Top Apps to Save Money: Let Your Money Grow

It's the modern era, so it's time to use modern tools to manage your finances—modern tools like money-saving mobile apps.

You can find a huge variety of apps that put money management tools right in your pocket, from importing your transactions into a digital budget to automated savings hacks that put your savings on autopilot.

What Do Savings Apps Do?

Savings apps offer a huge variety of tools and resources for managing money and boosting your savings. Some let you automatically transfer money into a linked bank account based on predetermined rules, like every time you get paid. That could make it easier to grow your savings or pad an emergency fund without even having to think about it.

Many savings apps use automation to make budgeting easier, too, by automatically importing transactions from your linked accounts. This lets you easily track your money so you know how much you can save.

A few savings apps offer in-house savings accounts, often with higher interest rates than you'll get from your local bank. Boosting your savings APY can really help your money grow.

It’s worth taking the time to explore the different features and benefits offered by money-saving apps. Here's a look at some of our top apps for saving money.

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Top 6 Apps to Make Saving Easier

We’ve researched the field and come away impressed by these six different apps, detailed below, that can make saving money easier.

1. Oportun

Android Store rating: 4.0 / 5.0 stars

Apple Store rating: 4.7 / 5.0 stars

Cost: $5 per month after 30-day free trial

Oportun (formerly Digit) is an “effortless tool to help you save, borrow, invest, and track your finances.” You link the app to your existing checking account. The app learns your spending habits and expenses. You can input as many savings goals as you prefer.

You add funds to your account using direct deposit, a manual transfer, or smart deposits from your linked checking account. Using its algorithms, Oportun will then calculate how much money to safely save. The app will begin regularly making small transfers to a savings bucket within your account.

2. Chime

Android Store rating: 4.7 / 5.0 stars

Apple Store rating: 4.8 / 5.0 stars

Cost: $0

Chime is as simple and no-strings-attached as it gets. Chime offers an app and a savings account (as well as a checking account), all under one online roof. There’s no cost for the app, and no minimum balance, monthly fees, or overdraft fees.

You can save money every time you make a purchase. Or if you opt to use the Chime Visa Debit Card when you pay a bill, Chime’s Save When You Spend feature automatically rounds up transactions to the next dollar and moves that amount from your checking account into your savings account. A benefit of pairing with its online bank account is that Chime makes your cash instantly available if you want it.

Your savings account will earn 2% APY, which is higher than average though not as competitive as some other high-yield savings accounts. A Chime+ account unlocks a 3.75% APY as long you meet conditions such as $200 or more in direct deposit every 34 days.

3. Qapital

Android Store rating: 4.3 / 5.0 stars

Apple Store rating: 4.8 / 5.0 stars

Cost: $3, $6, or $12 per month depending on your plan

This app makes automated savings a no-brainer. Like some of the other apps described here, Qapital rounds up your purchases when you buy goods or services. It then shifts that surplus to a linked outside account.

The perks don’t stop there. Qapital allows you to pick savings goals and then apply rules that automatically send money toward those goals. If you’d rather set up a predetermined amount that gets saved, you could do that, too. And you can invite a spouse, partner, or friend with the app to share your savings goals and transfer funds between your accounts.

4. Current

Android Store rating: 4.6 / 5.0 stars

Apple Store rating: 4.8 / 5.0 stars

Cost: $0

This free app lets you combine savings and checking features into one free basic savings account and use a linked debit card. You also establish savings buckets that Current calls pods to reach your chosen savings goals. Some fees may apply, including out-of-network ATM fees, late payment fees, and other fees.

When you use the card, your transactions are rounded up to the nearest dollar. The difference goes to your chosen savings pod. You can even earn rewards and cash back via Current’s Points reward program. Using the app, these rewards can be redeemed from thousands of participating retailers.

A Current account can earn up to 4% APY (but only if you have monthly direct deposits of at least $500). This APY applies to up to $2,000 per pod and up to $6,000 total. Savings over that amount will earn 0% APY, so you should move it somewhere else where you can keep earning.

5. Acorns

Android Store rating: 4.7 / 5.0 stars

Apple Store rating: 4.7 / 5.0 stars

Cost: $3, $6, or $12 per month depending on your plan

The Acorns app is a longtime favorite of investment-minded consumers. With this tool, you can invest extra savings automatically into a portfolio of exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Acorns rounds up any purchase made from a linked account, debit card, or credit card and invests that spare change into your chosen ETFs. For example, if you spend $10.19 at a cafe, Acorns would automatically invest $0.81.

Unlike the other apps we’ve found, Acorns helps you grow your savings by investing the money, which can earn more than bank accounts over time. Just remember that investing always includes some risk, and your investments could lose value.

6. Achieve MoLO

Android Store rating: 4.4 / 5.0 stars

Apple Store rating: 4.7 / 5.0 stars

Cost: $0

MoLO stands for money left over, and the Achieve MoLO app wants you to have more of it. More money left over after bills could help you boost your savings or pay off debt. 

This free app uses your linked accounts to predict how much money you'll have left over each month based on your typical spending and income. You can also tackle MoLO challenges to beat your estimate and have even more left over.

Linking your accounts lets you see everything in one place, so you can have a high-level view of all your money. You'll even get personalized advice on how to save more and spend less based on your actual finances.