lower your bills, Rocket Money may help you find opportunities to save. Rocket Money will negotiate with your cable, internet, and wireless providers to try and get a better rate on your bills. They work with many different companies, including utilities and cable providers, and can even try to get you refunds on overdraft and late fees with your bank.
There are no upfront costs for this service, but Rocket Money will take 35% to 60% of any savings you get by negotiating. I should also point out that Rocket Money can’t guarantee success with negotiation, but it may be worth a shot if you suspect you’re paying more than you need to. Rocket Money's premium service — which costs between $4 and $12 per month — monitors and cancels monthly subscriptions you don’t use. But for that, check out this next one.
Visit Rocket Money | Read our Rocket Money review
Hiatus
If you, like us, often forget which subscriptions you have and how much you pay for them, I recommend Hiatus. This app’s primary purpose is to help you manage your subscriptions and bills, and it can help you save on recurring expenses by tracking your automatic payments for you. If it uncovers a subscription you forgot about or no longer need, you can select “Cancel this for me” in the app and Hiatus will go through the tedious steps of opting out for you. I also love that it shows you prices you pay compared to average prices for different monthly services.
You might consider Hiatus instead of Rocket Money for bill negotiation, but Rocket Money has far more reviews and a more established reputation. Hiatus Premium, which gives you access to bill negotiation, also costs $9.99 a month or up to $48 a year.
Visit Hiatus | Read our Hiatus review
4 best apps to save money when you shop
Capital One Shopping
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Capital One Shopping Benefits
- Capital One Shopping searches thousands of merchants to see if you're getting a great deal
- Don't miss out on a better price
- Search and apply coupon codes automatically
- Custom price drop alerts for products you've viewed or purchased
Coupon-app Capital One Shopping3 is a mobile app and browser extension that helps you find coupons and discounts when you shop with popular online retailers. If you’re all about trying to get the lowest price, you might want to get on installing this one.
Instead of hunting for coupon codes and manually comparing prices across stores, Capital One Shopping shows you deals that might apply to your purchase. When you check out, it instantly tests the most valuable coupon code in its database to your purchase. It will also notify you with a pop-up if the item you're buying is cheaper at a different store. This app works with over 30,000 online retailers, so there’s a good chance you’ll find deals at a few of your favorites.
Visit Capital One Shopping | Read our Capital One Shopping review
Ibotta
As far as cashback apps go, Ibotta is one of the best for earning points on everyday purchases you make online. Though you can earn points by scanning receipts with both Fetch and Ibotta, Ibotta also lets you earn points in other ways. If you’re a store loyalty member, you can link your accounts to the Ibotta app and earn; you can also earn by shopping online with Ibotta retailers.
Whether you prefer to shop at brick-and-mortar stores or online, you’re likely to find value with Ibotta. It’s simple to use, and you can redeem the points you earn for cash via PayPal or Venmo, or gift cards to your favorite stores. So you can shop to your heart’s content knowing that you’re earning valuable rewards on your purchases.
Visit Ibotta | Read our Ibotta review
GetUpside
If you‘d prefer to earn cash back when shopping in-person, GetUpside may be the app for you. With this app, you earn rewards at grocery stores, gas stations, and restaurants. GetUpside is designed to help local businesses attract more customers while giving consumers more purchasing power in their communities. It’s currently available at over 50,000 merchants. According to the app’s product page, users earn an average of 8% cash back.
To use GetUpside, open the app and enter your ZIP code or use location sharing to browse deals from nearby retailers. When you see an offer that appeals to you, claim it, make your purchase, scan your receipt, and earn cash back.
Here’s an offer I found at the Little Ceasars right down the road from my apartment.
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Visit GetUpside | Read our GetUpside review
Fetch
With Fetch Rewards, you earn points for scanning your grocery receipts, buying participating brands, and purchasing products that offer bonus points. There’s no need to visit specific stores, scan barcodes, or scroll through endless lists of products to save.
Simply download the app for iPhone or Android. Then, you can choose to shop, scan your receipts via the mobile app, and see what points your purchases earn; or shop strategically by buying specific brands. Fetch offers between 250 and 3,000 points for qualifying purchases. Once you’ve earned 3,000 Fetch points, you can redeem your rewards for Visa or Mastercard gift cards or gift cards for popular retailers and restaurants.
Visit Fetch | Read our Fetch review
How to choose the best money-saving app
There’s no single right money-saving app for everyone. The best will depend on your unique needs and goals. Think about your financial situation and what you’d like to accomplish to choose the money-saving app that’s right for you. To do this, follow these three steps.
1. Consider your goals
The right app for you is one that helps you achieve your financial goals. If that’s saving more every month, consider an app with automated savings tools like Qapital. If you spend too much, Monarch might help you keep that in check, or bill-tracking and negotiating apps like Rocket Money and Hiatus can help you shave a little off the top of your expenses. Other apps focus on other priorities, like getting deals or rewards when you spend.
Cash back, coupon, budgeting, and investing apps can all help you save in different ways.
2. Read the fine print
Sometimes, even the best apps and platforms have a “catch.” This might be in fees you didn’t expect, limitations in how you can earn and redeem rewards, or other restrictions that can put a damper on your savings. The apps in this list are all worth it, but it’s still wise to know exactly how an app works before signing up.
Many apps designed primarily for budgeting come with monthly subscription fees you can’t avoid after your free trial is up, and many coupon apps only work with select retailers. And in some cases, the fine print may be related to security and data. For example, Ibotta works by collecting information about how you shop and where and using this information to curate targeted marketing offers and show you deals you might be interested in — and it can share some of this with its partners.
3. Check back in soon
The best way to use any type of financial app is to actually use it. If that sounds ridiculous, we just mean to be intentional about how you use these apps — and switch things up if one isn’t working for you.
If you find after testing out an app for a few weeks or months that you’re not really using it or it’s not doing what you wanted it to do, it might be time to break up. Try out another until you find one that feels good. Many apps with monthly fees offer free trials, so you don’t have anything to lose.
FAQs
Are money-saving apps safe?
Depending on which one you choose, money-saving apps are generally safe. Many use security features similar to what you'd find at a traditional financial institution, including special encryption tools, two-factor authentication, or security measures like face or touch identification to protect their users.
Some automated savings apps, like Oportun, hold your money in FDIC-insured accounts to ensure it’s protected. Always do your due diligence to ensure that the app you’re planning to download takes security and privacy seriously.
Can apps actually save you money?
Apps may be able to help you save money. However, whether you’re able to save will depend on your financial situation, which app you choose to download, and how you use that app. For instance, a budgeting app like Rocket Money or YNAB (You Need a Budget), may help you budget and save money over time, provided you use it wisely and maintain your income.
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