Best financial planning apps for Americans living in the UK

GuideEdale Financial PlanningLast reviewed 18 min read

This guide is for Americans in Britain, and Britons back from a US career, looking for one app to show their money on both sides of the Atlantic. In brief, no single consumer app does everything: UK budgeting apps connect to UK banks through Open Banking, many US apps connect only to US institutions and work only in dollars, and the few tools that span both still leave the two tax systems to you. The right mix depends on what you need the app to do.

What is the best financial planning app for an American in the UK?

There isn’t one. “Best” depends on the job — budgeting, net worth, retirement projection, investment tax tracking or planning with an adviser — and almost every tool is built around one country’s banks, currency and tax rules.

A US–UK household may hold a UK current account, an ISA and a workplace pension alongside a 401(k) and an IRA, spend in sterling while much of its retirement money is in dollars, and file in both countries. So ask of any app: which institutions, in which countries, can it connect to, and can it hold the ones it cannot? Does it convert currencies or simply add the numbers up? Does it know an ISA from a Roth IRA? Does it project forward, or only show today?

This guide answers those questions using each vendor’s own description of its product as at October 2026. Features change; check current pages before relying on any of them. Nothing here recommends a particular app. For the wider argument about planning tools, see financial planning tools for US expats and Brits who worked in America.

What kinds of money app are there?

Broadly five, each answering a different question: where did my money go, what do I own, will it last, what do I report, and what should we decide.

Five categories of money software and what each is designed to do
CategoryDesigned toTypical design scope
Budgeting and aggregationPull in bank and card transactions, categorise spending, track billsConnects to banks in the country the app is built for
Net worth trackingHold balances across banks, brokers, property and other assetsWider coverage; some are multi-currency; little or no tax logic
Retirement projectionProject savings, income and spending year by yearBuilt around one tax system, sometimes with presets for others
Portfolio and tax trackingRecord holdings and trades, report income and gainsReports set up for a given country’s tax rules
Adviser-led planningModel the household, test decisions, document adviceUsed with an adviser; jurisdiction depends on the software

Which UK money apps can a US–UK household use?

UK budgeting apps connect to UK banks and cards through Open Banking; their focus is UK spending, and US retirement accounts usually have to be entered by hand, if at all.

Emma describes itself as a budgeting and money app that connects accounts, categorises spending and tracks bills and subscriptions, with net worth tracking and “offline accounts” for banks it cannot reach through Open Banking.[13] Its help centre says Emma “is currently live in the UK, US & Canada”,[14] and — unusually for this purpose — that you can link both UK and US banks: “our Support Team will temporarily switch your app to the relevant country so you can add the bank accounts.”[15] Its net worth guidance covers savings, ISAs, pensions and real estate.[16] The pages we reviewed do not say how it handles balances in different currencies.

Snoop describes itself as a “free budgeting and money management app” for tracking spending, budgets and bills, connecting through Open Banking and registered with the FCA.[17] Its design scope is UK everyday money.

Moneyhub was a well-known UK consumer app of this kind. Its help centre says the app was “sunsetted and no longer available from the 31st of July” 2026, as the company pivoted “toward supporting enterprise businesses”;[9] its website now describes a data platform for “financial institutions”, authorised by the FCA as an account information and payment initiation service provider.[10]

Do US apps such as Monarch, Empower, Copilot and YNAB work from the UK?

Mostly for the US half only. Their own help pages say they connect to US institutions, and several work only in dollars, so UK accounts either cannot be linked or would be counted as if pounds were dollars.

  • Monarch describes budgeting, net worth, investments and goals, with a shared view for partners, connecting to more than 13,000 institutions[18] through Plaid, Mastercard Data Connect (formerly Finicity) and MX.[19] Its help centre says the app “does not differentiate between currencies behind the scenes and does not perform any currency conversion” and recommends “only connecting accounts that are USD or CAD”.[8]
  • Empower’s Personal Dashboard says: “We currently only support U.S based financial institutions (currency in USD) for accounts you can link to your dashboard.” International accounts can be tracked as manual accounts, and signing up requires a valid US phone number.[6]
  • Copilot Money says it “only supports USD and does not convert foreign currency transactions” and is “only available in the US App Store”;[7] it describes read-only connections to more than 10,000 US institutions.[20]
  • YNAB is a budgeting method as much as an app. Its Direct Import is available for select European banks, the UK among them,[21] and for more than one currency it recommends “creating a separate budget”.[22]

These apps are designed for households living in America. For an American in London they can be a window onto the US accounts, while UK accounts sit elsewhere.

