You don’t need to pay for a budgeting app to manage money effectively. For most New Zealanders, especially those just starting out, the free options are more than adequate — and using them consistently beats paying for an app you open twice and abandon.
Here are the best free budgeting options in NZ, what each is actually good for, and when you should consider upgrading to a paid tool.
The best free budgeting combination in NZ: your bank app's spending insights for daily awareness + Sorted NZ for quarterly planning check-ins. BNZ has the best built-in spending categorisation. Sorted is the best free planning tool. Both are completely free and NZ-specific.
Free Option 1: Your Bank App’s Spending Insights
What it is
All major NZ banks now include spending categorisation and insights in their mobile banking apps. Your transactions are automatically categorised (groceries, dining out, transport, entertainment, etc.) and shown as breakdowns.
No setup required. You’re already using the app — the spending insights are already there.
BNZ — Best built-in spending insights
BNZ’s spending categorisation is the strongest of the major NZ banks. The BNZ app shows:
- Spending by category (automatically categorised)
- Spending trends over time (this month vs last month)
- Comparison between pay periods
- Savings tracking
What’s useful: The trend view — seeing that you spent 40% more on dining out this fortnight than last fortnight is actionable, without requiring any additional setup.
ANZ
ANZ’s app includes spending breakdowns and category summaries. Less detailed than BNZ but functional for basic awareness.
ASB
ASB includes spending insights with category breakdown. Reasonably detailed for a bank app.
Kiwibank
Kiwibank’s spending tracking is more basic than BNZ or ASB. Useful for balance checking; limited for spending analysis.
Westpac
Basic spending breakdown. Not as detailed as BNZ.
Limitations of bank app tracking
- Only shows one bank. If you have accounts at multiple banks, you can only see one bank’s spending at a time.
- No budget comparison. The apps show what you spent — not whether that was within your budget.
- Categories are automated. Sometimes wrong — a petrol station purchase might be categorised as “vehicle” when it was actually snacks.
- No forecasting. These apps look backward (what did you spend?), not forward (what will you spend?).
Free Option 2: Sorted NZ
Website: sorted.org.nz
Cost: Free (government-backed)
Sorted NZ is not a daily tracking app — it’s a planning tool. But for what it does, it’s excellent, free, NZ-specific, and trustworthy.
Best free tools on Sorted:
- Budget planner — calibrated for NZ costs, downloadable as a spreadsheet
- KiwiSaver calculator — best free NZ-specific KiwiSaver projection tool
- Retirement planner — uses NZ Super rates, projects your retirement income gap
- Compound interest calculator — shows the long-term power of saving more now
How to use it: Don’t use Sorted daily. Use it for a quarterly planning session — 30–45 minutes to check your budget, update your KiwiSaver projection, and see whether you’re on track.
Read the full review: Sorted NZ Review
Free Option 3: PocketSmith Free
Cost: Free (2 accounts maximum, no bank feeds)
PocketSmith’s free tier gives you access to the interface with significant limitations:
- Maximum 2 accounts
- No bank feeds (manual entry or CSV import only)
- 6-month cash flow projection (limited)
Who it’s actually useful for:
- People with only one main transaction account and one savings account
- People who want to test PocketSmith’s interface before upgrading to Premium
- People comfortable with manual transaction entry
Reality check: Without bank feeds and with a 2-account limit, PocketSmith Free is not a long-term solution for most users. It’s more of a trial tier than a functional free option.
If you like PocketSmith’s approach after using the free tier, upgrade to Premium ($9.95/month) — the bank feeds are where the value is.
Free Option 4: Google Sheets or Excel Budget Spreadsheet
A well-designed budget spreadsheet does everything a budgeting app does — budgeting, expense tracking, savings goals, net worth — with full control and no cost.
Advantages:
- Completely free (Google Sheets is free with a Google account; Excel is free if you have Microsoft 365)
- Full control over categories, formulas, and layout
- Your data stays with you — no third-party access
- Customisable for any financial situation
- Works on any device
Disadvantages:
- Requires manual entry (no bank feeds)
- Setup time — building a useful spreadsheet takes 2–4 hours
- No automatic categorisation
- No forecasting features (unless you build them)
Getting started with a spreadsheet
Sorted NZ budget template: Download a free pre-built template from sorted.org.nz — calibrated for NZ costs and categories.
Vertex42: A well-known source of free Excel and Google Sheets budget templates (vertex42.com). Their personal budget template is comprehensive and easy to adapt.
Build your own: If you’re comfortable with spreadsheets, a simple template with 6 columns (date, description, category, amount, running total, budget comparison) is all you need to start.
Free Option 5: The Anti-Budget (No Tracking)
The anti-budget requires zero apps and zero tracking. You automate savings on payday and spend the rest guilt-free.
Setup:
- Calculate your essential fixed expenses and savings targets
- Set up automatic transfers on payday (KiwiSaver via payroll; extra savings via automatic bank transfer)
- Spend whatever’s left however you want — no categories, no tracking
This is not actually free from financial discipline — it requires knowing your savings targets and setting up the automation correctly. But the ongoing effort is zero.
Read the full guide: The Anti-Budget NZ
Comparison: Free Options at a Glance
| Option | NZ bank feeds | Planning tools | Daily tracking | Setup effort | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bank app (BNZ) | Native | None | Good | Zero | Daily spending awareness |
| Sorted NZ | No | Excellent | No | Low | Quarterly planning, KiwiSaver |
| PocketSmith Free | No | Limited | Manual only | Low | Testing PocketSmith interface |
| Spreadsheet | No | Excellent (DIY) | Manual | Medium–High | Full control, data privacy |
| Anti-budget | N/A | N/A | None | Low | Set-and-forget savers |
Recommended Free Setup for Most NZ Users
The free combination that works:
- BNZ bank app (or ANZ/ASB if you bank there) — check spending breakdown weekly; takes 3 minutes
- Sorted NZ budget planner — quarterly review session; 30–45 minutes, 4 times a year
- Sorted KiwiSaver calculator — annual check on whether you’re on track
This combination costs nothing, requires minimal ongoing effort, and covers the two most important financial functions: knowing where your money went (bank app) and planning where it’s going (Sorted).
When to Upgrade to a Paid App
Consider upgrading to PocketSmith Premium ($9.95/month) when:
- You have accounts at multiple NZ banks and want a single view
- You want to stop entering transactions manually
- You want cash flow forecasting (seeing future balance dips before they happen)
- The bank app’s basic categorisation isn’t giving you enough insight
The upgrade pays for itself if it prevents even one month of unplanned spending or catches a future cash crunch you can fix in advance.
Next Steps
- Open your bank app now and find the spending insights section — BNZ, ANZ, ASB, and Kiwibank all have it
- Set a calendar reminder for a quarterly Sorted session — add it to your calendar for the first week of April, July, October, and January
- Download Sorted’s budget template from sorted.org.nz for your first planning session
- Try PocketSmith Free for 2 weeks if you want to see whether the paid version would be worth it
See also: Budgeting Apps hub · Best Budgeting Apps NZ · PocketSmith Review NZ · Sorted NZ Review