A free zero-based budgeting app, and what zero-based means
Zero-based budgeting is a plain idea wrapped in accounting language. It means every amount you have has a job, so the amount left unassigned ends at zero — not because you spent it, but because you decided where it goes.
What zero-based actually means
You start the month with the money you have, not a forecast of what you will earn. You hand it out to envelopes — rent, groceries, transport, the car's next service, the buffer — until nothing is sitting unassigned.
Zero is the target for the unassigned pile, not for your bank balance. Money in the "next service" envelope has not been spent; it has been told what it is for.
When you spend, the amount comes out of that envelope. When an envelope runs short, you move money from another one and watch the other one shrink. That moment is the whole method: you are choosing between two real things rather than discovering the problem a month later.
What it looks like in a week
At the start of the month, assign. Fixed bills first because they are certain, then the everyday envelopes using last month's real numbers, then whatever is left.
During the month, type in what you spent and look at what is left in each envelope. That look is the exercise.
At the end, leftovers roll forward. An envelope that was under budget starts next month ahead, which is how a month with a big bill in it stops being a crisis.
Why it does not need your bank login
Zero-based budgeting is about decisions, not about a feed. The assignment step is you choosing; the spending step is you typing in what happened. Neither of those is improved by an automatic import — and bank sync does not reach most of the world anyway.
Which is also why it can be free. Bank connections are what cost a budgeting app money every month; without them there is no bill to pass on.
Doing it in handbudget
handbudget is a zero-based envelope budget and it is free, with no account and no bank login.
Open the budget, put your current balance in as an opening balance, and assign it across the envelopes until Ready to assign reads zero. Then type in what you spend as the month goes. Leftovers carry forward by themselves, and an envelope in the red says so in red.
If you are moving from YNAB, Settings imports a YNAB CSV so your categories and history come with you.
Frequently asked questions
Is zero-based the same as the envelope method?
Close enough in practice. Zero-based is the rule that nothing is left unassigned; envelopes are where the assigned money sits. Most apps that do one do the other.
What if my income is irregular?
Zero-based handles that better than a forecast does, because you only ever assign money that has actually arrived. A thin month assigns less; it does not break the plan.
Do I have to assign everything down to zero?
No. Leaving an amount unassigned is a decision too — it is money waiting for next month. The screen just makes sure you can see it rather than forget it.