Shared household budgeting with bank sync, rules and optional envelope-style budgets
- Envelope
- Expense tracking
- Couples & families
Beacon Budget
Bucket-based budgeting that auto-funds bills and shows a free-to-spend figure.
Research-based review, not hands-on testing. Last researched .
Overview
Beacon Budget (formerly DAS Budget) is a bank-linked bucket/envelope-style app. You create buckets for bills and goals, attach each to a funding schedule tied to paydays, and the app sets money aside automatically and calculates what is left to spend. It supports individual and joint budgets and runs on iOS, Android and web.
Best for: Paycheck-driven households, including couples, that want bills and goals funded automatically from linked accounts.
Pros and cons
Pros
- Automatic funding schedules allocate money toward bucket targets ahead of due dates, including recurring and flexible contribution options.
- Free-to-Spend gives a single view of money not assigned to obligations or goals.
- Joint budgets and multiple budgets are documented; credit-card buckets and round-up goals add planning flexibility.
- Transactions can be exported as CSV or JSON on any plan, according to the help center.
- Recent Android release notes include fixes to credit-card payoff-bucket handling.
Cons
- Bank-linked budgeting depends on Plaid or MX and transaction sync, which the vendor says runs 1–6 times daily depending on account and institution.
- Essentials connects up to 3 institutions and Premium up to 10.
- The App Store still lists older per-institution in-app prices that do not match the vendor’s current website tiers.
- Google Play currently shows 43 reviews, a small sample for judging long-term reliability.
Features
- Envelope budgeting included
- Automatic bank sync included
- Manual transaction entry not confirmed not confirmed
- Goal tracking included
- Debt payoff tools not confirmed not confirmed
- Investment tracking not confirmed not confirmed
- Bill reminders included
- Reports & charts included
- Multi-currency not confirmed not confirmed
- Shared / household budgets included
- Separate logins for shared budgets not confirmed not confirmed
Expenses, goals, savings vaults, bucket groups, funding schedules, credit-card integration, round-ups, Budget Checkup; transaction export in CSV/JSON.
Our review
Short version
Beacon Budget (formerly DAS Budget) is a bank-linked bucket budgeting app built around paycheck-timed funding schedules and a calculated Free-to-Spend balance. Its feature guide documents expense, goal and savings-vault buckets, bucket groups, shared and multiple budgets, credit-card integration, round-ups, and a Budget Checkup that suggests buckets from transaction history.
Research-based profile, not hands-on testing. This update uses public vendor documentation and store listings; I did not sign up, start a trial or connect a bank.
Cost
The vendor website lists a 30-day trial, then Essentials at $4.99/month or $44.99/year (up to 3 institutions) and Premium at $8.99/month or $79.99/year (up to 10). The App Store still displays older per-institution IAP options starting at $3.99 monthly and $39.99 annually; the current website plan details are used here, but the discrepancy is worth checking at purchase.
How it works
Connect accounts through Plaid or MX; the vendor describes read-only access and says sync occurs 1–6 times daily depending on the institution. Assign buckets to funding schedules and due dates. The help center describes three contribution types: reach a target by the due date, catch up when behind, or contribute a fixed amount each cycle. Beacon calculates Free-to-Spend after earmarked money. It does not move money between bank accounts; buckets are virtual allocations.
Data and platforms
The vendor says data is encrypted in transit and at rest and not sold or used for ads. Google Play’s data-safety disclosure separately says the app may collect personal and financial information and share personal information, app activity and device identifiers. Transactions can be exported as CSV or JSON, but importing transaction files is not confirmed. Current App Store and Google Play listings and the web app support iOS, Android and web use.
What stands out
The paycheck-aligned funding schedules, three contribution modes, and distinction between checking-backed buckets and savings-backed vaults make its approach more specific than a simple spending tracker. Export is documented without a paid add-on.
Notes
Google Play lists 43 reviews and an update dated October 14, 2026; the App Store lists 140 ratings (4.5/5). Store feedback includes both positive reports about automatic allocation and complaints about transaction-sync or support problems, so these remain user reports rather than a reliability guarantee. Feature and pricing research is based on public documentation, not hands-on use.
Sources
- Official website: pricing, features, bank sync and privacy claimsretrieved 2026-10-15
- Official feature guide: buckets, schedules, credit cards, round-ups and Budget Checkupretrieved 2026-10-15
- Official privacy policy (updated 2026-09-18)retrieved 2026-10-15
- Official help: funding schedules and contribution typesretrieved 2026-10-15
- Official help: CSV/JSON transaction exportretrieved 2026-10-15
- Google Play listing: reviews, update date and release notesretrieved 2026-10-15
- Apple App Store listing: rating count and in-app purchasesretrieved 2026-10-15