Which retirement planners cover both countries?

Consumer retirement planners are mostly built around one tax system. Some model Social Security, RMDs and Roth conversions; at least one offers UK tax presets; we found none that says it computes US and UK tax on the same income together, with foreign tax credits.

Boldin (the trading name of NewRetirement, Inc.) describes “DIY Retirement & Financial Planning Software” covering “taxes, Social Security, real estate, healthcare costs, long-term care, and more”, and says its planners “should not be acted upon as a complete financial plan”.[23] Accounts can be linked through Plaid, MX and Finicity, among others,[24] and its Roth Conversion Explorer takes account of “income, retirement timing, Social Security, and future RMDs”.[25] Its design scope is the US household; its pages did not describe UK pensions, UK tax or currency conversion.

ProjectionLab takes a different approach: no account linking (“No link to your accounts”),[26] a choice of display currency, and “default United Kingdom account types like ISAs, workplace pensions, and SIPPs” with “United Kingdom tax presets”.[27] It lists international tax presets for several countries and tools for Roth conversions and 72(t) distributions,[28] models Social Security as an income stream,[29] and its changelog records a relocation milestone, UK pension withdrawal methods added in April 2026, and RMD settings.[30] Its pages do not say that it applies both countries’ tax rules to the same person at once, which is what a US citizen resident in the UK faces.

That matters because the systems interact: UK tax on a US citizen’s salary is normally credited against US tax; an ISA is tax-free in the UK but not the US; US Social Security paid to a UK resident is taxable only in the UK under Article 17(3) of the treaty.[31] A single-country model can be right for the main income and wrong at the edges, where decisions sit. See how both tax systems apply to Americans in the UK.

What about multi-currency net worth and portfolio trackers?

Here cross-border coverage is strongest: some trackers are built to hold accounts in several countries and currencies. They do not do tax planning.

Kubera says “multi-currency runs through every layer” of the product and describes itself as “not a budgeting app”;[32] its help centre says the aggregators give it read-only access.[33] It names several aggregators, among them Plaid, Yodlee, Salt Edge and MX, reaching more than 20,000 institutions in countries including the US and the UK.[34]

Sharesight is a portfolio tracker with tax reports. Its UK site says you can “track investments in over 100 currencies”, with a multi-currency valuation report and broker imports;[35] UK portfolios can be set up as a general investment account, ISA or SIPP.[36] Its US site describes a taxable income report splitting local and foreign income, a sold securities report of realised gains, and tracking of foreign exchange effects in a dollar portfolio.[37] Neither is described as combining the two countries’ rules; a US person in the UK still has to reconcile UK share matching with US cost basis, which tax reporting for investors with US and UK accounts explains.

How do the named apps compare?

The table records only what each vendor says; “Not stated” means we found no statement, not that the feature is absent. It is not a ranking.

