I spent months trying different budget apps. Most were either too complicated or too simple to be useful. Here is what actually worked:

Mint

Free and connects to your bank accounts automatically. The categorization is decent but not perfect. You will spend the first few weeks correcting it when it labels your grocery store as dining out. Good for seeing where money goes without manual entry. The ads are annoying.

YNAB

Costs eighty-nine dollars yearly but uses that zero-based method well. Forces you to assign every dollar. The learning curve is real though. Took me three weeks to stop feeling confused. Best if you want detailed control and do not mind the time investment.

EveryDollar

Ramsey Solutions made this. Free version requires manual transaction entry, which I hated. Paid version auto-syncs. The interface is clean and less overwhelming than YNAB. Good middle ground.

Simple Spreadsheet

Honestly, a basic Google Sheet worked fine for me. Three columns: date, description, amount. Filter by category as needed. Takes five minutes daily. No sync issues, no subscription fees, total control.

Pick based on how much automation you want versus how much control you need.