When it comes to choosing a budgeting app, there are a number of different factors to consider. These range from things like usability and features to crucial things like privacy and security. Copilot checks all of those boxes and many more. Here’s why I’ve been using the app for years – and why I can confidently say it’s the best budgeting app out there for iPhone and Mac users.
Plus, 9to5Mac readers can use code 9TO5MAC and unlock an extended two-month free trial.
Copilot’s setup process and AI intelligence features
Setting up a new budgeting app can be daunting, whether it’s your first app or you’re switching from another one. But Copilot’s setup process is excellent. The app uses four different aggregators plus its own technology to sync your different accounts. This includes bank accounts, credit cards, investments, loans, and more. The use of these aggregators (Plaid, Finicity, MX, and Akoya) means that Copilot has better far coverage and reliability than other budgeting platforms.
Once you’ve linked your accounts, you get your first glimpse at just how smart Copilot is.
Copilot Intelligence is the app’s AI-powered system that learns how users prefer to categorize transactions. While Copilot will automatically categorize your transactions, it will also prompt you to review those categorizations. If Copilot gets something wrong, it will even show you its second-best guess right away, so you can recategorize the transactions in just a couple of taps.
Copilot also gets better the more you use it. As it learns how you prefer to categorize transactions, it will apply those preferences automatically going forward. If you decide to change how you categorize a particular transaction, you can also choose to apply that change to previous transactions as well.
Copilot is also fully customizable. You can set your own budgets for different categories, set financial goals, and track your progress.
You’ll see real-time updates on your budget throughout the month, a detailed list of all your transactions, a breakdown of recurring transactions and when to expect them, and so much more.
9to5Mac’s Take
I’ve been using Copilot for a long time and can say with confidence that it’s the best money tracker app I’ve used. But if you don’t believe me, App Store reviews speak for themselves: 4.8/5 stars from over 9,000 reviews.
One of my favorite things about Copilot is how it presents you with all of that data in a design that is digestible and easy to use. The app feels right at home on both iPhone and Mac, adhering to all the guidelines and familiarities that make iPhone and Mac apps so great.
Another highlight of Copilot for me is how it accounts for recurring transactions. The app learns when recurring bills are charged and will intelligently remind you about those bills. This way, I’m never caught off guard when I’m charged for something – nor am I left questioning when or if a subscription has been renewed.
When my wife and I got married last year, we settled on Copilot as our family budgeting app. While I’d been using the app for a while at that point, she had never used it. Because of Copilot’s intuitive and beautiful design and powerful intelligence features, she was up and running in no time.
Copilot has also been endorsed by some of the biggest names and publications out there. The Verge called it “unbeatably fun to use” and named it one of the best apps for managing your money. Copilot has also been a staple on MKBHD’s iPhone home screen for years and has been featured in his videos multiple times.
The App Store featured Copilot as “the future of personal finance.” It was also named a finalist for the 2023 App Store Awards, with Apple praising it for “simplifying personal finance.”
Copilot: The perfect replacement for Mint
The elephant in the room? Mint, one of the oldest budgeting platforms, is shutting down next month. The good news is that Copilot has leapfrogged Mint in every way possible. It’s more feature-rich, it’s native to Apple platforms, it’s far more privacy-friendly, and it’s actively developed with a detailed roadmap of new features to come.
When choosing a budgeting app, privacy is something that should be at the forefront of your decision. And this is another area in which Copilot excels. The app does not (and never will) sell or share any of your personal information. None of your data ever leaves Copilot’s system, and the app’s infrastructure is built on the same platform used by leading financial companies worldwide. The company has an in-depth breakdown of its privacy practices on its website with more details.
For those making the switch from Mint, the Copilot team is working around the clock on a feature that will let you backfill all of your Mint data right into Copilot. You can join the waitlist for this feature on the Copilot website to be notified as soon as it’s available.
With Copilot, budgeting doesn’t feel like a chore. In fact, I find myself proactively opening Copilot more often than I need to, just because of how much I enjoy the app’s design. I think that says a lot about how great of an app Copilot is.
9to5Mac readers can use code 9TO5MAC and unlock an extended two-month free trial of Copilot. The app is available on iPhone and Mac, and a universal subscription unlocks both platforms.
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