Best Money-Saving Apps for Students:
Make Your Budget Go Further

Last updated: January 2026

Managing your spending as a student is all about balance – keeping enough in the bank to hit the pub, grab a coffee, or treat yourself, without living off 20p instant noodles by week three. To help you out, we’ve rounded up the absolute best cheap and free apps designed to do the heavy lifting for you.

In this blog, we’ve rounded up what could possibly be the best money-saving apps for students so you can keep more money in your pocket while enjoying your best uni life

Best money-saving apps for students: discounts

Why pay full price when you don’t have to? Before you tap your card anywhere, check the best free saving apps for student discounts…

UNiDAYS

The free UNiDAYS app gives you access to a huge range of student discounts. You can access them in stores and at home, which makes in-store and online shopping a breeze. Explore a range of 10-30% discounts off shoe shops, Domino’s, Deliveroo, Amazon Prime, ASOS, and so much more.

Student Beans

Don’t just rely on one. Be savvy with your savings and use Student Beans alongside UNiDAYS to catch the discounts that the other might miss. Explore student discounts online and in-store for Argos, Superdrug, Sephora, Gymshark, and more.

Best money-saving apps for students: bank accounts

Let’s be honest – nobody wants to spend their free time sorting through crumpled paper receipts or awkwardly calculating who owes what after a night out. These modern banking apps handle the boring tracking stuff for you automatically.

Monzo

Monzo could work for you and your banking. You use it like a debit card and top it up with money whenever you need to. Whenever you spend money, it sends you a notification, making it an ideal way to keep track of your money and what you’re spending day to day. We all know how easy it is to keep tapping away! You can also view a summary of where you’ve spent your money, i.e., Wetherspoons breakfasts, Waterstones bookshop, or drinks at your local bar.

Revolut

Similar to Monzo, Revolut is a prepaid card that you can top up whenever you need to. It sends you a notification every time you spend on the card, making it simple to keep track of what you’re spending. It features a brilliant request money button, so you can remind friends of the money they owe you – all they have to do is press ‘accept’ and it appears in your account almost instantly (no awkward text required!). If you plan on travelling, your Revolut card has a free exchange rate you can use at no extra cost in the local currency.

Starling

With Starling, you can easily track your spending and set your limits. This bank categorises spending for you, making it easy to see where you spend the most, while its free budget planner allows you to calculate personalised monthly budgets.

Putting banking apps aside, you should also open a student savings account to make your money stretch further.

Best budgeting apps to optimise your spending

Managing what you have is one thing, but actively budgeting is how you fund your future goals (or that summer holiday).

Emma

The free version of Emma links directly to two bank logins to spot exactly where your cash is leaking. It suggests quick ways to trim your spending and even lets you put money in pots, which you can then earn real interest on. Paid versions of Emma come with added features, such as rent reporting – but you may want to start off with the free version and see how you go!

Snoop

This budgeting app analyses your monthly bills and flags when you’ve spent more than usual, sometimes suggesting alternative, cheaper providers. You can also see all of your bank accounts in this app, and a weekly spending report to help you start managing your finances.

YNAB

YNAB, or You Need A Budget, is a budgeting app which allows you to assign your money jobs. You can link your bank accounts and create categories to help you stay on track. Whilst YNAB is a paid app, you can partake in the free trial and share the account with up to five family members/friends (you could split the cost with your housemates or persuade your parents to invest in this one!).

HyperJar

This budgeting app allows you to split your money between different jars and spend from these accordingly with a prepaid virtual debit card. As a completely free budgeting app, this one is worth a try, especially as you sometimes get discounts based on your spending.

One of the best solutions for splitting your bills

There’s absolutely nothing worse than having to sort through your utility bills and figure out who owes what. It’s stressful, time-consuming, and an absolute vibe-killer when you’re trying to enjoy uni.

That’s where Split The Bills comes in.

We’re a bill-splitting service that handles all the boring admin so you don’t have to. We bundle all your bills together into one neat monthly bill, then split it evenly among your housemates. No more joint liability. No more arguments.

Skip the household stress. Get a monthly price for your household bills today or take a look at our bill packages.

Split The Bills is not a financial advisor. This should not be considered as professional financial advice. Do your own research and consult a professional financial advisor before making any financial decisions!

Student sorting bills on laptop

What Most Surprised Me about UK Utility Bills as an International Student

Moving to the UK as an international student comes with a lot of adjustments, including trying to figure out the transport system, cooking, getting used to the weather, and (one of the biggest adjustments of all) figuring out how to pay utility bills in a new country. In this blog, I’ll take you through the biggest surprises I came across when tackling bills in the UK as an international student.

Read More »
15th May 2026 No Comments