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Finder survey: What do Australians of different ages use their banking apps for?
Response
Gen Z
Gen Y
Gen X
Baby Boomers
Checking your balance
38.2%
30.43%
25%
22.16%
Transferring money or paying someone
17.98%
27.17%
28.29%
28.98%
Transaction monitoring
6.74%
14.95%
13.49%
10.23%
Budgeting and expense tracking
4.49%
3.53%
3.29%
2.84%
Rewards and offers
4.49%
0.82%
0.66%
Customer support
2.25%
1.36%
0.33%
0.28%
I don't use a banking app
1.12%
1.9%
6.58%
23.86%
Other
1.12%
0.85%
Find nearby ATMs
2.45%
1.32%
Source: Finder survey by Pure Profile of 1113 Australians, December 2023
Best budget apps
PocketSmith Sidekick
Best for overseas accounts
The PocketSmith Sidekick app is great if you have accounts in Australia and overseas because it works with over 12,000 financial institutions around the world.
Founded in New Zealand in 2008, PocketSmith works as a web app or mobile app, with a free version that lets you manually add account details, make up to 12 budgets and get a 6-month projection of your finances. The paid plans give you a lot more scope, including:
Automatic and manual transaction imports
Automatic bank feeds
Automatic categorisation
10-year or 30-year finance projections (depending on the plan)
Cost: Free basic plan. Paid plans cost between $8.25 and $21.95 per month.
Compatibility:
iPhone, iPad, iPod touch (OS 11.0 or later) and Macs with an Apple M1 chip and MacOS 11.0 or later
This app is based on the envelope budgeting strategy, where you put different amounts of money into envelopes based on what you'll spend it on (e.g. bills, rent and dining). It's a lot easier to see and manage through an app - and more environmentally friendly, too. Other features include:
Spending analysis for each envelope, including pie-charts
Income vs. spending reports
Progress tracking for paying off debt, saving money or any other goal
Community support
Sharable budgets
Cost: Free basic plan, with a paid plan costing US$8 per month or US$70 per year.
Frollo is an Australian fintech best known for providing open banking services to brands like BOQ, REA Group and Volt. Its personal finance app also uses this technology to let you add accounts from different banks and lenders, with similar features to other budget apps.
A highlight is the downloadable "Financial Passport" that shows your income, spending, assets and liabilities for the last 12 months – which could be useful when you're applying for loans or talking to a broker.
Other features include:
Smart money tips and notifications
Separate budgets based on goals, with visuals that track your progress
A dashboard for tracking your net worth
Cost: Free
Compatibility:
iPhone, iPad, iPod touch (OS 12.0 or later) and Mac computers with an Apple M1 chip and MacOS 11.0 or later
Up is an Australian digital bank that offers all the regular features of a bank and savings account, as well as bonus features to help you save money. You can set up auto savings and round ups on purchases, set savings goals and even get an Up home loan.
Track, trade, compare and save with the Finder app. Pop in your phone number below to get your download link.
Finder app
Best for financial overview
Okay, we might be a bit biased, the Finder app lets you better manage and grow your money, all in the one app.
You can connect all your bank accounts, automatically track your spending and bills and get a better idea of where your money is going. You can also use the app to find a better deal on things like your energy, insurance, utilities and more.
Other key investing and money features of the Finder app include:
Crypto trading
Compare hundreds of financial products
Free credit score and credit report
Cost: Free
Compatibility:
iPhone, iPad, iPod touch (OS 12.0 or later) and Mac computers with an Apple M1 chip and MacOS 11.0 or later
Track, trade, compare and save with the Finder app. Pop in your phone number below to get your download link.
What other apps can help with money management and budgeting?
While the following aren't specifically budgeting apps, they can allow you to pay friends and family, track expenses, split bills and even convert currency.
Beem
Best for paying friends
Previously known as Beem It, this free app lets you use your phone to send and get money in seconds when you add a Visa or Mastercard. Backed by eftpos, it's incredibly popular and has one of the highest App Store ratings we saw for this guide at the time of writing.
Key features include:
Pay anyone on Beem using their handle
Track and split expenses with a group
Automatically sends requests and reminders to people when you're owed money
Transfer money between your cards, including between banks
BPAY payments
You can add up to 5 cards, and get the most features if you add a debit card – including payments to other people. If you add a credit card, you'll be able to use it for gift cards, BPAY and Beem Checkout.
Splitwise lets you track and pay for shared expenses between two or more people. You can easily add groups to the app and leave comments on expenses, making it handy if you're splitting bills, dinner, transport or anything else.
But keep in mind that you can't make actual payments through the app in Australia – that has to happen through your bank account or PayPal.
Other features include:
Categorise expenses
Split expenses by a percentage or chosen amount
Set up recurring expenses
Offline mode
Receipt scanning (Pro version)
Currency conversion (Pro version)
Cost: Free with in-app purchases from $0.99 to $39.99 (including for the Pro version)
Android, but version varies with device (check Google Play on your device for compatibility)
How much could you save per month?
To give you an idea, the average person saves approximately $720 per month, according to our consumer sentiment tracker (November data). NSW and ACT are the biggest savers, putting away $813 and $895 a month. Families with 2 kids are best at saving for a rainy day. They manage to put away over $940 a month.
What about my bank's app?
A growing number of bank apps also come with features to help you track your budget, set savings goals and manage your finances, including CommBank, ANZ and NAB apps. In January 2022, Westpac also acquired popular budget app MoneyBrilliant and plans to integrate some key features.
So if you have all your money with one bank, its app could give you enough tools for your budget goals.
Bottom line
If you know what you want to do with your money, you can find an app to help. And if you're not sure what the next financial step is, using a budgeting app can give you a clearer picture to help you figure it out.
We chose these apps based on a combination of their features, user ratings and how long they have been on the market. To help narrow down the comparison, we focused on 3 key categories and only selected apps with a rating of at least 3.3 at the time of writing and compatibility with both Apple and Android devices.
The best budget app is one that lets you see all your accounts and money in one place, with tools to make the most of it. With that in mind, we also focused on apps that offered helpful features in the free version, and value-for-money in the paid versions.
Amy Bradney-George was the senior writer for credit cards at Finder, and editorial lead for Finder Green. She has over 16 years of editorial experience and has been featured in publications including ABC News, Money Magazine and The Sydney Morning Herald.
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