Named apps by design scope, as described on each vendor’s own pages (accessed October 2026); “Not stated” means the vendor’s pages we reviewed did not say
AppBuilt aroundConnects toMulti-currencyUK pensions and ISAsUS retirement and tax
EmmaBudgeting; live in UK, US, Canada[14]UK banks; UK and US banks via support; offline accounts[13][15]Not statedCan be added to net worth[16]Not stated
SnoopUK budgeting[17]UK accounts via Open BankingNot statedNot statedNot stated
MonarchUS budgeting and net worth[18]13,000+ institutions via Plaid, Mastercard, MX[19]No conversion; USD or CAD accounts advised[8]Not statedNot stated
Empower Personal DashboardUSUS institutions only; manual accounts[6]Linked accounts in USD[6]Not statedNot stated
Copilot MoneyUS budgeting[20]10,000+ US institutions, read-only[20]USD only[7]Not statedNot stated
YNABBudgeting methodDirect Import incl. select UK banks[21]Separate budget per currency[22]Not statedNot stated
BoldinUS retirement planning[23]Plaid, MX, Finicity and others[24]Not statedNot statedSocial Security, RMDs, Roth conversions[25]
ProjectionLabPlanning with international presets[28]No linking[26]Choice of currency[27]ISAs, workplace pensions, SIPPs; UK tax presets[27]Roth conversions, 72(t), RMDs, Social Security[28][30][29]
KuberaNet worth, worldwide[32]20,000+ institutions incl. US and UK[34]Yes[32]Not statedNot stated
SharesightPortfolio tracking and tax reportsBroker imports and files[35]100+ currencies[35]GIA, ISA, SIPP portfolio types[36]US income and realised-gain reports[37]

Why can’t I link my 401(k) to a UK app?

Because aggregation is built country by country, and in both countries the legal foundations were laid for bank accounts first. A pension or retirement account on the other side of the Atlantic is usually outside both.

In the UK, an app that reads your accounts is an account information service provider (AISP) under the Payment Services Regulations 2017, which define the service as “an online service to provide consolidated information on one or more payment accounts”.[2] The FCA says such a firm “must be authorised or registered” and can access your accounts only with “your explicit consent”.[1] The standard interfaces came from the Competition and Markets Authority’s 2017 order requiring the nine largest banks and building societies in Great Britain and Northern Ireland to adopt them[38] — the CMA9, which completed the Open Banking Roadmap in 2024.[39] Pensions and investments sit outside that framework. The FCA’s April 2026 open finance roadmap, under the smart data powers in the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025, puts SME lending and mortgages first and lists pensions and investments as ambitions without a timetable.[3]

In the US, apps typically connect through aggregators such as Plaid, MX and Mastercard’s Finicity.[19][24] The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Personal Financial Data Rights rule under section 1033 of the Dodd-Frank Act, published on 18 November 2024, would let consumers share data through developer interfaces rather than by handing over passwords for “screen scraping” — but it covers bank accounts, credit cards and payment products, not brokerage or retirement accounts; its first compliance date was to be 1 April 2026.[4] Banks challenged it in Forcht Bank, N.A. v. CFPB in the Eastern District of Kentucky; the CFPB opened a reconsideration with an advance notice on 22 August 2025;[40] and on 29 October 2025 the court ordered that the CFPB “is ENJOINED from enforcing the Personal Financial Data Rights Rule until it has completed its reconsideration of the Rule”.[5] A new proposal was reported to have been sent for White House review in August 2026,[41] but as at 1 October 2026 none had been published, so the 2024 rule remains on the books and unenforced.

So a UK app has no regulated route into a 401(k) record-keeper, and some US apps support only US institutions. Multi-aggregator tools reach further,[34] but coverage of any given scheme is a test, not a promise.

Is it safe to connect my accounts to an app?

Regulated, read-only access is designed to be safer than sharing passwords, but it is still a decision about who holds your data.

  • Check the firm. For a UK app, look up the firm, or the aggregator it uses, on the FCA’s Financial Services Register; the FCA also gives a helpline, 0800 111 6768.[1] Plaid, for example, states that it is authorised by the FCA under the Payment Services Regulations 2017.[42]
  • Prefer read-only access where you only want to see balances. Copilot and Kubera both describe read-only connections, and Kubera says your credentials go to the aggregator, not to its servers.[20][33]
  • Expect to reconfirm. UK rules require the app to “reconfirm at least every 90 days” that you still consent, so periodic prompts are normal.[43]
  • Know the complaint route. A UK AISP must answer a complaint within 15 days, with the Financial Ombudsman Service behind it.[1]
  • Read the data terms: what the app does with your data, whether it shares it, and what happens if it closes.

What do most apps not do for a cross-border household?

They do not hold the two tax systems, the currencies and the timeline together, which is where cross-border decisions are made.

