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6 Banks With Budgeting Tools

Published June 25, 2024
Steven Porrello
By: Steven Porrello
Steven Porrello
Steven Porrello
Writer

Steven is a personal finance writer covering topics from mortgages to credit cards to market news. He has written for The Motley Fool Canada, Ramsey Solutions, Nerdwallet, Clever Real Estate, and other major outlets. Steven launched his writing career at the age of four with his first book, "Revenge of the Bad Guys." He currently lives in Portland, Oregon.

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Our Banking Expert

Eric McWhinnie
Check IconFact Checked Eric McWhinnie
Eric McWhinnie
Eric McWhinnie

Eric McWhinnie has been writing and editing digital content since 2010. He specializes in personal finance and investing. He also holds a bachelor’s degree in Finance.

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Many or all of the products here are from our partners that compensate us. It’s how we make money. But our editorial integrity ensures our experts’ opinions aren’t influenced by compensation. Terms may apply to offers listed on this page. APY = Annual Percentage Yield. APYs are subject to change at any time without notice.

Many of the best banks today have integrated budgeting tools into their mobile apps to help clients manage their finances, track spending, and save for financial goals. These tools are free and often powerful enough to replace budgeting apps, which typically charge a monthly or annual subscription fee. As technology advances, these budgeting tools can simplify your finances, helping you plan and save without the hassle of spreadsheets.

Not all banks provide budgeting tools, and those that do may not have the strongest tools available. If you're on the hunt for a new bank, let's look at those whose budgeting tools really stand out.

What are budgeting tools?

Like a regular budget, budgeting tools help you manage three main areas: earning money, spending money, and saving money. Unlike a regular budget, however, which requires manual input and diligent upkeep, budgeting tools can monitor your finances automatically, often with very little maintenance on your part.

While budgeting tools can differ by bank, they have some similarities. Most will track your monthly expenses and give you a big picture view of how much you are spending. Some will break your spending into various categories, like "groceries" or "gas," helping you see how much you're spending at specific places. Others will even let you allocate portions of your income for your month's biggest expenses (like housing), thus helping you visualize how much you have leftover for the rest of the month.

Banks with budgeting tools almost always offer them as a free service to clients. They can be invaluable for those who don't want to pay subscription fees to use budgeting apps and software.

Why are budgeting tools important?

Budgeting tools can help you set realistic financial goals and create a plan to achieve them. They could increase your savings account balance, help you manage debt, and give you a clearer understanding of your spending habits. Best of all, they're super convenient, often tracking your finances accurately without any input from you.

Banks with budgeting tools

As technology develops, many banks now have the capability to offer budgeting tools to their clients. Some are even integrating advances in AI within their budgeting software, giving you a kind of personal financial assistant to help you manage your finances. While not all banks offer even rudimentary budget planners, the following six banks have excellent budgeting tools.

Ratings Methodology
Rates as of Jun 28, 2024
Award Icon 2024 Award Winner

SoFi Checking and Savings

Open Account for SoFi Checking and Savings
Member FDIC.
Rating image, 4.50 out of 5 stars.
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= Excellent
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Rating image, 4.50 out of 5 stars.
4.50/5 Circle with letter I in it. Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale. 5 stars equals Best. 4 stars equals Excellent. 3 stars equals Good. 2 stars equals Fair. 1 star equals Poor. We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs.
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= Excellent
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Open Account for SoFi Checking and Savings
Offer Alert
New customers can earn up to a $300 bonus with qualifying direct deposits!
APY
up to 4.60% Rate info Circle with letter I in it. You can earn the maximum APY by having Direct Deposit (no minimum amount required) or by making $5,000 or more in Qualifying Deposits every 30 days. See SoFi Checking and Savings rate sheet at: https://www.sofi.com/legal/banking-rate-sheet.
Min. To Earn APY
$0
  • Competitive APY on both Savings and Checking
  • No account fees
  • Welcome bonus up to $300 (direct deposit required)
  • Early access to direct deposits
  • Tools to help you track savings goals
  • Unlimited number of external transfers (up to daily transaction limits)
  • ATM access
  • FDIC insured (up to $2M with opt-in to SoFi Insured Deposit Program)
  • Combo account only; no stand-alone savings or checking
  • Maximum Savings APY requires direct deposit
  • Overdraft protection requires monthly direct deposit minimum
  • No branch access; online only

For those who plan to set up direct deposit with their new account, we think SoFi Checking and Savings is hard to beat. Not only does this savings account offer a strong APY, but the linked checking account earns an above-average rate, too -- which is a rare perk. Plus, there's the opportunity for a bonus of up to $300 and a long list of extra account features. Frankly, it's the kind of combo that could make it worthwhile to switch banking relationships.

You can earn the maximum APY either by making direct deposits into checking or savings, or by depositing $5,000 or more every 30 days. Learn more.

