Best Budgeting Apps for Irregular Freelance Income
My income last year ranged from $3,200 to $14,000 per month. Try plugging that into a “monthly income” field in a traditional budgeting app. It breaks the entire system. Most budgeting tools assume you earn the same amount every two weeks. Freelancers don’t.
After trying 4 different budgeting approaches, here’s what actually works for irregular income.
1. YNAB (You Need a Budget) — Best for Freelancers, Period
Price: $14.99/month or $99/year Why it works for irregular income: YNAB’s core principle — “give every dollar a job” — means you only budget money you currently have. Not money you expect. Not money that might come next week. Money in your account right now.
When $5,000 hits my account, YNAB asks: “What does this $5,000 need to do?” I allocate it: $1,400 to taxes, $700 to business expenses, $3,000 to cover this month’s personal budget, and $900 to savings. When the next payment comes, I do it again.
What I loved: The “age of money” metric — it shows how long money sits in your account before being spent. When I started, my money was 3 days old (spent immediately). After 18 months on YNAB, my money was 45 days old. That means I was living on last month’s income, not this month’s — a massive stress reduction.
What I didn’t: $14.99/month adds up. After 2 years, I felt I’d internalized the methodology and switched to a spreadsheet. But those 2 years were transformative.
2. Monarch Money — $9.99/month
Newer app with good irregular income support. Handles multiple accounts, flexible budget categories, and net worth tracking. I haven’t used it extensively but freelancer friends speak highly of it.
Best for: Freelancers who want YNAB-like features at a slightly lower price.
3. Google Sheets — Free
After graduating from YNAB, I use a simple Google Sheet with:
- Monthly income tracking
- Fixed salary transfer tracking
- Budget categories with actual vs. planned
- Running emergency fund balance
Takes 15 minutes/month to update. Works because I built the habits on YNAB first.
Best for: Freelancers who’ve learned budgeting principles and want maximum control for $0.
4. EveryDollar — Free / $17.99/month (Premium)
Dave Ramsey’s budgeting app. The free version requires manual entry. Premium links to bank accounts. Works for some people, but the zero-based budgeting approach doesn’t handle irregular income as intuitively as YNAB.
My Recommendation
Start with YNAB for 1-2 years. Learn the methodology. Build the habits. The $14.99/month is financial education that pays for itself in better money decisions.
Graduate to Google Sheets once the habits are automatic and you want to save the subscription cost.
The budgeting tool matters less than the budgeting habit. But for freelancers specifically, YNAB’s “budget what you have” approach is superior to “budget what you expect to earn.” Start there.