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Friday, June 28, 2024

10 Most Innovative Finance Apps in 2024

10 Most Innovative Finance Apps In 2024
Mike Senecal

Written by: Mike Senecal

Mike Senecal
Mike Senecal

Mike Senecal draws on more than 20 years of editorial experience to update CardRates.com readers on industry trends, business news, and best practices in budgeting and credit use. Mike has worked for decades in academic and trade publishing, including roles as managing editor and technical editor at the University of Florida and as contributor to finance industry publications, including Surety Bond Quarterly and Independent Agent, among others. Mike holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of South Carolina, and he enjoys bringing his years of academic and industry expertise online to help consumers of diverse financial backgrounds.

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Edited by: Lillian Guevara-Castro

Lillian Guevara-Castro
Lillian Guevara-Castro

Lillian Guevara-Castro brings more than 30 years of editing and journalism experience to the CardRates team. She has written and edited for major news organizations, including The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and the New York Times, and she previously served as an adjunct journalism instructor at the University of Florida. Today, Lillian edits all CardRates content for clarity, accuracy, and reader engagement.

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Opinions expressed here are ours alone, and are not provided, endorsed, or approved by any issuer. Our articles follow strict editorial guidelines and are updated regularly.

Editor's Best Finance Apps

It’s just as accurate in finance as anywhere else that digital transformation reduces the barriers between a good idea and a viable business.

There’s never been a better time for financial consumers to experiment with solutions that try new things in new ways, package services differently, and change the cost equation.

Our careful selection of innovative finance apps will appeal to many consumer types. You’re sure to find an app that’s right for you.

YNAB

#1 Finance App for Budgeting Strategies

YNAB logo

YNAB recognizes that talk is cheap when it comes to finance apps.

It narrows budgeting and savings habits into a method with four rules.

Giving every dollar a job, embracing your actual expenses, rolling with the punches, and aging your money comprise the YNAB method for changing money mindsets.

Why We Love YNAB

YNAB allows users to create flexible, easy-to-follow financial plans, spend more intentionally, and set goals for upcoming expenses.

We love that it goes against “set it and forget it” personal finance apps with a tool that acknowledges budgeting requires discipline.

Key Stats

  • # Android reviews: 18.5K
  • Average Android rating: 4.7
  • # iOS reviews: 51K
  • Average iOS rating: 4.8

Varo

#1 Finance App for Financial Inclusion

Varo logo

Varo is a Swiss Army knife for financial consumers looking to learn, save, build credit, and eventually borrow on advantageous terms.

No matter who you are or what you look like, Varo bills itself as ready when you are to take real steps forward.

Why We Love Varo

Varo includes a money management suite, savings accounts, and credit-building tools to create a score from nothing in about a month.

We love that Varo boosts credit scores by an average of 42 points after three months of on-time payments.

Key Stats

  • # Android reviews: 227K
  • Average Android rating: 4.7
  • # iOS reviews: 210.8K
  • Average iOS rating: 4.9

M1

#1 Finance App for Flexible Investing

M1 logo

M1 appeals to results-oriented consumers with a high-yield cash account that pays 5% APY and a personal loan product that starts at 7.99%.

A brokerage account offers access to 6,000 stocks and ETFs.

A credit product paying up to 10% cash back help seal the deal for consumers looking for an app that elevates investor priorities.

Why We Love M1

M1 believes financial goals are personal and unique to each consumer and that anyone can reach them with the right mindset, approach, and tools.

That’s a message we can get behind in a marketplace where things sometimes seem too good to be true because they are.

Key Stats

  • # Android reviews: 25.2K
  • Average Android rating: 4.3
  • # iOS reviews: 61.8K
  • Average iOS rating: 4.8

Qapital

#1 Finance App for Ease of Use

Qapital logo

Saving, investing, budgeting, and managing debt ought to be easier in a world that landed a man on the moon.

Qapital strives to make money management simpler through automation and intelligence.

Why We Love Qapital

Qapital research found that humans struggle to process tradeoffs between spending now and saving for later.

We love that Qapital’s product experts and finance pros built tools that make financial decision-making more accessible and stress-free without ignoring the importance of discipline and goals.

Key Stats

  • # Android reviews: 21.6K
  • Average Android rating: 4.4
  • # iOS reviews: 84.1K
  • Average iOS rating: 4.8

Stash

#1 Finance App for Accessible Wealth Management

Stash logo

Stash‘s founders were Wall Street managers who realized the economy stacked the financial odds against everyday Americans.

