If you’ve been hanging out with us long, you know that we’re huge fans of creating and following a budget. We also use the envelope budget system to allocate our funds and stick to the budget we set for each month.

We love following the cash envelope budget system, but we’re not fans of the actual cash requirement. This drove us to find a way to digitally follow our plan without carrying our entire budget around. Here’s a quick comparison of our two favorite envelope budget system apps: GoodBudget & EveryDollar.

GoodBudget

Goodbudget, which started out as Easy Envelope Budget Aid (EEBA), is a digital envelope budget system app that was started by Dayspring Technologies back in 2009. This was the first app that we used to track our budget throughout the month (we’re still using it now), and we even wrote a review about it. Goodbudget has a web portal and apps for Android & Apple devices.

Free Features

We’ve only used the free version of this app but here’s what you get for free:

• 1 Account
• Accessible on 2 devices
• 10 regular envelopes
• 10 “more” envelopes
• 1 year of history
• Community support

Paid Features

The premium version of Goodbudget is $6 per month ($50 per year). By buying the premium version you’ll get:

• Unlimited accounts
• Accessible on 5 devices
• Unlimited regular envelopes
• Unlimited “more” envelopes
• 5 years of history
• E-mail support

Pros

• Goodbudget’s interface is really easy to set-up and use. You can visually see how you’re doing with each envelope and you can share your account with someone else (Great for using within a household)
• Your account can be updated without internet service (like when you’re in the back corners of Costco)
• You can create budget categories that refill monthly, semi-monthly, weekly, and every 2 weeks
• The mobile app prefills company/store names while entering transaction information (this is helpful when you make purchases at the same place pretty often)
• The app gives you encouragement when your spending is on track. It’ll tell you that you’re doing a good job or that you need to stop spending for a few days.
• There is a reports function within the app that will let you see exactly how you spend your money. You can categorize your spending by the payee, envelope, month, etc.

Cons

• The free version limits the number of envelopes you can use. This can be a no-go if you want to use more than 20 envelopes
• There is a slight learning curve to the software when you first start using it. You’ll have to learn how to create envelopes and fill them each month

EveryDollar

EveryDollar is a budgeting app developed by Dave Ramsey and his team. He mentions this app a lot on his radio show because his team has put a great deal of effort into making it one of the best envelope budgeting system apps on the market right now. EveryDollar has a web portal and apps for Android & Apple devices.

Free Features

• You can create unlimited budget envelopes and categories
• Your account is accessible on multiple devices
• Debts can be added to the app
• Built-in Baby Step guide

Paid Features

The premium version of EveryDollar will costs $8.25 per month ($99 per year) and it allows you to connect your bank account to your EveryDollar account. With that you’ll be able to:

• Stream transactions from your bank
• Monitor your bank account balances
• Get priority support

Pros

• EveryDollar’s interface is very clean and modern
• You get unlimited budget categories regardless of which version you use
• You can highlight your ‘favorite’ categories to easily access your top used envelopes
• The sidebar shows percentages to let you know how you’re doing
• The account can be shared and transaction can be split between multiple categories

Cons

• Budget can only be set up for a ‘monthly’ basis
• No reports function to track average spending
• Budget amounts are simply carried over from the previous month
• Mobile app cannot be accessed without internet signal

Which app is best for the envelope budget system?

If you’re a fan of the cash envelope budget system and want to start using a digital app, either of these apps would be a great choice. EveryDollar is great if you have a lot of budget items to keep track of and you like following Dave Ramsey’s plan. Goodbudget is an ideal option if you’re only concerned about tracking your main spending categories and don’t need a slew of extra options.

For us, the Goodbudget app takes the cake since it suits our needs the best!

Which envelope budget app are you currently using or considering at this time?

Let us know in the comments below!

$tay Wealthy Friends,

— Dj