Bright Money

Bright Money takes a more hands-off approach than a calculator you check in on. After linking your accounts, it analyzes your income, spending patterns, and the interest rates across your debts, then automatically moves extra money toward whichever balance its model decides will save you the most, without you having to log in and make that call manually each month. The idea is to remove the discipline problem: the payoff happens whether or not you remember to make it happen.

The app itself is free to download, but the core automated payoff service runs on a subscription fee, and the model only works well if your cash flow can support having money pulled automatically for extra payments. Bright also offers add-on products beyond debt payoff, including a credit-builder credit line and short-term cash advances, which blur the line between a payoff tool and a lending product and are worth reading the terms on closely. With more than 4 million downloads, it’s found an audience among people who’d rather automate the decision than track it themselves, though it asks for more trust and account access than a simple calculator does.