Private budget apps for iPhone, compared (2026)

Disclosure: we make Money Tracker, one of the apps in this guide. To keep it fair, every competitor fact below comes from the company's own website or its App Store listing, linked inline and checked on October 3, 2026, and we report our own App Store privacy label exactly as Apple shows it, including the parts that don't flatter us.

The short answer

“Private” means different things depending on what you're willing to give up. Here is the best fit for each kind of person, based on where each app stores your data:

• You want nothing collected and don't need bank sync: Dime. It's free, needs no account, and is the only app here whose label says “Data Not Collected”. But it hasn't been updated since November 2023.
• You want your budget on your phone, with optional bank sync: MoneyWiz 2026 or Money Tracker. Both keep data on the device by default and offer bank sync as a paid add-on.
• You're technical and want end-to-end encrypted sync: Actual Budget, which you host yourself. On iPhone it runs in the browser rather than as an App Store app.
• You want the most polished automatic budgeting and accept cloud storage: Copilot Money, Monarch Money, or YNAB. All three store your data on their servers.

What makes a budget app private?

No budgeting app is perfectly private. These four questions separate them:

1. Where does your financial data live? On your phone, in the company's cloud, or on a server you run yourself. Cloud storage isn't automatically unsafe, but it means a company holds a copy of your transactions.
2. Do you need an account? An email sign-up links everything you do to an identity. Some apps work without one.
3. What does the App Store privacy label say? Every app lists what it collects under “Data Used to Track You”, “Data Linked to You”, and “Data Not Linked to You”. Developers write these labels themselves, and Apple notes it has not verified them, but they are the only side-by-side comparison available.
4. How does bank sync work? Every app here that syncs with banks uses an aggregator such as Plaid, MX, or Finicity. The aggregator always sees your transactions. What differs is whether the budgeting company stores them too.

None of the App Store apps below shows a “Data Used to Track You” section, so the real differences are in where data is stored and what is linked to your identity.

Comparison table

US prices and App Store labels as of October 3, 2026. Labels list categories under “Data Linked to You”.

Apps that keep your data on your device

Dime: nothing collected, no bank sync

Dime is a free, open-source expense tracker by an independent developer. It has no in-app purchases, needs no account, and stores everything on your iPhone, with optional sync between your devices through iCloud. Its App Store label reads “Data Not Collected”, the cleanest of any app here. Its privacy policy does mention that crash logs may be gathered through third-party tools.

The catch: there is no bank sync, so every transaction is typed by hand, and the App Store shows no update since November 22, 2023. An app that isn't maintained can stop working after an iOS update.

MoneyWiz 2026: on-device by default, worldwide bank sync

MoneyWiz's privacy policy says the app is designed to save your financial data locally on your device. Cloud sync between devices is optional, and the company describes it as encrypted. It is free to download with unlimited manual accounts and budgets. Standard ($29.99 a year) adds cloud sync, and Premium ($5.99 a month or $59.99 a year) adds bank sync through Plaid, Yodlee, and Salt Edge, which its App Store listing says reaches banks in 55 countries. It runs on iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch.

Its App Store label links Financial Info, Contact Info, User Content, and Identifiers to you, and lists usage and crash data as not linked. Its privacy policy was last updated in January 2021.

Money Tracker: on-device storage with US bank sync

Money Tracker is our app. Your transactions are stored in an encrypted database on your iPhone rather than on our servers, and you don't create an account or give an email address to use it. Receipt scanning and automatic categorization run on the phone using Apple's on-device frameworks. The Free plan covers manual accounts, budgets, reports, goals, and CSV import and export. Sync and Pro ($2.99 or $4.99 a month, $24.99 or $39.99 a year, with a 7-day free trial) add bank sync through Plaid for up to 4 or 8 bank connections.

Our App Store label lists Purchases, Financial Info, Contact Info, User Content, Identifiers, Usage Data, and Diagnostics under “Data Linked to You”, which is no shorter than the cloud apps' labels. Here is what our servers actually hold: if you turn on bank sync, an encrypted token that connects your bank, which bank it is, and a random ID for your install. New transactions pass through our server to your phone without being stored. Our servers also hold your subscription status, a notification token if you turn on reminders, and your email address only if you contact support. Crash reports and app analytics are tied to that random ID, not to your name. The privacy policy lists every processor.

