# Zero Budget review

> Zero-based budget with sinking funds, household sharing and optional Plaid bank sync
Source: https://budgetingapps.org/apps/zero-budget (researched 2026-10-13). Research-based review, not hands-on testing.

*Same product as this site's former 'Zero' listing (slug zero): website zerobudget.ca, App Store id 6800572313 and Google Play package ca.zerobudget.app. This is the canonical listing. Not the separate Zero Budget Local app or other similarly named products.*

## Summary

Zero Budget is a zero-based budgeting app where each dollar in a month is assigned a job, with sinking funds that roll over and a debt payoff tracker. Manual budgeting and entry are free with no time limit; a single Premium subscription adds reports, net worth history, CSV import/export, household sharing and Plaid bank sync in the US and Canada. It runs in a browser, on iPhone and, as of this check, on Android through Google Play.

**Best for:** Couples and households who want a zero-based budget with sinking funds, in the US or Canada

## Key facts

- Website: https://www.zerobudget.ca
- Price: $10/month; $96/year
- Rating: 3.5/5
- Free plan: yes
- Free trial: 14-day trial of Premium per website (card captured up front); App Store text says 30 days with no card
- Platforms: Android, iOS, Web
- Budgeting method: Zero-based, Expense tracking, Couples & families, Forecasting
- Bank sync: Plaid (US and Canada), Premium only; syncs about 6 times a day per the FAQ
- Mobile apps: iOS app (v1.3.0, first released 2026-09-04) and Android app on Google Play (updated 2026-09-28, 10+ downloads); also an installable web app
- Import: CSV import and export (Premium); import skips duplicates per earlier research
- Multiple budgets: Not confirmed
- Team: Individual developer (store seller: Harman Sharda, Calgary, Canada); the privacy policy calls it a single-operator service
- Privacy: Policy (updated 2026-09-10) says data is not sold or shared with advertisers, lists each processor and retention period, encrypts Plaid tokens at rest (AES-256-GCM) and uses TLS in transit; 30-day scheduled account deletion. No independent audit found.

## Features

- Envelope budgeting: not confirmed
- Automatic bank sync: yes
- Manual transaction entry: yes
- Goal tracking: yes
- Debt payoff tools: yes
- Investment tracking: not confirmed
- Bill reminders: not confirmed
- Reports & charts: yes
- Multi-currency: not confirmed
- Shared / household budgets: yes
- Separate logins for shared budgets: not confirmed

## Pros

- Manual zero-based budgeting, sinking funds and debt payoff are free with no time limit
- One price per household with no per-partner charge; Premium shares one budget across the household
- Bank sync via Plaid for US and Canada, with rules that auto-categorize incoming transactions
- CSV import that skips transactions already entered, plus CSV export
- Cancelling keeps the budget available on the free tier
- Now on web, iPhone and Android; the mobile apps add voice and receipt entry, which the Play listing says run on the phone (vendor claim)
- Detailed privacy policy: names each processor, gives retention periods, and lets you disconnect a bank or schedule account deletion in the app

## Cons

- Reports, net worth history, CSV import/export, sharing and bank sync are locked behind Premium
- Bank sync only covers the US and Canada
- Brand new (iOS first released 2026-09-04): no store ratings on the App Store, Android has 10+ downloads, and no independent reviews found
- Pricing pages disagree: website and Play show a 14-day trial with a card up front; the App Store text says 30 days, no card, and a Basic plan. Currency for Canadians is CAD per the FAQ, USD per the Terms
- No independent security audit found; the policy points to a public repo security document, but the repository link returned not found when checked
- Single-operator service: continuity depends on one developer

## Our review

### Short version

Zero Budget is a zero-based budgeting app where each dollar in a month is assigned a job, with sinking funds that roll over and a debt payoff tracker. Manual budgeting and entry are free with no time limit; a single Premium subscription adds reports, net worth history, CSV import/export, household sharing and Plaid bank sync in the US and Canada. It runs in a browser, on iPhone (first released 2026-09-04) and, as of this check, on Android through Google Play.

**Quick profile, not a full review.** Re-checked on 2026-10-07 from the vendor site, privacy policy, terms and store listings. No hands-on testing: I did not sign up, start a trial or connect a bank.

### What changed since the last check

The Android app is now listed on Google Play (page updated Sep 28, 2026, 10+ downloads), and the vendor site now links it. The iPhone app is at v1.3.0. Both mobile apps advertise voice and receipt entry; the Play listing says both are processed on the phone, which is a vendor claim I could not verify.

### Cost

- Free: manual budgeting, sinking funds, debt payoff and hand-entered transactions, no time limit

- Premium $10 USD/month, or $8 USD/month billed yearly ($96/yr); App Store prices match

- Trial: 14 days of Premium per the website and Play listing (card captured up front); the App Store text says 30 days with no card

### Privacy

The policy (updated 2026-09-10) says data is not sold or shared with advertisers. It lists each service provider (Plaid, Stripe, Supabase, Vercel, Resend, Sentry, PostHog, RevenueCat), gives retention periods, and says Plaid tokens are encrypted at rest with AES-256-GCM and traffic uses TLS. The mobile apps send limited usage events to an analytics service, without amounts or merchant names. Account deletion is scheduled with a 30-day cool-off. I found no independent audit; the policy points to a security document in a public repository, but that link returned not found when I checked.

### Not confirmed

Founding year; multiple budgets per account; multi-currency support; bill reminders; reconciliation workflow; independent security audit; whether the Basic tier still exists (the App Store text mentions it, the website does not).

### Notes

Pages disagree on several details: trial length and card requirement (website 14 days with card, App Store 30 days without), the currency charged to Canadians (FAQ says CAD, Terms say USD), and sync frequency (policy says daily, FAQ says six times a day). Treat the checkout screen as the final word.

Ratings are set separately against a shared rubric.

## Sources

- [Vendor home page, pricing and FAQ](https://www.zerobudget.ca) (retrieved 2026-10-07)
- [Vendor privacy policy (updated 2026-09-10)](https://zerobudget.ca/privacy) (retrieved 2026-10-07)
- [Vendor terms of service (updated 2026-09-13)](https://zerobudget.ca/terms) (retrieved 2026-10-07)
- [App Store listing (v1.3.0, via iTunes lookup)](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/zero-budget-money-planner/id6800572313) (retrieved 2026-10-07)
- [Google Play listing (updated Sep 28, 2026)](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=ca.zerobudget.app) (retrieved 2026-10-07)