New Zealand has a small but real set of options for tracking money: a homegrown app with serious forecasting, a free government planner, your bank's own tools, and simple manual trackers. Which one is right depends mostly on one question: do you want your bank transactions pulled in automatically, or not?
Before the comparison, two changes in the past year that affect any Kiwi budget.
What changed for Kiwi budgets in 2025–26
KiwiSaver took a bigger bite on 1 April 2026
According to Inland Revenue, the default employee and employer contribution rate rose from 3% to 3.5% on 1 April 2026, and it goes to 4% from 1 April 2028. You can apply for a temporary reduction back to 3% for 3 to 12 months. The government contribution has also changed. Since 1 July 2025 it's 25 cents per dollar you contribute, up to $260.72 a year, and nothing if your taxable income is over $180,000.
For budgeting, that means take-home pay on the default rate dropped slightly this year. If your budget was built on last year's pay, it's now a little optimistic. Log your net pay as Money In each payday, and the difference shows up on its own.
Open banking is now a legal requirement for the big four
New Zealand's open banking regulations came into force under the Customer and Product Data Act. MBIE says the major banks must share customer data with accredited businesses, with your explicit authorisation. Over time this should make bank-linked budgeting apps more reliable in NZ. It also means more apps will ask for permission to read your accounts. Whether you want that is a personal call. The rest of this guide assumes you've thought about it.
The options, compared
| App | Made in | Bank data | Best at |
|---|---|---|---|
| PocketSmith | New Zealand | Automatic bank feeds (free plan included) | Forecasting your balance months ahead |
| Sorted budget planner | New Zealand (government) | None, you enter figures | Building a first budget plan |
| Your bank's app | Your bank | That bank only | Seeing one bank's spending with zero setup |
| Pocket Clear | — | None (no bank linking) | Fast daily logging, cash, couples, privacy |
PocketSmith: the serious planner
PocketSmith is from New Zealand and is built around a calendar and long-range forecasting: it projects your balance forward based on bills and pay. As of October 2026 its plans page lists a Free plan that includes automatic bank feeds, plus paid Foundation, Flourish and Fortune tiers (shown in US dollars there). If you want to know whether you can afford a house deposit in 18 months, PocketSmith is the stronger tool, and I'd recommend it over Pocket Clear for that job.
The trade-off is complexity and the fact that it works best with bank feeds connected. Some people love that. Others find it's more system than they need.
Sorted: free, trustworthy, and a planner rather than a tracker
Sorted is run by Te Ara Ahunga Ora Retirement Commission. Its budget planner, relaunched in 2024, helps you lay out income and outgoings in one place, and there are no ads. It's the best free place to plan a budget. It isn't designed for logging a flat white at 8am, so most people pair it with something on their phone.
Your bank's app
ANZ, ASB, BNZ, Westpac and Kiwibank all show categorised spending in their own apps. It costs nothing and needs no setup. The limit is that it only sees that bank. If your partner banks elsewhere, you use a credit card from another provider, or you pay cash at the farmers' market, it's an incomplete picture.
Pocket Clear: simple, manual, private
Pocket Clear is the one I make, so weigh that. It's a two-tap tracker: Money In, Money Out, a category, done. It doesn't connect to banks, so nothing about your accounts is shared with anyone. It's free, with an optional Pro subscription for things like category budgets, recurring entries and Partner Mode.
What makes it work in NZ specifically:
- Weekly and fortnightly views. Plenty of Kiwis are paid weekly or fortnightly, and rent is quoted per week. Settings → View Period switches Home and Reports to a weekly or biweekly window that starts on your payday, so the numbers line up with your pay.
- Offline. It works with no signal at all, which matters on a tramp, on a back-country road, or at a bach with no coverage.
- Tap-to-pay logging on iPhone. Apple Pay taps can log themselves through a one-time Shortcuts automation, on the phone, with no bank link. On Android you can opt in to auto-logging from the notifications of the bank apps you pick.
If you'd rather never type an amount and want your bank to do the work, PocketSmith or your bank's app will suit you better.
NZ-specific things worth a category
- Supermarket, by store. Pak'nSave, Woolworths and New World price differently. Log the store as a payee (Pro) and the Top Payees report shows where your grocery money actually goes.
- Power, by season. Winter power bills, especially in the South Island, can be much higher than summer ones. Reports → Trends shows the year side by side, which helps when you compare plans on Powerswitch.
- Petrol. Easy to underestimate when you fill up every week or so. A category makes the monthly total visible.
- KiwiSaver voluntary top-ups. If you add a lump sum to qualify for the full government contribution, log it so it doesn't look like spending vanished.
- Rates and insurance. Big, regular and dull. A recurring entry (Pro) puts them in the plan before they arrive.
Which should you pick?
Want forecasts and don't mind bank feeds: PocketSmith. Building your first budget: Sorted, then a phone tracker to follow it. Only one bank and no cash: your bank's app. Want something fast that you'll actually open every day, with no bank connection: Pocket Clear.
FAQ for New Zealand Users
Is there a New Zealand-made budgeting app?
Yes. PocketSmith was built in New Zealand and focuses on forecasting with bank feeds. Sorted, from Te Ara Ahunga Ora Retirement Commission, offers a free government budget planner.
Did KiwiSaver contributions change in 2026?
Yes. Inland Revenue says the default employee and employer rate rose from 3% to 3.5% on 1 April 2026 and will rise to 4% from 1 April 2028. You can apply for a temporary reduction to 3%.
Do I need to link my bank account to track spending in NZ?
No. Pocket Clear never links to banks. You log in two taps, or let Apple Pay taps (iPhone) or the bank-app notifications you choose (Android) log themselves on the phone.
Can I budget weekly or fortnightly in Pocket Clear?
Yes. The free View Period setting shows Home and Reports in weekly or biweekly windows, and you can choose the start day to match your payday.
Does Pocket Clear work offline in rural New Zealand?
Yes. It works completely offline. On the free plan your entries stay on the phone; with Pro Cloud Sync they also back up once you're back in coverage.
What Users Say About Pocket Clear
"This app is just extremely easy to use and such a no nonsense app. It's perfect! The team emailed me just once about the benefits of pro version which again is so affordable, I emailed them back asking if they could add different monthly periods - and guess what ? it's done, no pressure or request to upgrade to pro as well. I love this. Thanks team"
"I overall loved this application. So easy and practical to use. My only request from the developer is to add Goals feature. For example if I want to Save money for Emergency I can set goal for it and Transfer money from Net owned money to Saving. Please Add this feature. Thankyou"
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