

It tracks your spending, revolving bills, savings goals, and earnings history to estimate how much you have left to spend in a given month in any category you want. We recommend Simplifi for most people because it’s a happy medium between the two. Conversely, zero-balance apps encourage a more hands-on approach, forcing you to account for every dollar you bring in (X amount for savings, Y amount for rent, and so on), but they tend to be idiosyncratic and costly.

Tracking apps offer a 30,000-foot view of your finances, display your transactions in real time, and require very little effort to set up. There are two basic types of budget apps: trackers ( à la Mint) and zero-balancers.
