Top 8 Budgeting Apps Used in Japan

Household budgeting apps have become essential tools in today’s busy lifestyle. Managing finances is a significant concern for many people, and having a reliable and user-friendly budgeting app is crucial for efficiently tracking income and expenses. In Japan, there is a demand for diverse features to accommodate daily living expenses, future savings, investments, and various economic activities.

This article ranks nine popular household budgeting apps in Japan based on usability, ease of expense management, availability of sharing features, and overall user satisfaction. We hope this guide helps you find the best budgeting app tailored to your needs. By leveraging these tools effectively, you can manage your finances wisely and achieve a more prosperous life.

Best Budgeting Apps

1. Zaim
2. Money Forward ME
3. Dr.Wallet
4. OsidOri
5. Moneytree
6. OkaneReco
7. Mainichi Kakeibo
8. Rakuna Kakeibo

1. Zaim

Image Source: https://zaim.net/

Zaim has cemented itself as a staple in Japanese households, with over a decade of history as one of the country’s leading budgeting apps. Recognized by the prestigious Good Design Award (Best 100), Zaim's intuitive interface and robust feature set make it accessible to both budgeting beginners and seasoned financial planners. The app boasts an impressive 83% user retention rate, reflecting its ease of use and effectiveness.

Zaim streamlines expense tracking by automatically importing data from linked bank accounts, credit cards, and electronic money services. Users can also snap photos of receipts, with the app seamlessly categorizing expenses. This allows for quick, accurate record-keeping without the tedious manual input often associated with budgeting.

Key Features:

• Real-time visualization: Graphs and charts provide a clear snapshot of spending habits, making it easy to identify areas for savings.
• Comprehensive tracking: Manage not just household expenses but also savings, subscriptions, and even government benefits.
• Cross-device synchronization: Access your financial data across smartphones, tablets, and computers.
• Security and privacy: Zaim uses top-tier encryption and complies with international security standards (ISMS certified).

For those seeking enhanced capabilities, Zaim Premium offers ad-free usage, deeper analysis tools, and customizable categories for 480 yen/month or 4,800 yen/year. This optional upgrade ensures a more tailored and efficient budgeting experience.

2. Money Forward ME

Image Source: https://moneyforward.com/

Money Forward ME stands out as a comprehensive asset management tool, combining budgeting, investment tracking, and savings management in one powerful app. With support for over 2,500 financial institutions, it automatically aggregates transaction data from bank accounts, credit cards, and even investment portfolios.

One of Money Forward ME’s strengths is its automated expense classification and in-depth financial analysis, visualized through detailed graphs and charts. This functionality helps users identify unnecessary spending and optimize their financial plans, with many reporting an average monthly improvement of 24,599 yen in their cash flow.

Key Features:

• Effortless tracking: Capture receipts with a quick photo or rely on automatic bank integration for real-time expense tracking.
• Notification alerts: Get reminders for large withdrawals, credit card charges, and account updates.
• Comprehensive asset overview: Consolidate and monitor all assets, including stocks, crypto, and loyalty points, in one place.
• Family budgeting: Manage household finances collaboratively by linking multiple accounts.

Money Forward ME offers a premium subscription with additional features like enhanced analytics, longer data retention, and customized reporting. A two-month free trial allows users to experience the full potential of the app before committing to a paid plan.

3. Dr.Wallet

Image Source: https://www.drwallet.jp/

Dr.Wallet is a user-friendly budgeting app that simplifies money management for everyone. One of its standout features is the receipt scanning, where users can simply take a photo of a receipt, and operators will input and categorize the data for them. This removes the hassle of manual entry, making it particularly appealing to beginners or busy individuals. With a strong focus on automation and convenience, Dr.Wallet allows users to effortlessly track expenses and income by syncing with credit cards, electronic money, and even e-commerce accounts like Amazon and Rakuten.

For those seeking visual insights, the app offers detailed graphs to analyze spending habits and identify potential savings areas. Dr.Wallet’s privacy-conscious system ensures that your data is handled securely, with manual entry of sensitive details by operators who do not access personal information. The app also integrates seamlessly with other devices, making it ideal for users who want to share data across smartphones, tablets, or desktops.

