Building a savings habit can be hard, but everyone has the ability to do it. In today’s world, there are so many convenient money saving apps right at our fingertips to help us make it easier.
There are a few different ways to save money through apps; the type that works best for you depends on your current financial position and your goals.
- Automated Savings Apps
- Investing Apps for Long-Term Savings Growth
- Cash Back and Coupon Apps to Save Money
- Money Savings Apps to Help Cut Your Expenses
17 Best Money Saving Apps
Here are the best apps that help you save money:
- 🏆 Chime
- Digit
- Qapital
- Twine
- Robinhood
- Acorns
- Stash
- Public.com
- Capital One Shopping
- Ibotta
- Trim
- Hiatus
- Steady
- Rocket Money (formerly Truebill)
- GetUpSide
- Shopkick
- RetailMeNot
Automated Money Savings Apps
Make your life a little easier and use one of the best-automated money savings apps to automatically transfer money from your bank account to your savings account at a rate that you approve.
1. Chime
Chime is a free mobile banking app that comes with a debit card and offers various features to help you save more as an online-only bank.
You can round up your purchases and move the spare change into savings or auto-transfer your paycheck into a savings account. You can also receive your paycheck two days earlier by setting up direct deposits.
The debit card offers some attractive features too. There’s a free overdraft, and you can use your card abroad without incurring extra fees.
A disadvantage is that the app is mobile-only – there’s no web version.
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2. Digit
If you can’t figure out how much you can afford to save, Digit will analyze your spending habits and allocate a certain amount to your savings.
If the app knows you have spare money to save, then it will be moved automatically, and if you don’t, it will stop, so there’s no risk of being left with no cash for the basics.
You can sign up for a free trial for a month, and after that, the monthly price is $5.
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3. Qapital
By setting goals and rules, Qapital helps you to make the most of your money and to save wisely. There’s a Payday Divvy feature that divides up your commitments between spending and saving.
You’ll also be able to take part in ‘Money Missions,’ which are fun challenges designed to give you insight into smart financial investments.
If you want to invest too, you can use Qapital’s pre-built portfolios, which are tailor-made to the timeline and amount you input.
The main downside is that, although you’ll receive a debit card, you need to pay a fee to use it for spending (but you can use it for online purchases and transfers for free). You’ll also need to pay to use the app: it will cost $3, $6, or $12 depending on the level of resources you want access to.
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4. Twine
Twine is unique because it helps couples to invest and save together. If you’re in a relationship, you’re probably working towards joint saving goals, such as a holiday or property, so it makes sense to manage your finances together too.
Both individuals can contribute to the joint goals and track each other’s progress, which has the added bonus of accountability.
You can choose to either hold savings or invest the money, and joint savings accounts have an interest rate of 1.05%.
Savings accounts are FDIC-insured for up to $250,000, while investment accounts are SIPC-protected for up to $500,000.
Money Saving Apps to Help Grow Your Money
If you have an emergency fund in savings already and are looking to further grow your account, try an easy-to-use investment app:
5. Public.com
With Public.com, you can own shares in companies you believe in for any amount of money without having to pay commissions.
Unlike other apps, Public has a social layer that provides transparency into community investments.
The app allows you to learn about new stocks and companies from friends and thought leaders. Investing is a complicated subject, so if you’re not familiar with it and wonder, “Where do I start you can easily see what others are doing as a useful way to learn.
Public.com is free to download and is available on both on Apple iOS and Android devices.
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6. Robinhood
This investment app takes its name from the historical figure who stole money from the rich to give to the poor; that’s because Robinhood makes investing more accessible to the masses.
You’ll be able to access commission-free investment, thus transferring wealth from the investment managers back to the investors. Stocks, funds, and options are all exempt from fees, even when buying cryptocurrencies. This is made possible because they have no physical locations, and all investment management is manual.
However, you’ll need to pay fees if you want to access learning resources to help you make more informed decisions, like research reports. Going ‘Gold’ (the name of the premium version) demands a monthly fee of $5 or more, but you’ll also get a free stock.
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7. Acorns
By using your Acorns debit card, your spare change will automatically get rounded up and placed in an investment account.
You can create a portfolio based on your income and goals; your choice could be more conservative or more aggressive depending on the amount of risk you’re willing to take for a high yield. Acorns portfolios are made using ETFs from companies like Vanguard and BlackRock.
