Disclosure: we make Let's Save. Each fact about another app links to that company's own page, and the sources at the end give the day we checked it. Where another app suits you better, we say so.
What is the best budgeting app for expats?
One that keeps each account in its own currency and converts at the rate from each transaction's date. Of the apps here, Let's Save, our own app, and PocketSmith do both. Spendee keeps wallets in different currencies at a rate you set, while YNAB, Monarch Money and Copilot Money don't convert at all. [1][2][3][4][5]
What does a multi-currency budget need?
Three things. Accounts that each keep their own currency, so a euro account shows euros. A base currency, the one your totals, net worth and reports are shown in. And conversion at the exchange rate from each transaction's own date, so last year's spending doesn't change every time rates move.
- Accounts in their own currency: your salary account back home, your account where you live now, a card in a third currency.
- A base currency for totals: usually the one you think in, or the one you plan to retire in.
- Rates by date: a transaction converted at today's rate changes value every day, which makes past months impossible to compare.
- Transfers that aren't income: moving money from your home account to your local one should move two balances, not count as earning it.
Why does the date of the exchange rate matter?
Because a transaction converted at today's rate is worth a different amount tomorrow. Spend 1,000 euros in March and, converted at today's rate, March's total moves every time the euro does. Converted at March's rate, it stays what it was, so you can compare months and trust last year's totals.
It matters most for expats, whose money crosses currencies every month. If your budget rewrites the past whenever a currency moves, a month that came in under budget can later look over it, and you can't tell whether you spent more or the rate changed.
How does Let's Save handle multiple currencies?
Let's Save, our own app, keeps accounts in any of 160+ currencies, each with its own balance, and shows totals in a base currency you choose. Each foreign transaction is converted at the rate from its own day and keeps that rate, so past totals don't move when exchange rates do.
Rates come from Open Exchange Rates, stored as a snapshot for each day and refreshed every few hours. Every transaction keeps its amount in its account's currency, alongside its value in your base currency and the rate used for it.
Moving money between your own accounts in different currencies credits each account in its own currency and never counts as income. If you change your base currency, say when you move country, your whole history, goals and contributions are restated using each day's rate.
Partners can each keep accounts in their own currency and share them as they are. All of this is on the free plan, which keeps your last three months. Plus, at $3.99 a month or $39.90 a year before tax, keeps your whole history and adds a forecast of your balance.
What it can't do yet is link your banks: read-only bank sync is on its way, from Plus. Until then, transactions come in from your bank's CSV, Excel or OFX export, or by hand.
How do other budgeting apps handle multiple currencies?
Differently enough to decide your choice. PocketSmith converts each transaction at its day's rate. Spendee keeps wallets in different currencies at an exchange rate you set. YNAB holds one currency per plan and suggests a separate plan for each. Monarch Money handles US and Canadian dollars without converting, and Copilot Money supports US dollars only. [1][2][3][4][5]
| App | Accounts in several currencies | Conversion for totals | Free plan |
|---|---|---|---|
| Let's Save (our app) | Yes, 160+ currencies | Each transaction at its own date's rate | Yes: your last 3 months |
| PocketSmith | Yes, switched on when you add an account in another currency | Each transaction at its day's rate | Yes: 2 accounts |
| Spendee | Yes, one currency per wallet | At an exchange rate you set | Yes: one cash wallet and one budget |
| YNAB | One currency per plan | None within a plan | No: a 34-day free trial |
| Monarch Money | US and Canadian dollars only | None | No: a 7-day trial |
| Copilot Money | US dollars only | None | No: a one-month free trial |
PocketSmith switches multi-currency on when you add an account in a currency other than your base currency, and converts transactions at each day's stored rate. Every transaction in one account is in that account's currency, so a €10 payment on a US dollar account is imported as 10 US dollars, without conversion. [1]
PocketSmith's free plan covers two accounts. Its Foundation plan, $9.99 a month billed yearly, connects six banks from one country, and connecting banks in more than one country starts with Flourish, at $16.66 a month billed yearly. [6]
Spendee lets each wallet have its own currency and converts at an exchange rate you set yourself, which keeps you in control but is only as current as your last change. Its free plan has one cash wallet and one budget. [2][7]
YNAB doesn't convert currencies within a plan, and its own advice is a separate plan for each currency, so you add the totals up yourself. It has a 34-day free trial and no free plan. [3][8]
Monarch Money shows every account with a dollar sign and converts nothing, so ¥1,000 appears as $1,000. Copilot Money supports US dollars only and doesn't convert foreign transactions. Both suit people whose money is all in dollars, and neither has a free plan: Monarch starts with a 7-day trial, Copilot with a one-month free trial. [4][5][9][10]
Which budgeting app should an expat choose?
If your money is spread across currencies and you want past months to stay put, choose an app that converts at each transaction's date: Let's Save, our own app, or PocketSmith. If you need automatic bank sync in several countries today, compare which banks each one supports. If everything is in US dollars, most apps work.
Let's Save suits you if you want a free plan with unlimited accounts in any currency, a forecast on Plus, and sharing with a partner who's paid in another currency. PocketSmith suits you if you need bank feeds in several countries today and are happy to pay for them. Spendee suits light, mostly manual tracking.