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SoFi Relay is a budgeting tool that tracks your spending, categorizes expenses, and clues you in to your spending trends. The tool also has a neat "cash flow" feature which helps you visualize how much you're earning versus your spending for the same month. You can also set a "spending target," which could help you save money by spending less than you're making.

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Rates as of Jun 28, 2024

Capital One 360 Performance Savings

Open Account for Capital One 360 Performance Savings
Member FDIC.
Rating image, 4.00 out of 5 stars.
4.00/5 Circle with letter I in it. Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale. 5 stars equals Best. 4 stars equals Excellent. 3 stars equals Good. 2 stars equals Fair. 1 star equals Poor. We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs.
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= Excellent
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Rating image, 4.00 out of 5 stars.
4.00/5 Circle with letter I in it. Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale. 5 stars equals Best. 4 stars equals Excellent. 3 stars equals Good. 2 stars equals Fair. 1 star equals Poor. We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs.
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Open Account for Capital One 360 Performance Savings
APY
4.25% Rate info Circle with letter I in it. See Capital One website for most up-to-date rates. Advertised Annual Percentage Yield (APY) is variable and accurate as of April 11, 2024. Rates are subject to change at any time before or after account opening.
Min. To Earn APY
$0
  • Competitive APY
  • Branch access
  • No account fees
  • Comfort of a well-known brand and reputation
  • 24/7 customer support
  • No ATM access

Capital One 360 Performance Savings checks all the boxes we look for in a high-yield savings account. It even offers branch locations and Capital One Cafes where customers can seek in-person support (if you live near one). This makes it a great fit when you want to reap the rewards of online banking but aren't quite ready to cut ties with brick-and-mortar banks.

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Capital One's "Map Your Spend" is a budgeting tool that helps you track your spending for monthly expenses. You can add numerous pre-created categories to your budget, like Housing, Shopping, and Dining Out, or create your own. You'll then decide if these are "needs" or "wants" and rank them in order of importance. Finally, you'll give your best estimate as to how much you spend on each one per month, and the tool will help you stay within budget.

In addition to Map Your Spend, Capital One Bank can also help you keep track of recurring expenses. Within its mobile app, Capital One will alert you of any upcoming bills. You can also use Eno the virtual assistant to identify any subscriptions, bills, or housing payments that might be coming up. Seeing all your recurring expenses could also help you eliminate subscriptions you're no longer using.

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Rates as of Jun 28, 2024

Ally Savings

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Member FDIC.
Rating image, 4.75 out of 5 stars.
4.75/5 Circle with letter I in it. Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale. 5 stars equals Best. 4 stars equals Excellent. 3 stars equals Good. 2 stars equals Fair. 1 star equals Poor. We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs.
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Rating image, 4.75 out of 5 stars.
4.75/5 Circle with letter I in it. Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale. 5 stars equals Best. 4 stars equals Excellent. 3 stars equals Good. 2 stars equals Fair. 1 star equals Poor. We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs.
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= Excellent
= Good
= Fair
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APY
4.25%
Min. To Earn APY
$0
  • Competitive APYs
  • No monthly maintenance fees
  • Saving buckets to separate savings by goals
  • No minimum balance requirements
  • No local branches
  • No cash deposits

Ally Online Savings features a competitive APY on all balances, with no fees or minimums. Customers also have access to several tools like savings buckets, recurring transfers, and roundups to maximize savings opportunities.

Ally Bank has crafted a slew of powerful and unique tools that will help you budget monthly expenses and put money aside for your savings goals.

For one, it has savings and checking buckets. These will automatically portion out your income for different expenses, like rent and groceries, helping you visualize how much you have leftover for fun expenses. You can even create buckets to help you hit certain savings goals, like building an emergency fund.

It also has a unique "surprise savings" tool that identifies money in your checking account that could be earning more interest in your savings account. Finally, "round-up" can round to the nearest dollar on certain debit card purchases and transfer the difference from your checking to your savings.

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Chase Savings℠

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Member FDIC.
Rating image, 2.50 out of 5 stars.
2.50/5 Circle with letter I in it. Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale. 5 stars equals Best. 4 stars equals Excellent. 3 stars equals Good. 2 stars equals Fair. 1 star equals Poor. We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs.
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Rating image, 2.50 out of 5 stars.
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APY
0.01%
Min. To Earn APY
N/A
  • Large, nationwide branch network
  • Highly rated customer service
  • Automated savings tools for those with linked Chase checking accounts
  • Unimpressive APY
  • Monthly maintenance fee

The Chase Savings account doesn't offer a high APY, but it remains a popular pick because of the bank's impressive customer service and huge branch network. Those who prefer personalized, in-person support will find Chase difficult to beat.

Chase Bank clients can easily keep track and manage their budgets through Chase's "Spending Planner." Found within the Chase mobile app, the planner gives you a quick summary of your monthly spending, including the top categories you're spending money on. It also has a "Budget" feature that helps you visualize how much you've spent that month and how it compares to previous months.