Acorns Later can help you save for retirement, at the cost of $2 a month, while Acorns Spend is a checking account you can open for $3 a month. Otherwise, the basic cost of Acorns is just $1 a month and will make your life a lot easier with automatic savings.
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8. Stash
If you’re looking for an all-in-one money management app, Stash is a great place to start: you can invest, bank, save, and learn in one app.
You’ve probably heard of cashback rewards, and hopefully, you’re already taking advantage of them – but what about stock-back? Stash lets you earn stocks and funds back when you make purchases using your Stash card.
You only need $5 to open an investment account. Stash offers micro-investments, which makes it a good place to start for those who don’t have much to invest or want to test the waters first. There’s also a Smart Stash feature to automate investments.
The accounts include no hidden fees and the chance to be paid two days early. However, there is a monthly fee: $1 for all the basic features, $3 if you want tax benefits for retirement investing, or $9 if you’d also like two investment accounts for your children and a debit card with double Stockback, as well as a monthly markets insight report.
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Cash Back and Coupon Money Savings Apps
Utilizing cash back apps and coupon money savings apps can help you save money on your everyday purchases, freeing up more money to add to your savings account.
9. Capital One Shopping
Capital One Shopping offers a free browser extension for Chrome, Edge, Firefox, or Safari which automatically compares prices as you shop online.
As you add items to your cart at an online retailer, Capital One Shopping will search the web for better deals and coupon codes.
You can follow the links to other retailers offering a better price and use applicable codes to save. You can even use the Capital One Shopping app while shopping at brick-and-mortar stores.
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10. Ibotta
Ibotta is a cashback app that lets you earn points in three main ways, shopping online, scanning receipts, and using Pay by Ibotta in-store to get instant cashback by presenting your discount code to the cashier
The app covers a wide variety of stores, including groceries, clothing, and travel – there are over 140 retailers in total. Why not download the free app and start earning points to redeem for cashback?
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11. GetUpSide
GetUpside provides people with real-time, personalized cash back offers at gas stations, grocery stores and restaurants through its free mobile app on iOS and Android. Use the code MM20 to receive a $0.20/gal bonus on your first gas receipt, for savings up to $0.45 per gallon!
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12. Shopkick
Shopkick is an app that gives you points (or ‘kicks’) from shopping in-store or online.
You can use the points you earn for either PayPal withdrawals or gift cards for retailers like Amazon, eBay, or Target.
Ways To Earn Kicks:
- Scan Barcodes: When shopping in-store, you can scan the barcodes of items to find out if they offer any rewards, then submit your receipt when you’re finished. You’ll earn points for each eligible item scanned.
- Link a Credit Card: Alternatively, you can link a credit card with your Shopkick account to earn points automatically, which saves time. When shopping online, you can use the Shopkick portal and earn points as you go.
- Checking Into Locations: Once you download the Shopkick app, it uses Bluetooth to figure out your location and offers you tailor-made deals. You can also earn some extra points from checking into locations, so don’t forget to keep your Bluetooth switched on.
- Watching Videos: If you want to earn even more kicks, you can do so by watching videos on the ‘Discover’ tab of the app.
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13. RetailMeNot
RetailMeNot is one of the biggest sites on the web for finding coupons, discounts, and promo codes. The main part of the site has coupons for nonessentials like clothes and restaurants, but there’s also a RetailMeNot Everyday section of the website, which is geared more towards everyday items like groceries or cleaning products.
There’s a multitude of additional features too. Rxsaver helps you to save money at the pharmacy, there’s an online community to read feedback on offers, and a newsletter that updates you on the latest coupons available.
RetailMeNot has a dedicated app that makes it easier to find offers on the go and maximize your savings.
Money Savings Apps to Help Cut Your Expenses
I am sure I am not the only person who has signed up for a free trial and then forgotten about it. Only to figure out that 3 months later you have been billed for it each month and never used it. This is where money-saving apps to help monitor and cut your expenses come in.
14. Trim
The concept of Trim is almost identical to Truebill: they negotiate down bill prices and cancel subscriptions. However, there are also some features to help you save money by tracking your spending and offering suggestions about unnecessary splurges.
Trim’s Simple Savings is a feature that automates your savings by transferring a portion of your earnings into savings. You can also access advice about trimming down your debt so that you can cover all fronts of money-saving.