  • Two tax systems at once, joined by foreign tax credits and the treaty; a UK or US tax preset models one side.
  • Wrappers that change meaning across the border. An ISA is tax-free in the UK but not in the US, and UK funds can be passive foreign investment companies (PFICs) for a US person; see ISAs, UK funds and PFIC rules for Americans.
  • Spending in one currency, assets in another; see currency risk for families with dollar and sterling lives.
  • Retirement timing across two systems. Social Security, the UK State Pension, UK pension access ages and US required minimum distributions — from age 73, or 75 for those born in 1960 or later[44] — start at different times; see Social Security and the UK State Pension and RMDs on your own IRA or 401(k) in the UK.
  • US reporting of non-US accounts. FBAR applies above $10,000 in aggregate at any time in the year;[11] Form 8938, for filers abroad, above $200,000 at year end or $300,000 at any time if single, or $400,000 and $600,000 for joint filers.[45] Both need each account’s maximum value — which an app’s history can help you find but does not report.[12]

How can I combine tools sensibly?

Many cross-border households use two or three tools, each for what it is designed to do. One pattern, as an illustration rather than a recommendation:

  1. Everyday spending in a budgeting app for the country where you live.
  2. One balance sheet in a tracker that holds both countries’ accounts and converts to a reporting currency, with manual entries for what will not connect.
  3. Records for reporting: year-end statements, and the highest balance of each non-US account each calendar year for FBAR and Form 8938, kept outside any app that might close.
  4. A plan that models both tax systems, both currencies and the timeline — built yourself in a planner, or with an adviser using planning software.

Every extra tool is another place your data lives. Whether any of this suits you depends on your circumstances.

Worked example: what a net worth app can and cannot tell you about FBAR (our own arithmetic, not a planner output)

Fictional household, illustrative only. Jordan and Priya are US citizens living in London. For calendar year 2025 they hold a joint UK current account (highest balance £6,200 in March, £3,100 on 31 December), an easy-access savings account in Priya’s name (highest £3,900 in July, £2,000 at year end) and a Stocks and Shares ISA in Jordan’s name (highest £14,800, £14,200 at year end). Conversion uses the Treasury reporting rate for 31 December 2025, £0.743 per dollar,[46] as FinCEN directs, rounding each value up to the next whole dollar.[12] These are our own calculations, not a planner output; they are not tax advice, and whether and how you file depends on your circumstances — confirm with your tax preparer.

Year-end snapshot versus the FBAR test: each account’s maximum 2025 value converted at £0.743 per US dollar (illustrative)
AccountYear-end balanceMaximum in 2025Maximum in dollars
Joint current account (both)£3,100£6,200$8,345
Savings (Priya)£2,000£3,900$5,249
Stocks and Shares ISA (Jordan)£14,200£14,800$19,920

A net worth app’s year-end view of Priya’s accounts shows £5,100, about $6,865 — comfortably under $10,000. But the FBAR test uses each account’s maximum value in the year, and FinCEN says “each joint owner must report the entire value of the account”.[47] So Priya’s figure is $8,345 + $5,249 = $13,594, over the threshold, even though the two peaks came months apart. Jordan’s is $8,345 + $19,920 = $28,265. Both have a filing requirement for 2025 (the automatic extension runs to 15 October 2026[11]); because each also has an account in their own name, each files a separate report — the single-report route with Form 114a is for spouses whose accounts are all jointly owned.[11] Form 8938 is a separate test: the household’s maxima total $33,514, far below the $600,000 any-time threshold that would apply if they file jointly and meet the test for living abroad.[45]

Currency alone moves the figure: the same £24,900 of maximum balances is about $33,513 at the 31 December 2025 rate and about $32,937 at the 30 June 2026 rate of £0.756[46] — a $576 difference created entirely by the exchange rate. A tracker’s balance history can help you find each account’s peak; the test, the rate and the rounding remain for you or your preparer.

How the Edale Wealth Hub helps

The Edale Wealth Hub is not a budgeting app, and it is fair to say so. It does not connect to UK or US bank accounts through Open Banking or Plaid, and it does not categorise day-to-day spending; if that is what you need, the apps above are designed for it. The Hub is offered to Edale clients as part of an advisory relationship, and clients can also use the planner themselves.