Whether you're trying to track your expenses or cut down on unnecessary spending, Dr.Wallet makes it easy and efficient. The automatic receipt scanning and financial data input will save you time and effort, while the intuitive interface keeps you engaged in managing your finances.

Key Features:

• Receipt scanning: Simply take a photo, and operators will handle the data entry
• Automatic syncing with credit cards, electronic money, and e-commerce accounts
• Visual financial insights with easy-to-understand graphs
• Privacy protection through manual data entry by operators
• Cross-device integration for seamless data sharing across smartphones, tablets, and desktops

4. OsidOri

Image Source: https://www.osidori.co/

OsidOri is the perfect budgeting app for couples and families. Designed specifically to manage shared finances, this app allows you to track income and expenses together with your partner or family members. It enables a shared account view for collective budgeting while maintaining individual privacy through personal pages. Whether you’re dividing household expenses or saving for future goals, OsidOri offers a comprehensive solution.

One of the key features of OsidOri is its split payment and expense sharing function, allowing couples to easily keep track of who paid for what and settle bills effortlessly. Additionally, users can create and track shared savings goals for life events such as buying a house or saving for a vacation.

For those who value customization, OsidOri offers extensive options to tailor the app to your personal budgeting style, including a wide range of categories and detailed graphical reports. You can monitor monthly expenses, compare against previous months, and adjust your budget accordingly.

The app’s security is also top-notch, ensuring all sensitive data is encrypted, while the Premium Plan offers additional benefits like unlimited account syncs, advanced search functions, and access to detailed financial reports.

Key Features:

• Shared account view for easy management of collective finances
• Split payment and expense sharing features for couples or families
• Customizable categories and graphical financial reports
• Secure data encryption and privacy features
• Premium Plan offering advanced features like unlimited account syncing and detailed reports

5. Moneytree

Image Source: https://getmoneytree.com/

Moneytree is a sophisticated budgeting and asset management app that consolidates your financial data from banks, credit cards, electronic money services, and point cards. It’s designed to offer seamless management for those who rely on cashless payments, allowing users to track everything from spending to asset status in one place.

The app’s automatic categorization feature uses AI to analyze transaction details and automatically sort them into categories like food, entertainment, and transportation. This removes the hassle of manual entry and makes tracking expenses incredibly easy. With integration for over 2,500 financial services, Moneytree supports everything from bank accounts to investment portfolios, giving you a comprehensive view of your financial health.

Another standout feature is its push notifications for important events like point expiration, low balances, and payment due dates, helping users stay on top of their finances without any effort. Whether you're tracking daily expenses or managing savings, Moneytree's user-friendly interface and strong security make it an excellent choice for anyone looking to streamline their budgeting process.

Key Features:

• AI-powered automatic categorization of transactions
• Integration with over 2,500 financial services, including banks, credit cards, and investment accounts
• Push notifications for bill payments, point expirations, and low balances
• Secure and private data management with a strong emphasis on privacy
• Financial reports and budget tracking with automatic updates and customizable categories
• Premium features for advanced budgeting and savings goal tracking

6. OkaneReco

Image Source: https://okane-reco.com/

OkaneReco is a fun and intuitive budgeting app designed to make financial management enjoyable. With over 5 million users, OkaneReco stands out for its gamified experience, where users track expenses and manage their finances alongside cute, motivational characters. The app’s easy-to-use interface is perfect for those who want to keep their budgeting simple and stress-free.

With OkaneReco, you can record expenses in just three taps, and the app offers both manual entry and receipt scanning capabilities. The calendar stamps and engaging character encouragements help users stay motivated to stick to their budgets. It’s a great option for anyone who has struggled with consistency in managing their finances.

One of OkaneReco’s unique features is its budget management tools, where users can set both overall household budgets and category-specific budgets to avoid overspending. The app also includes a monthly summary report and expense category breakdown, giving you a clear picture of your financial habits.