To fix that, Stash combines investing, stock-back rewards, paycheck advances, and other tools.

Stash helps more than 6 million users create a more secure financial future for themselves.

Why We Love Stash

Stash’s Smart Portfolio achieves stress-free, automated investing by building a personalized, diversified, and expertly managed portfolio.

We love how Stash pays rewards in stock to encourage more financial consumers to adopt an investing mindset.

Key Stats

  • # Android reviews: 104K
  • Average Android rating: 3.7
  • # iOS reviews: 305.4K
  • Average iOS rating: 4.7

Current

#1 Finance App for Credit Building

Current logo

The financial industry is famous for rewarding the financially well-off with the best loan terms and access to the most advantageous products.

Current combines a spending account that automatically builds credit when you use your card, even at the ATM, to make everyday purchases and earn points.

Why We Love Current

Current doesn’t check credit history. Instead, it gives those new to credit or who are rebuilding after a setback a chance to work toward greater financial freedom.

We love Current’s combination of affordable, high-yield products built to include everyone on the path to prosperity.

Key Stats

  • # Android reviews: 156K
  • Average Android rating: 4.6
  • # iOS reviews: 153.4K
  • Average iOS rating: 4.8

Domain Money

#1 Finance App for Personalized Planning

Domain Money logo

For generations, investing and wealth-building seemed out of reach for most people. Digital transformation has changed that.

Domain Money is an innovative app and technologically sophisticated platform.

It combines technology with tried-and-true human contact: a free advisory session with a financial expert.

Why We Love Domain Money

Your Domain Money advisor analyzes your complete financial picture before recommending an action plan.

We love that Domain Money provides ongoing education, insights, and support to ensure more people can experience investment confidence.

Key Stats

  • # Android reviews: 1K+
  • Average Android rating: n/a
  • # iOS reviews: 293
  • Average iOS rating: 4.5

Monarch

#1 Finance App for Comprehensive Tools

Monarch logo

Monarch earns praise for simplifying the complex and packing much in a small space with its extensive money management suite.

Users track net worth, investments, and goals while managing transactions and budgeting, viewing dashboards and reports, and collaborating with household partners.

Why We Love Monarch

Monarch implies to users that if a finance app seems too good to be true, it probably is.

We love that Monarch doesn’t sugarcoat the challenges of financial responsibility. Instead, it appeals to millions as a tool that places control of their finances in their hands.

Key Stats

  • # Android reviews: 4.2K
  • Average Android rating: 4.7
  • # iOS reviews: 20.4K
  • Average iOS rating: 4.9

Keeper

#1 Finance App for Gig Workers

Keeper logo

Not many people welcome tax time, but freelancers and gig workers find it particularly challenging.

Documents and deductions make the American tax system more complex than most.

Keeper is an AI-powered tax-filing app that removes the guesswork by instantly uncovering deductions and tracking expenses as users learn.

Why We Love Keeper

Tax professionals review and sign every Keeper return as an additional safeguard. Meanwhile, the AI is powerful enough to check itself.

We love that Keeper strives to take care of freelancers and gig workers, a group that doesn’t receive much financial support.

Key Stats

  • # Android reviews: 5.19K
  • Average Android rating: 4.7
  • # iOS reviews: 11.5K
  • Average iOS rating: 4.8

Goodbudget

#1 Finance App for Envelope Budgeting

Goodbudget logo

Goodbudget is a specialized tool in a sense. It recommends envelope budgeting as the best strategy to allocate funds and save for the future.

However, Goodbudget’s way of specializing means more consumers receive a practical, effective budgeting method that has stood the test of time.

Why We Love Goodbudget

Envelope budgeting allocates expenses by category, such as groceries, transportation, rent, and entertainment.

The app has all the syncing, sharing, and savings sophistication you could want, but we love that behind it is a simple notion not to spend more than you have.

Key Stats

  • # Android reviews: 19.3K
  • Average Android rating: 4.0
  • # iOS reviews: 12.9K
  • Average iOS rating: 4.6

Apps make financial responsibility more convenient but can’t compel users to do the right thing.

At least not yet. That’s good because the essence of sound financial management resides in the heart and soul of personal discipline.

Consumer society tempts many to excess spending. We hope an innovative finance app in our list encourages you to listen to your heart!