If you relied on Mint to manage your money, you might have noticed it's no longer available. Intuit shut down Mint in early 2024 and migrated users to Credit Karma — which doesn't offer full budgeting features for UK users. Whether you're a former Mint user or just getting started with budgeting, here are the best free alternatives that work well for UK consumers.

Why Mint shut down

In late 2023, Intuit announced it would close Mint after nearly 20 years. Over 20 million users had to find alternatives. For UK users, the migration to Credit Karma was particularly frustrating because Credit Karma's UK product is primarily a credit score monitoring tool — it doesn't include the bill tracking, budgeting, and spending categorisation that made Mint useful.

What to look for in a UK budgeting app

  • Open Banking connectivity: connects to your UK bank accounts securely via Open Banking, pulling in transactions automatically.
  • FCA regulation: should be registered as an Account Information Service Provider (AISP) with the FCA.
  • Genuinely free tier: core features should be free, not a limited trial.
  • UK-specific: supports pounds sterling, UK banks, and UK spending categories.

Top free UK budgeting apps

Money Dashboard (Classic & Neon)

Best for: the closest thing to Mint. Money Dashboard was a pioneer in UK Open Banking budgeting. Connect multiple bank accounts, automatically categorise spending, and set custom budgets — all completely free. FCA-regulated as an AISP.

Snoop

Best for: automatic money-saving suggestions. Snoop connects to your accounts and spots ways to save — unused subscriptions, cheaper energy tariffs, upcoming bills. The free tier covers all core features. Snoop Plus (paid) adds extra insights.

Emma

Best for: subscription tracking and a modern app experience. Emma connects to bank accounts, credit cards, and investment platforms, tracking every subscription you're paying and categorising all your spending. Free tier covers the essentials.

Plum

Best for: automated saving alongside budgeting. Plum's algorithm works out what you can afford to save and moves money automatically. It also provides spending breakdowns and bill tracking. Basic account is free.

Monzo, Starling & Revolut

Best for: budgeting built into your bank account. If you already bank with one of these challenger banks, their built-in budgeting tools are genuinely useful — spending categories, saving spaces, and monthly summaries. The limitation is they only work for accounts with that specific bank.

How budgeting helps with loans

A clear picture of your monthly income and spending is essential before applying for credit. Use a budgeting app alongside our guide to budgeting for loan repayments and free APR calculator to work out what you can realistically afford.

This is general information, not financial advice. All apps are independent services with no affiliation to Mini Money or Post Pine Ltd.