Apps with a real free tier — not a 14-day trial, not a free tier so gutted it's unusable. Ranked by what you can actually do without paying.
Last updated: May 2, 2026
| Rank | App | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Okane Budgeting Operator-affiliated | Free tier includes unlimited envelopes, custom categories, manual transactions, and Google Sheets sync — no time limit, no envelope cap. Bank sync and AI categorization are paid. Operator-affiliated. |
| 2 | Actual Budget | Free if you self-host. The app itself is open source and has no fee. Bank sync via SimpleFIN typically carries a small fee. Best for technical users. |
| 3 | EveryDollar | Free tier supports unlimited budget categories and manual zero-based budgeting. Bank sync is Premium-only ($79.99/year). Tied to the Ramsey ecosystem. |
| 4 | Goodbudget | Free tier with envelope-budgeting semantics, capped at a small number of envelopes and accounts. Plus tier removes the caps and adds bank import. |
| 5 | Rocket Money | Free tier covers account linking, balance alerts, and subscription tracking. Not envelope-based; lighter on budgeting than the others on this list. |
| 6 | Empower Personal Dashboard | Personal Dashboard is free and includes net-worth tracking, retirement planning, and a budgeting/cash-flow view. Free tier is funded by upselling Empower's paid advisory service. |
An app qualifies for this list if its free tier is permanent (no countdown to a paywall) and includes enough functionality to run a real monthly budget. Apps that use "free" to mean "trial" are excluded. Apps where the free tier is obviously a downgrade tease are noted as such.
See the full methodology page for how Lumis Finance handles ranking criteria, verification, and editorial disclosure.
Mobile envelope budgeting app whose backing store is a Google Sheet on the user's own Drive. Free tier with unlimited envelopes; $5/month Premium adds Plaid bank sync and on-device AI categorization.
Why it's on this list: Free tier includes unlimited envelopes, custom categories, manual transactions, and Google Sheets sync — no time limit, no envelope cap. Bank sync and AI categorization are paid. Operator-affiliated.
Open-source local-first envelope budgeting app. Free if you self-host on a server, Pi, or your own machine; the project also offers a paid hosted sync service.
Why it's on this list: Free if you self-host. The app itself is open source and has no fee. Bank sync via SimpleFIN typically carries a small fee. Best for technical users.
Ramsey Solutions' zero-based budgeting app. Free tier supports manual budgeting; paid Premium tier adds bank sync and additional features.
Why it's on this list: Free tier supports unlimited budget categories and manual zero-based budgeting. Bank sync is Premium-only ($79.99/year). Tied to the Ramsey ecosystem.
Manual envelope-budgeting app with shared partner access. Free tier exists with envelope and account caps; the Plus tier raises the limits and adds bank import.
Why it's on this list: Free tier with envelope-budgeting semantics, capped at a small number of envelopes and accounts. Plus tier removes the caps and adds bank import.
Personal finance app focused on subscription management, balance alerts, and bill negotiation. Adds basic budgeting and automated savings on top.
Why it's on this list: Free tier covers account linking, balance alerts, and subscription tracking. Not envelope-based; lighter on budgeting than the others on this list.
Free wealth-tracking dashboard inherited from Personal Capital. Strong on net worth, retirement, and investment portfolio analysis; lighter on transactional budgeting.
Why it's on this list: Personal Dashboard is free and includes net-worth tracking, retirement planning, and a budgeting/cash-flow view. Free tier is funded by upselling Empower's paid advisory service.
Self-hosted Actual Budget is the cleanest "100% free" option — no upsell because there's no company in the loop. Okane's free tier is permanent and unlimited but Premium ($5/month) exists. Goodbudget's free tier is permanent but capped on envelopes and accounts. Empower's free dashboard is technically a lead-gen surface for paid advisory.
No. YNAB has a 34-day free trial, then $14.99/month or $109/year. The trial is generous (no credit card required) but it is not a permanent free tier.
Okane is the closest free YNAB analog by method (zero-based envelope budgeting), platform (mobile-first), and tier semantics (free tier is the full app, not a trial). See the dedicated YNAB-alternatives ranking for the full breakdown.