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Rates as of Jun 28, 2024

Wells Fargo Platinum Savings

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Member FDIC.
Rating image, 3.50 out of 5 stars.
3.50/5 Circle with letter I in it. Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale. 5 stars equals Best. 4 stars equals Excellent. 3 stars equals Good. 2 stars equals Fair. 1 star equals Poor. We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs.
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Rating image, 3.50 out of 5 stars.
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= Excellent
= Good
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Read Review
APY
0.25% to 2.51%, depending on balance Rate info Circle with letter I in it. There are four tiers of APYs: $0 - $99,999.99, $100,000 - $499,999.99, $500,000 - $999,999.99, and $1 million or more. The higher your balance, the greater your APY.
Min. To Earn APY
$25
  • Competitive APYs for high balances
  • Can avoid monthly fees
  • Low minimum deposit
  • Thousands of branches
  • Unlimited branch/ATM withdrawals
  • Check-writing capabilities
  • Best rates are for very high balances
  • Online savings accounts have higher APYs
  • Monthly service fee

The Wells Fargo Platinum Savings account can offer higher APYs than most branch-based banks, but with the convenience that comes with a national bank.

Wells Fargo's My Spending Report tracks income, deposits, payments, and withdrawals to help you keep track of money that comes in and money that goes out. Wells Fargo also has a budgeting feature that lets you customize how much you want to spend on monthly categories, then pulls data from your actual monthly expenses to show you how you're doing.

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Rates as of Jun 28, 2024

Bank of America Advantage Savings

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Member FDIC.
Rating image, 2.50 out of 5 stars.
2.50/5 Circle with letter I in it. Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale. 5 stars equals Best. 4 stars equals Excellent. 3 stars equals Good. 2 stars equals Fair. 1 star equals Poor. We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs.
 = Best
= Excellent
= Good
= Fair
= Poor
Rating image, 2.50 out of 5 stars.
2.50/5 Circle with letter I in it. Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale. 5 stars equals Best. 4 stars equals Excellent. 3 stars equals Good. 2 stars equals Fair. 1 star equals Poor. We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs.
 = Best
= Excellent
= Good
= Fair
= Poor
Read Review
APY
0.01% Rate info Circle with letter I in it. Preferred Rewards members are eligible for higher APY. Gold tier earns 0.02%, Platinum earns 0.03%, and Platinum Honors earns 0.04%.
Min. To Earn APY
N/A
  • FDIC insured 
  • Large network of local branches
  • Relationship benefits for Preferred Rewards members
  • Mobile check deposits
  • Low APY
  • Only one savings account option
  • Monthly fee unless you meet monthly requirements
  • Requires a $100 minimum opening deposit

Bank of America Advantage Savings does not earn a competitive APY, even for Preferred Rewards members, and it carries a monthly fee except for minor and college students under 25 years of age. Still, the savings account is a viable option for those wanting in-person local banking or an account with an established big bank.

Bank of America has one of the most powerful budgeting tools available -- Erica, its virtual financial assistant. Erica can provide you personalized insights on your weekly and monthly spending, as well as give you budget recommendations based on your current spending patterns. It can identify recurring expenses, helping you stay current on your bills, and it can even let you know when a recurring expense is higher than usual.

Along with Erica, Bank of America also has a more traditional Spending & Budgeting feature, which tracks your spending and helps you stay within a preset budget.

Pros and cons of using a budgeting tool

Like any banking feature, using budgeting tools comes with its own set of pros and cons.

Pros

  • Convenience. Most of these tools will track and categorize your expenses automatically. This can be a huge relief for those sick and tired of inputting expenses manually in a spreadsheet.
  • Save more money: Budgeting tools can help you identify where you might be overspending. It can add savings goals into your budget and give you advice on how to best achieve them.
  • Get financial insights. Many of the best banks with budgeting tools will also give you weekly or monthly summaries on your spending and saving.

Cons

  • External accounts are not always tracked. Perhaps the biggest weakness to these tools is that they don't always give you a big picture of your finances. Often, the tools are designed to help you only if you conduct all your transactions at one bank. For instance, if you have your credit card at one bank and your checking account at another, the budgeting tools in your checking account may not catch or categorize the spending on your credit card. This would give you an incomplete picture of your financial situation, especially if you have more than one account at other banks.
  • May lack customization. Unlike the top budgeting apps, banks with budgeting tools don't always let you customize your spending categories. Instead, they'll lump expenses into general categories -- like dining out or shopping -- that may not reflect your actual spending trends.
  • Biased (or pesky) promotions. Allowing your bank to monitor your financial activities could open the door to advertisements and promotions on products you neither need nor want, such as personal loans, credit cards, and insurance. Since these might not help your financial situation, they could be an irritant you'd rather not deal with.