The Best Budgeting Apps for Mortgage

Track your income, expenses, and mortgage payments with ease—these budgeting apps simplify homeownership and help you reach financial goals faster.

Why Budgeting Apps Are Essential for Mortgage Management

Owning a home is a major financial commitment. Between monthly mortgage payments, property taxes, insurance, maintenance, and lifestyle expenses, it’s easy to lose track of where your money goes. Budgeting apps help you gain control, monitor your financial health, and avoid costly mistakes. By integrating your mortgage into a full financial picture, you can plan better and reduce debt faster.

What to Look for in a Mortgage-Friendly Budgeting App

Before exploring specific apps, it’s essential to understand what features make a budgeting app effective for mortgage tracking:

Mortgage and debt tracking
Bill payment reminders
Integration with bank accounts
Customizable budgeting categories
Credit monitoring tools
Savings goal setting
User-friendly interface
Reports and analytics

With these features in mind, let’s explore the top budgeting apps ideal for managing your mortgage.

1. Mint: Best Free All-in-One Budgeting Tool

Mint by Intuit is one of the most popular budgeting apps due to its intuitive design and wide feature set. It’s an excellent option for homeowners who want a comprehensive view of their finances without paying a dime.

Key Features:

Connects to bank, credit, and loan accounts
Automatically categorizes spending
Tracks mortgage payments and outstanding loan balance
Sends bill reminders and alerts
Offers free credit score monitoring

Why It’s Great for Mortgage:

Mint lets you add your mortgage as a loan account and view amortization. This helps you track equity growth and stay ahead of your repayment schedule.

Limitations:

Ads may clutter the interface
Limited customization options
No joint account sharing

2. YNAB (You Need a Budget): Best for Intentional Spending

YNAB follows a zero-based budgeting approach and emphasizes mindful money allocation. It’s ideal for homeowners who want to prioritize every dollar and pay off their mortgage faster.

Key Features:

Real-time budgeting with manual and linked account options
Goal-setting tools for debt repayment and savings
Detailed financial reporting
Educational resources and webinars
Syncs across devices and supports joint accounts

Why It’s Great for Mortgage:

YNAB lets users create a specific goal to pay off a mortgage early. You can visually track extra payments and compare progress against your target.

Limitations:

$14.99/month or $99/year after 34-day free trial
Requires active involvement to update budgets

3. EveryDollar: Best for Simplicity and Debt Payoff

Created by financial expert Dave Ramsey, EveryDollar promotes a straightforward budgeting approach based on Ramsey’s Baby Steps program. It’s great for users focused on eliminating debt and building wealth.

Key Features:

Zero-based budgeting setup
Customizable expense categories
Track debt payoff progress including mortgage
Integration with Ramsey+ (premium version)

Why It’s Great for Mortgage:

EveryDollar allows users to input their mortgage as a debt and allocate payments directly in their budget. The visual debt tracker motivates consistent progress.

Limitations:

Free version requires manual input
Premium version is $79.99/year
No credit score tracking or investment tracking

4. PocketGuard: Best for Preventing Overspending

PocketGuard simplifies budgeting with a “What’s Left” feature that shows how much money you can spend after covering bills, goals, and necessities.

Key Features:

Links with bank and credit accounts
Automatically detects recurring bills, including mortgage
Helps create a debt payoff plan
Offers a spending limit to curb overspending

Why It’s Great for Mortgage:

It factors in your mortgage as a recurring bill and adjusts your spendable amount accordingly, helping you avoid falling behind on essential payments.

Limitations:

Limited customization compared to YNAB
Some features locked behind a $7.99/month or $34.99/year subscription

5. Monarch Money: Best for Couples and Families

Monarch Money is a newer budgeting app that’s rising in popularity for its beautiful interface, strong collaborative features, and robust financial tracking.

Key Features:

Joint household budgeting
Cash flow analysis and forecasting
Tracks all accounts including mortgage and investments
Goal setting for debt repayment and savings
In-depth financial planning tools

Why It’s Great for Mortgage:

You can connect your mortgage account, track remaining balances, and set payoff goals. It’s especially useful for couples managing a shared mortgage.

Limitations:

$14.99/month or $99/year after trial
No bill pay feature

6. Goodbudget: Best for Envelope Budgeting

Goodbudget brings the classic envelope budgeting method into the digital age. It’s a top choice for users who want to assign spending limits manually and stay disciplined.

Key Features:

Envelope-style budgeting system
Manual transaction entry for precision
Syncs with spouse or partner accounts
Tracks loan balances including mortgages
Web and mobile app support

Why It’s Great for Mortgage:

Goodbudget lets users create an envelope specifically for mortgage payments and track how much goes toward interest versus principal.

Limitations:

No bank syncing in free version
Premium plan costs $8/month or $70/year
Lacks real-time bank data

7. Simplifi by Quicken: Best for Real-Time Financial Tracking

Simplifi is a newer app from Quicken that offers sleek design and powerful tracking tools for everyday spending, savings goals, and debt management.

Key Features:

Automatically categorizes transactions
Mortgage and loan tracking integration
Spending plan that adapts monthly
Customizable savings and debt goals
Investment tracking

Why It’s Great for Mortgage:

You can link your mortgage and set a custom payoff goal. The app visualizes how extra payments affect your debt timeline, making it easier to stay motivated.

Limitations:

$5.99/month or $47.99/year
No free version after trial

8. Zeta: Best for Managing Finances Together

Zeta is designed for couples, roommates, and families who budget together. With shared accounts and messaging features, it simplifies joint financial planning.

Key Features:

Syncs with multiple bank accounts
Custom budgets per person or category
Set joint goals like mortgage payoff
Track shared and individual expenses

Why It’s Great for Mortgage:

Zeta makes it easy for couples or roommates to split a mortgage and track contributions toward homeownership goals.

Limitations:

Limited to U.S. financial institutions
Fewer advanced analytics

Choosing the Right Budgeting App for Your Mortgage

Each app offers unique strengths depending on your goals:

Best free overall: Mint
Best for debt payoff: EveryDollar
Best for hands-on budgeting: YNAB
Best for couples/families: Monarch Money or Zeta
Best for automation: Simplifi or PocketGuard
Best for manual budgeting: Goodbudget

If you prefer automation and don’t mind ads, Mint is an easy winner. If you want full control and a plan to pay off your mortgage faster, YNAB or EveryDollar will keep you on track. For shared budgeting, Monarch Money and Zeta make collaboration seamless.

Tips for Using Budgeting Apps to Manage Your Mortgage

1. Always Connect Your Mortgage Account

If the app allows, link your mortgage loan account to track your balance, payments, and interest over time.

2. Set a Goal for Early Payoff

Use built-in goal features to set a realistic mortgage payoff date. Even small extra payments can save thousands in interest.

3. Include Property Expenses

Don’t forget to budget for property taxes, insurance, repairs, and HOA fees. These often catch new homeowners by surprise.

4. Review Monthly

Set aside time each month to review your budget and adjust categories. This ensures your financial plan evolves with your life.

5. Use Alerts

Enable alerts for due dates, overspending