Best Budgeting Apps and Tools in NZ

What kind of tools would you use if you were building a piece of furniture? A shovel, rake, and tyre iron, perhaps? No, of course not. You’d surely be more inclined to grab a tape measure, saw, and nail gun.

Now, we don't know that much about carpentry, but we do know that it's important to have the right tools for the job. The same goes for managing your money. Here are the best budgeting apps and tools available in New Zealand, what they cost, and who they suit, plus a free budget planner you can download.

Best Budgeting Apps and Tools at a glance

• Best free option for beginners: Sorted's Budget Planner, a free, government-backed tool.

• Best for automatic tracking: PocketSmith (made in NZ) or MyBudgetPal, which both connect to your bank.

• Already have a banking app? Most of the big banks now sort your spending into categories for you.

• Prefer pen and paper? Download our free printable budget planner below.

• The costs people most often forget, according to our branch teams: small everyday spends, subscriptions, buy now pay later, and irregular costs like clothing.

NZ budgeting apps and tools compared

Confirmed October 2026

How to build a simple budget

Budgeting is the first and most basic step to successful financial management.

Everyone can benefit from having a budget, they're not strictly for those struggling to make ends meet. In fact, the opposite is more likely true: people are less likely to struggle if they budget correctly.

It's a great way to stay ahead of the game by ensuring your hard-earned cash is being put in the right places.

A simple budget is built by adding up how much money we are bringing into the household and then adding up how much money we need to be spending. The keyword here is 'need'. That's all your utility bills and other necessary expenses like groceries (not eating out!), petrol or public transport costs, school supplies for your kids, etc.

Once you've got both numbers, it's easy to see how much money you have leftover (surplus) or how much you're short (deficit).

The goal here is to create as much surplus as you can by reducing spending where possible. Surplus should firstly be used to pay off debts, and then save and invest towards your financial goals.

Sorted's step-by-step guide on how to start a budget is a great place to begin.

The best budgeting apps and software in NZ

Sorted Budget Planner - FREE

Sorted is run by Te Ara Ahunga Ora Retirement Commission, a government-funded agency, and its Budget Planner is a free and easy way to get started.

It works out the difference between the money coming in and the money going out and helps you put money towards your goals.

You can save your budget with a free Sorted account. There's no app, so it's best for setting up a budget rather than tracking day to day.

PocketSmith — FREE or Paid

Paid plans from NZD $9.99/month

Take control of your money and look into the future of your finances with PocketSmith.

It's built here in New Zealand (in Dunedin), and it's a comprehensive personal finance tool with accounts and transactions, budgeting and reporting dashboards, plus a calendar to schedule upcoming bills.

The free plan covers the basics with manual imports. The paid plans (Foundation, Flourish and Fortune) add automatic bank feeds and longer-range forecasting.

MyBudgetPal - FREE

MyBudgetPal is a free budgeting tool from Booster, available to everyone, not just Booster members.

It syncs with your bank accounts and automatically sorts your spending into categories, and a calendar helps you keep track of upcoming costs.

It works best on a computer, though you can view it in the Booster app once you've signed up.

Your bank's app - FREE

Most of the big banks now have spending tools built into their apps.

For example, ASB's Spend Tracker automatically sorts your spending into categories like dining, entertainment and utilities, and shows your trends month by month.

It's worth checking what your own bank's app offers before downloading anything new.

Westpac Budget Calculator - FREE

Westpac's free budget calculator will help you assess your income and expenditure. It'll help you create your own budget and compare your incomings and outgoings.

Apps, software or a spreadsheet?

Apps like PocketSmith and MyBudgetPal connect to your bank and do the sorting for you. They're great if you want it done automatically.

Online tools and software like Sorted's Budget Planner are good for sitting down and building a budget properly, then checking in now and then.

Spreadsheets or paper give you full control and work well if you like seeing everything laid out.

Our free printable planner below is a simple place to start.

There's no wrong answer. The best tool is the one you'll actually keep using.

Free printable budget planner

Prefer pen and paper?

Download our free budget planner. Write down what comes in and goes out, circle how often each one happens (weekly, fortnightly, monthly or yearly), and use the simple conversion guide to turn everything into a weekly amount.

Then fill in the summary to see what's left over each week, fortnight and month.

We've included the costs our branch teams see people forget most often.

What we see when we do budgets with customers

Every time someone applies for a loan with us, our branch teams go through a budget with them. Here's what they see again and again.

• Small everyday spends add up. Most people don't have a good sense of how much goes on coffees, drinks and snacks from week to week, or on food from takeaways, dairies and service stations. On their own they're small, but over a month they can add up to a surprising amount.

• Irregular costs get missed. People usually know their regular essentials, like rent and power, but forget to budget for the things that don't come up every week. Clothing and footwear is a big one, and school holidays can be expensive with the kids home all day.