Like Truebill, Trim takes a cut of any savings it can negotiate for you, but it’s slightly cheaper at 33%. Bill cancellation, budgeting tools, and text alerts are all free services.
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15. Hiatus
The Hiatus app claims to have “harnessed the latest breakthroughs in technology to help simplify your financial life.” Through Hiatus, you can link your accounts to get a bird’s-eye-view of your assets and liabilities—what you have and what you owe.
But here’s where it really shines: Hiatus analyzes your finances, monitors for unfair rates, and lets you know when you’re overpaying. From there, it gives you advice contextualized for your personal situation.
Hiatus got its start by helping people cut down on unwanted subscriptions. In this function, it’s much like Truebill or Trim. But Hiatus goes a step further, analyzing transactions for cost-cutting insights beyond subscriptions.
16. Rocket Money (formerly Truebill)
We all know there’s probably a better deal we could sign up for that would reduce our utility bills, but somehow there’s never time to search for the best offers out there manually. Rocket Money (formerly Truebill) solves this problem.
Instead of you having to call up companies and negotiate for a lower price or search for alternative deals, Rocket Money’s team of negotiators will do it for you. There’s still some level of a time investment since you’ll need to upload all your bills; this can be done by taking photos or logging into your accounts.
Rocket Money helps with lowering all those monthly subscriptions; as we move towards a subscription economy, it’s becoming increasingly harder to stay on top of all the platforms we’ve signed up for, and this often leads to wasted money. Rocket Money will monitor everything you subscribe to and gives you the option to unsubscribe automatically.
Somewhat ironically, there’s a subscription cost of $3 to access premium services, including the negotiation service, but basic tracking features are available for free. If Rocket Money successfully negotiates down the bills, they’ll also take a 40% commission of the amount saved.
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FAQs
Are there different types of money saving apps?
There are several different types of money savings apps, and all of them work in different ways.
- Cashback and coupon apps work once you connect your account with a credit card you use to shop, or alternatively you can scan receipts or shop through their portal.
- Savings and investment apps provide you with a brand-new card so you can automatically place your spare change or paycheck into a savings or investment account.
- Bill savings apps require you to log all your bills into the app so they can track them for you.
- Investing apps help you use your saved money to invest in different companies to help grow your savings.
Depending on the features offered and the model of the app, they may be free or charge a fee. Bill-saving apps like Truebill charge a commission for savings made, whereas cashback apps are always free but make money from adverts.
Savings and investment apps make most of their money from using yours (like conventional banks) and some from add-ons.
Is there an app that saves your spare change?
Apps that round up purchases to the nearest dollar and save or invest the spare change have increased in popularity over the last few years. Many different money-saving apps now offer the feature; amongst them are Acorns, Stash, Varo, and Chime.
However, this isn’t an exhaustive list, and more apps are likely to introduce this feature in the future to meet demand.
Which Money Saving App Is For You?
Even if you’re the world’s worst budgeter, it’s still possible to save money as long as you have a smartphone. All you need to do is download a few apps and complete some basic admin tasks before you can passively earn some extra money. cIf you want to take things a step further, here is a list we have compiled of the best money making apps.
If you can’t afford to save and just want some extra cash to line your pockets, a cashback or bill-checking app can seemingly give you something for nothing. All you have to do is link your card or bills, and the app will check whether you’re applicable for discounts or lower rates.
If you want to save or invest but get drawn into spending the money instead, there are apps that automatically put aside the small change from your purchases to help you reach your goals.
However, don’t fall into the trap of thinking that downloading apps is all it takes to form a solid financial management plan. In reality, it’s just the first step: keeping a budget and tracking your spending is just as important as ever. Thankfully, there’s also an app for that.
Bonus: Best Money Tracker
All the apps mentioned above are great ways to save or invest without having to put in much extra effort, however, to save significant sums of money, it’s essential to figure out where yours is going and to have some accountability. Although there are lots of different apps that offer this feature, none quite measure up to Personal Capital.
You can connect all your accounts in one place, including current accounts, credit cards, and even investments. Personal Capital also allows you to analyze your investment in sophisticated ways: you can check how well your portfolio is performing and find out if you’re paying unnecessary fees. It’s kind of like a bill checker and a budgeting app all in one.
The basic platform is available for free, but there’s a charge to receive professional advice from finance experts if your portfolio is worth $100,000 or more.
To learn more, read our Personal Capital Review.
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