Albert

Albert blurs the line between a budgeting app and a bank. Underneath the budgeting tools sits an actual cash account and debit card, plus automated savings rules that move small amounts out of checking based on your spending patterns, and a basic investing feature for people who want to start without picking individual stocks. The budgeting layer tracks spending against income the way most apps in this category do, but it’s wrapped around those banking features rather than standing alone.

The app is free to download and link accounts to, but most of what makes Albert worth using, automated saving and investing, and one-on-one guidance from human advisors, lives behind Albert Genius, a subscription priced on a pay-what-you-want model with a suggested minimum commonly advertised around $14.99 a month. That pricing structure is unusual in this category and worth reading closely before signing up. Albert fits people who want budgeting bundled with actual banking and some access to human advice, rather than a standalone tracker layered on top of accounts they already have elsewhere.