OkaneReco also offers a Cloud Member Plan for added security and convenience, allowing for data synchronization across multiple devices and shared access with family members or partners. With features like goal tracking and automatic backup, this app makes managing personal finances both easy and fun.

Key Features:

• Three-tap entry for quick and easy budgeting
• Gamified experience with cute characters and calendar stamps to motivate users
• Manual entry and receipt scanning for expense tracking
• Budget management with category-specific and overall budgeting tools
• Monthly summary reports to track progress and financial goals
• Cloud Member Plan for data synchronization across devices and shared access with family
• Data backup and goal tracking for added security and convenience

7. Mainichi Kakeibo

Image Source: https://kakeibo.swalloworkstudio.com/

Mainichi Kakeibo is the go-to app for users who prefer manual expense tracking while offering a user-friendly and efficient experience. With over 4 million users, this app supports multiple wallets and foreign currency transactions, making it a great choice for those who want to manage their finances with simplicity.

Key Features:

• Simple and Intuitive Interface: The clean, user-friendly design allows for easy, intuitive navigation without the need for prior setup, enabling even beginners to jump right in.
• Multiple Budget Books: Whether you're managing personal finances, a business, or even tracking your travels abroad, Mainichi Kakeibo allows you to set up separate books for each, all in one app.
• Comprehensive Financial Management: Track your cash, bank accounts, credit cards, debit cards, and even foreign currency. With over 130 currencies supported, it automatically updates exchange rates daily.
• Cloud Sync & Sharing: Sync across multiple devices using iCloud, and share your financial data with family or partners for seamless collaborative management.
• Flexible Budgeting: Set up either simple total budgets or detailed category-specific budgets, and easily track your expenses against set limits.
• Advanced Reports: Visualize your income and expenditure with elegant graphs, including pie charts for spending categories and asset trends over time.
• Customizable Features: Personalize your budget categories and asset management options, and even choose custom themes to match your preferences.

Mainichi Kakeibo makes it effortless to track and manage your finances, offering flexibility, detailed reports, and a seamless user experience.

8. Rakuna Kakeibo

Image Source: https://jp.realbyteapps.com/

Rakuna Kakeibo (らくな家計簿) focuses on simplifying household financial management through a minimalist approach, making it an ideal tool for users who want a straightforward experience. With features like automatic entry of recurring expenses and intuitive graphs, Rakuna is designed to provide a stress-free way to manage your money.

Key Features:

• Easy-to-Use Interface: The app’s minimalist design lets users input and track expenses effortlessly. You can set budgets for weeks, months, or even years with just a few taps.
• Intuitive Financial Insights: Rakuna Kakeibo offers easy-to-understand graphs showing your spending trends, helping you gain clear insights into your finances at a glance.
• Automatic Entry and Transfers: The app supports automatic entry of recurring payments, such as salary or loan repayments, and transfers between assets, making financial management smoother.
• Asset and Budget Management: You can categorize your expenses with ease and view them in both large and small groupings. It’s optimized for both personal and business use, letting you manage everything from daily expenses to assets.
• Backup and Restore: With built-in support for cloud backups via iCloud, Dropbox, and email, your data is always secure and easy to restore.
• Advanced Reporting: Track and analyze your assets with intuitive reports, including monthly spending patterns and asset fluctuations, giving you complete control over your finances.
• Multiple Currency Support: Rakuna Kakeibo supports various currencies, making it an excellent choice for users who travel abroad or deal with international transactions.

For users seeking simplicity without sacrificing functionality, Rakuna Kakeibo offers an intuitive, efficient solution to household budget management.

Conclusion

With so many powerful budgeting apps available in Japan, there's an ideal solution for every type of user. Whether you're looking for automatic expense tracking, seamless integration with bank accounts, or a minimalist approach to managing your money, these apps have something to offer. From Zaim’s comprehensive features to Rakuna Kakeibo’s user-friendly simplicity, each app is designed to enhance your financial management experience. By carefully considering the unique features of each app, you can choose the one that best suits your needs, helping you stay on top of your finances and make informed decisions for a stable, prosperous future. Embrace the convenience and insights these apps provide, and take control of your financial journey today!

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