What it is designed for is the part most apps leave out: one plan for a household with lives in both countries. Edale’s planner models US and UK accounts side by side — 401(k), 403(b), traditional and Roth IRAs, inherited IRAs and Social Security on one side; SIPPs, workplace and defined benefit pensions, the State Pension and ISAs on the other — in any mix of currencies, year by year. It applies UK income tax and National Insurance, US federal tax and, for US persons, the interaction of the two through foreign tax credits and treaty treatment, so the plan shows what the household keeps. It flags non-US funds that may be PFICs for US persons, models Roth conversions, and replays twelve historical GBP/USD and GBP/EUR currency episodes against the plan. Clients with their own IRAs or 401(k)s see an RMD forecast in My Advice.

For investments, My Investments consolidates valuations, holdings, transactions and performance for accounts linked by the adviser on Interactive Brokers UK and US — not every platform — with a £/$ toggle, ISA allowance tracking, and a US tax summary that is a “1099-style summary, not a Form 1099”. Its outputs are summaries to share with an accountant or tax preparer, not tax returns or IRS forms; Edale does not prepare US tax returns and is not a US-registered investment adviser.

Edale’s advisers may also use specialist software alongside the Hub. This is general information, not personal advice. See the cashflow planner or arrange a conversation.

Frequently asked questions

Is there an app that links both my UK and US accounts?

Some can, within limits. Emma’s help centre says its support team can switch your app between countries so you can add both UK and US banks, and Kubera says it connects to institutions in the US and UK through several aggregators. Many US apps support only US institutions, and pensions and retirement accounts often need manual entry.

Can I use Monarch, Empower or Copilot while living in the UK?

For your US accounts, broadly yes, but each describes a US design scope. Empower’s dashboard links only US institutions in dollars and needs a US phone number; Copilot is US-only and USD-only; Monarch does not convert currencies and advises connecting only USD or CAD accounts. UK accounts would need manual entry or another app.

Why won’t my 401(k) connect to a UK budgeting app?

UK apps connect through Open Banking, whose regulated scope under the Payment Services Regulations 2017 is payment accounts at UK providers. A 401(k) is a US retirement account held by a US record-keeper, reached, if at all, through US aggregators that most UK apps do not use. Open finance for pensions and investments has no UK timetable yet.

What is the status of the CFPB open banking rule?

The Personal Financial Data Rights rule was published on 18 November 2024. A federal court in Kentucky enjoined its enforcement on 29 October 2025 until the CFPB completes a reconsideration begun in August 2025. A new proposal was reported to have gone for White House review in August 2026, but none had been published by 1 October 2026.

Is it safe to give a money app access to my bank accounts?

Regulated, read-only access is designed to avoid sharing your password. In the UK, check that the app or its aggregator is authorised or registered on the FCA’s Financial Services Register, expect to reconfirm consent every 90 days, and read what the app does with your data and what happens if it closes.

Can a net worth app do my FBAR?

No, but it can help. FBAR needs each foreign account’s maximum value in the calendar year, converted at the Treasury’s year-end rate and rounded up, and joint owners each report the full value. A tracker’s balance history can help you find those peaks; the test and the filing remain yours or your preparer’s.

Is the Edale Wealth Hub a budgeting app?

No. It does not connect to bank accounts through Open Banking or Plaid and does not categorise spending. It is a planning environment for US–UK households, used with an Edale adviser or by clients themselves, that models both tax systems, both currencies and the retirement timeline, with consolidated reporting for linked Interactive Brokers accounts.

