Evaluating Budgeting Apps: Limited Support for Budgeting Compared to Tracking

Abstract

Financial behaviour is deeply embedded in our lives, yet for many people its success remains problematic. The need for supporting tools in this space is reflected in the growing number and popularity of budgeting apps, albeit limited research has focused on evaluating them. This paper describes a functionality review from the lens of mental accounting theory of 45 top-rated budgeting apps selected from 1335 apps on Google Play Store and Apple Store. Findings indicate that while all apps support tracking of transactions, one third of the apps do not support budgeting informed by money envelopes. We also report challenges regarding the meaning of key concepts of "accounts" and "transactions" for which we proposed novel design implications including a more nuanced vocabulary to talk about accounts and transaction types, new knowledge to have better support for budgeting through mental accounting theory and grounding budgeting as cognitive process in actual financial behaviour.