sortdspending trackerHow to plan a monthly budget on iPhone
By Raj and the Sortd team · Last updated 11 October 2026
The simplest monthly budget is one number: how much you want to spend this month. To stick to it you need two more things: a running total of what you've spent so far, and a list of the bills that haven't charged yet. You can keep all three on your iPhone in a spreadsheet or in a budget app.
1. Pick one number for the month
Start with what comes in each month and take away what you want to save. If you're not sure where to start, look at what you spent last month and set the budget a little below it. You can change the number later.
2. Take out the bills that are coming
Rent, your phone plan, insurance and subscriptions leave your account whether you think about them or not. Take the ones that haven't charged yet out of the number first. What's left is what you can really spend, and dividing it by the days left in the month tells you what you can spend each day.
3. Keep the total up to date
This is where most budgets stop working. A budget only helps if your spending is written down as it happens. If you have to type in every coffee, you'll stop after a week or two.
Three ways to do it on iPhone
A spreadsheet in Numbers or Google Sheets
Free, and you can lay it out however you like. You type in every purchase yourself, and you work out the bills and the daily amount with your own formulas.
A budgeting app that links to your bank
Apps such as YNAB, Monarch and Copilot Money bring in your transactions through a bank connection, using services like Plaid. They do a lot, but you have to connect your bank, they charge a subscription, and bank connections aren't available in every country or for every bank.
Sortd
Sortd is a free iPhone spending tracker with a monthly budget built in:
- You set one number for the month. Sortd shows what's left and what you can spend each day, after the bills that haven't charged yet.
- You can add limits for categories like eating out or groceries if you want them.
- Budget pace tells you, at the rate you're going, which day you would pass your budget.
- Apple Pay purchases are logged by themselves, so the total stays up to date without typing. Paper receipts take one photo, and you can import a bank statement.
- A Home Screen widget shows your budget, and you can ask Siri how much budget you have left.
There is no bank login, your purchases stay on your iPhone, and every feature is free.
What Sortd doesn't do
Sortd is not an envelope or zero-based budget, where you give every dollar a job before you spend it. It doesn't connect to your bank or move money, and it is only on iPhone. If you want those things, a bank-linked budgeting app is the better fit.
More guides: finding your subscriptions and tracking Apple Pay spending automatically.
Questions
Is there a free budget app for iPhone that doesn't need my bank?
Yes. Sortd is free, has a monthly budget with optional category limits, and never asks for your bank login. Purchases come from Apple Pay, receipt photos, statements you import, or what you add yourself.
Can I set a budget for each category?
Yes. In Sortd you set one number for the month and can add limits for any category, like eating out or groceries.
Does it count bills that haven't charged yet?
Yes. Sortd takes the bills and subscriptions still to come this month out of your budget before it shows what you can spend each day.
Does it work in my country?
Yes. Sortd works with any bank and any card in Apple Pay, in any country, and converts 30+ currencies to your home currency.