Sources

  1. Financial Conduct Authority — Account information and payment initiation services (accessed October 2026)
  2. legislation.gov.uk — Payment Services Regulations 2017, SI 2017/752, regulation 2 (interpretation: account information service) (accessed October 2026)
  3. Financial Conduct Authority — Open finance: our vision for a smart data future (roadmap, April 2026) (accessed October 2026)
  4. Federal Register — Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Required Rulemaking on Personal Financial Data Rights, final rule, 18 November 2024 (89 FR 90838) (accessed October 2026)
  5. US District Court, Eastern District of Kentucky — Forcht Bank, N.A. v. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, No. 5:24-cv-00304, memorandum opinion and order, 29 October 2025 (via Justia) (accessed October 2026)
  6. Empower — Can I link an international account in Empower Personal Dashboard? (accessed October 2026)
  7. Copilot Money Help Center — International currency (accessed October 2026)
  8. Monarch Help Center — International accounts and currency (accessed October 2026)
  9. Moneyhub help centre — Moneyhub app closure and your account options (30 June 2026) (accessed October 2026)
  10. Moneyhub — Home page (Moneyhub Financial Technology Ltd) (accessed October 2026)
  11. IRS — Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR) (accessed October 2026)
  12. FinCEN — Reporting maximum account value (accessed October 2026)
  13. Emma — Home page (accessed October 2026)
  14. Emma Help Centre — Which countries is Emma available in? (accessed October 2026)
  15. Emma Help Centre — Can I link both UK and US banks? (accessed October 2026)
  16. Emma Help Centre — Accounts (net worth, offline accounts, CSV imports) (accessed October 2026)
  17. Snoop — Home page (accessed October 2026)
  18. Monarch — Home page (accessed October 2026)
  19. Monarch Help Center — Guide to connecting your accounts (accessed October 2026)
  20. Copilot Money — FAQs (accessed October 2026)
  21. YNAB Support — Direct Import in Europe (accessed October 2026)
  22. YNAB Support — Using multiple currencies in YNAB: a guide (accessed October 2026)
  23. Boldin — Home page (NewRetirement, Inc. d/b/a Boldin) (accessed October 2026)
  24. Boldin Help Center — How do I connect my accounts in Boldin? (accessed October 2026)
  25. Boldin Help Center — How to use Boldin’s Roth Conversion Explorer (accessed October 2026)
  26. ProjectionLab — Home page (accessed October 2026)
  27. ProjectionLab — Financial and retirement planning tools for the United Kingdom (accessed October 2026)
  28. ProjectionLab — Analyze and understand your future taxes (accessed October 2026)
  29. ProjectionLab Help — Should I use Today’s Currency or Actual Currency when modeling fixed-income sources like pensions and U.S. Social Security? (accessed October 2026)
  30. ProjectionLab — Changelog (accessed October 2026)
  31. US Treasury — Convention between the United States and the United Kingdom for the avoidance of double taxation (2001), Articles 1 and 17 (accessed October 2026)
  32. Kubera — Home page (accessed October 2026)
  33. Kubera Help Center — Does Kubera have access to my online bank account credentials? (accessed October 2026)
  34. Kubera — Track global banks and brokerages with best-in-class connectivity (accessed October 2026)
  35. Sharesight UK — FAQ (accessed October 2026)
  36. Sharesight Help (UK) — Changing the tax setting of your portfolio (accessed October 2026)
  37. Sharesight US — Investment portfolio tax reporting (accessed October 2026)
  38. Open Banking Limited — Regulatory (accessed October 2026)
  39. Open Banking Limited — CMA confirms full completion of Open Banking Roadmap (9 September 2024) (accessed October 2026)
  40. Federal Register — Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Personal Financial Data Rights Reconsideration, advance notice of proposed rulemaking, 22 August 2025 (90 FR 40986) (accessed October 2026)
  41. Ballard Spahr, Consumer Finance Monitor — CFPB sends new Section 1033 open banking proposal to OIRA for review (6 August 2026) (accessed October 2026)
  42. Plaid — Is Plaid regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)? (accessed October 2026)
  43. Financial Conduct Authority — PS21/19: Changes to the SCA-RTS and to the guidance in the Approach Document and the Perimeter Guidance Manual (accessed October 2026)
  44. Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School — 26 U.S. Code section 401 (required minimum distributions, applicable age) (accessed October 2026)
  45. IRS — Instructions for Form 8938 (accessed October 2026)
  46. US Treasury, Fiscal Data — Treasury Reporting Rates of Exchange (United Kingdom pound) (accessed October 2026)
  47. FinCEN — Reporting jointly held accounts (accessed October 2026)