• Subscriptions slip under the radar. Streaming services are the obvious ones, but small charges for cloud storage, apps and gaming add up too. Many people are surprised by how many they have.

• Buy now pay later gets forgotten. It's easy to leave Afterpay and other BNPL repayments out of a budget, because they don't feel like a regular bill.

• Christmas costs more than expected. After Christmas, a lot of people find they've spent more than they thought.

And here's what our team see working:

• Taking out cash for the week. It's a simple way to cap your spending, though it doesn't show you where the money goes. Keeping your receipts or jotting purchases down helps with that.

• Separate accounts for different purposes. Bills in one, spending in another, savings in a third. It can make things a bit more complicated, but it helps a lot of people stay on track.

• Paying yourself first. Moving money into savings at the start of the month, before you start spending.

• Never paying full price and keeping track of every purchase.

If you'd like help building your budget, our team are happy to sit down and go through it with you. Find your nearest branch.

The best budgeting app for you

• New to budgeting: start with Sorted's Budget Planner, or download our template. Both are free and simple.

• Want it done automatically: PocketSmith or MyBudgetPal connect to your bank and sort your spending for you.

• Budgeting as a couple: pick one tool you'll both use, and put shared bills and shared savings in one place. A spreadsheet you can both open works well.

• Irregular or seasonal income: budget around your lowest-earning month, and put extra aside in the good months. PocketSmith's calendar and forecasting can help you plan ahead.

• Paying off debt: list every repayment, including buy now pay later, and see what's left over. Our affordability tips and guide to debt consolidation can help too.

Popular budgeting methods

• The 50/30/20 rule: put 50% of your take-home pay towards needs (like rent, power and groceries), 30% towards wants, and 20% towards savings or paying off debt.

• The 70/10/10/10 rule: one common version puts 70% towards living costs, 10% towards savings, 10% towards paying off debt or investing, and 10% towards giving or extras.

• The cash or envelope method: take out a set amount of cash for each spending category (or for the week), and once it's gone, it's gone. A lot of our customers use a version of this.

• Pay yourself first: move your savings out as soon as you're paid, then budget with what's left.

These are starting points, not strict rules. Adjust the percentages to suit your situation.

Why tracking your spending matters

Now that you've got a belt full of financial budgeting tools, it's time to put them to use.

Pick a couple that look helpful to you and start budgeting, tracking expenses, and saving money. The more effort you're willing to put in to managing your finances, the more (money) you'll get out of it!

If you need help with tracking your spending, check out our blog on why it's important to track your spending, or Sorted's guide to money tracking.

Planning for Christmas?

Christmas is one of the biggest costs of the year. Our Christmas budget guide has a simple table to plan for gifts, food, events, travel and extras.

Come January, it's worth checking how the festive season actually went.

Go back over your spending, cancel any subscriptions you signed up for over the holidays, and reset your budget for the year ahead.

If you've spent more than you planned, our post on what to do if you've overspent at Christmas can help.

Thinking about a loan?

If you're thinking about borrowing, a budget is the best place to start.

It shows you what repayments you can comfortably fit. When you apply with us, we'll go through your budget with you to make sure the loan fits.

Have a play with our loan calculator to see what repayments could look like.

Budgeting app FAQs

What is the best budgeting app in NZ? 

It depends on what you need. For a simple, free way to build a budget, Sorted's Budget Planner is a great start. If you want your spending tracked automatically, PocketSmith (made in NZ) and MyBudgetPal both connect to your bank. And if you'd rather not download anything, check what your bank's own app offers.

What is the best free budgeting app in NZ?

Sorted's Budget Planner and MyBudgetPal are both free. PocketSmith has a free plan too, though automatic bank feeds are only on its paid plans. Most banking apps also include free spending tools for their customers.

What is the 50/30/20 budget rule?

It's a simple way to split your take-home pay: 50% on needs like rent, power and groceries, 30% on wants, and 20% on savings or paying off debt. It's a starting point, so adjust it to suit your situation.

What is the 70/10/10/10 budget rule?

One common version puts 70% of your take-home pay towards living costs, 10% towards savings, 10% towards paying off debt or investing, and 10% towards giving or extras. Like any rule of thumb, adjust it to what works for you.

How much does PocketSmith cost in New Zealand?

PocketSmith has a free plan, plus three paid plans: Foundation at NZD $14.95 a month ($9.99 a month billed annually), Flourish at $24.95 a month ($16.66 billed annually) and Fortune at $39.95 a month ($26.66 billed annually). The free plan doesn't include automatic bank feeds.

Is it safe to connect my bank to a budgeting app?

Since 1 December 2025, New Zealand has had regulated open banking, which lets accredited apps access your banking data with your permission, without you sharing your banking password. ANZ, ASB, BNZ and Westpac are covered now, with Kiwibank following in stages through 2026. Before connecting, check the app uses secure, read-only bank connections, and never give your internet banking password to anyone.