The catch: Money Tracker has no iPad or web app, bank sync supports US banks only, and the app is new (first released in September 2026), so it has no App Store ratings yet. Because your data lives on one phone, there is no web app or cloud copy to fall back on.

Actual Budget: self-hosted with end-to-end encryption

Actual Budget is a free, open-source envelope budgeting app that is local-first: the main database lives on your device. You can sync devices through a server you run or rent, and turn on end-to-end encryption so the server only sees encrypted data. Bank sync is optional, through SimpleFIN for North American banks.

The catch: there is no official iPhone app. Actual's own mobile apps are deprecated, and on iPhone you use it as a web app saved to your home screen, which needs your server. App Store apps with “Actual Budget” in the name are not made by the project.

Cloud apps with strong automation

These apps store your transactions on their servers, which is what lets them offer web access, Android apps, and household sharing. All three say they don't sell your financial data.

Copilot Money

Copilot is a polished budgeting app for Apple devices and the web, at $13 a month or $95 a year (the prices on its App Store listing) after a one-month trial, with no free tier. It connects to US accounts only, mostly through Plaid. According to its security page, data is stored on Google Cloud and encrypted at rest and in transit, which is standard server-side encryption rather than end-to-end encryption. It is the only cloud app here whose label lists diagnostics as not linked to you.

YNAB

YNAB is built around a zero-based budgeting method and costs $14.99 a month or $109 a year after a 34-day trial with no card required. Bank import through Plaid or MX is optional, and it supports manual accounts too. Data is stored in the US on infrastructure built on Heroku and AWS, according to its security page. YNAB is the most widely available app here, with iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Android, and web apps. Its App Store label links location, purchase, and financial data to you.

Monarch Money

Monarch costs $14.99 a month or $99.99 a year, and Plus is $199.99 a year (the prices on its App Store listing). Its pricing page describes a 7-day trial that requires a payment method. It syncs banks in the US and Canada through Plaid, Finicity, MX, and Spinwheel and runs on web, iPhone, iPad, and Android. Its security page says data is encrypted at rest and in transit. Its label lists financial info among the data it may use for its own marketing.

Two more to know about

Goodbudget is envelope budgeting with a free tier (limited envelopes, one account, one year of history) and Premium at $10 a month or $80 a year, which adds US bank sync. It requires a cloud account, and its label includes location data.

Rocket Money is best known for finding and cancelling subscriptions. It has a free tier, and Premium is pay-what-you-think-is-fair, typically $7 to $14 a month. By its own label, it is the least private option here: its App Store listing says it contains advertising, and its label lists purchase history and payment info as used for third-party advertising.

How to choose

• If you need Android, the web, or a shared household budget, you need a cloud app. YNAB and Monarch cover the most platforms.
• If you want no company holding your transactions, choose an on-device app: Dime for free manual tracking, MoneyWiz or Money Tracker if you also want bank sync.
• If you want bank sync outside North America, MoneyWiz and YNAB have the widest coverage.
• Whatever you pick, read the “App Privacy” section of the App Store listing before you install. It takes thirty seconds and is updated with each release.

Frequently asked questions

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

Every app here connects through an aggregator such as Plaid, so you sign in to your bank inside the aggregator's secure screen and the budgeting app never sees your bank password. The privacy difference is what happens next: cloud apps store your transactions on their servers, while on-device apps save them only on your phone.

Which budget app collects the least data?

By App Store label, Dime: it is the only app here that reports “Data Not Collected”. Among apps with bank sync, MoneyWiz and Money Tracker keep transactions on the device, though both labels still list data linked to you.

Are App Store privacy labels accurate?

They are written by each developer, and Apple states on every listing that it hasn't verified them. Treat them as a starting point and check the company's privacy policy for detail.

How we researched this

On October 3, 2026 we read each app's US App Store listing, including its privacy label, version history, and in-app purchases, along with each company's pricing, security, and privacy pages, which are linked throughout. We describe each company's encryption only as its own documentation does. Labels and prices change often, so check the App Store before you decide. If something here is out of date, tell us at support@macaroni-studios.com and we'll fix it.

Money Tracker is free on the App Store if you'd like to try it.