Budget Tracker · Free · No account
Compare planned and actual amounts each month.
Enter your budget once on the Budget sheet. Each month has a separate sheet with the same budget lines, planned and actual amounts, and the difference. It highlights amounts over budget and totals what remains. Summary and Year sheets show the totals across months.
- Excel 2016 and later
- Calculations checked in LibreOffice, Google Sheets and Apple Numbers
- Choose the monthsPick the first month, the year and 1, 3, 6 or 12 months. Choose the currency, then a budget style: standard, 50/30/20 or zero-based.
- Choose how you recordType one total for each line each month, or log each payment on a Transactions sheet. Switch on payment day and an account column if you want them.
- Download and planFill in the Budget sheet with the monthly amount for each line. Every month sheet lists those lines, ready for actual spending.
Build your workbook
Preview: Monthly personal budget. Change the selected dates, categories or layout to update the preview.
JavaScript is required to use the builder. The workbook is made in your browser.
What you get
One Budget sheet
Income, savings and every bill on one Budget sheet; each month lists the same lines.
Planned against actual
A positive difference means you spent less, or earned or saved more, than planned. ● Over, ◐ Near limit and ✓ Within are written beside each line.
Totals or transactions
Type a total for each line, or log each payment and let the months add them up.
Standard, 50/30/20 or zero-based
Each style sorts the lines into its own groups, and the Summary totals each group.
The Monthly personal budget example
Twelve month sheets from the selected first month, each listing 23 starter lines across income, savings, fixed costs, variable spending and debt. Planned, actual and difference sit side by side, with a Summary of the year so far and a Year sheet.
Sheets included (18)
- Start HereHow the workbook works, what each sheet is for and the settings used.
- BudgetThe plan, once: every line of income, saving and spending with its monthly amount. Every month sheet lists these lines.
- 12 month pagesOctober 2026: planned, actual and the difference for every line, with the month’s totals beside them.
- SummaryThe year so far: income, spent, saved, left over, the largest overspends and totals by group and category.
- YearWhat came in and went out for every line, month by month, with totals and the difference to date.
- ListsEdit the white lists to change dropdown choices. Shaded lists are fixed because formulas use those names.
- SettingsValues used by the workbook, such as reminder windows. Change them here.
File details
- Made for
- Excel 2016 and laterThe download is an .xlsx workbook.
- LibreOffice
- No calculation errors in our testLibreOffice recalculated every formula in the workbook with no error values, such as #VALUE! or #N/A.
- Google Sheets
- Calculations matched Excel in our testGoogle Sheets removes sheet protection and repeated print headings.
- Apple Numbers
- A version made for NumbersChoose Apple Numbers under Look and layout: the same sheets and checks, and every calculation matched in our test in Numbers. Numbers removes sheet protection and frozen headings; Start Here says how to set the header rows.
- Calculations
- The Start Here sheet explains what each sheet works out. Results update from the entries you add.
- Builder privacy
- The builder runs in your browser. The entries used to make the workbook stay on your device. How the utilities work
Examples
Monthly budget tracker
Individuals and couples who want a plan and a monthly check on how the plan went, without logging every purchase.
Household budget tracker
Households who want a record of every payment, with each month’s totals added up from it.
50/30/20 budget
People who want a simple rule to budget by, and a check on how far their own spending is from it.
Zero-based budget
People who want to plan each month until the money is fully assigned, then check the plan against what they spent.
Questions
Are my builder entries sent to Due Form?
No. The builder uses them in your browser to make the workbook on your device.
Information is sent to Due Form when you submit a form or use another service described on the How it works page.
Can I print a month?
Yes. Each month sheet prints landscape with its lines, totals and notes, on A4 or US Letter. Print a few months to compare them side by side.
What does the difference column show?
A positive difference means more income or savings, or less spending, than planned. Beside each line, ● Over, ◐ Near limit or ✓ Within tells you where you stand against the plan.
Do I have to enter every payment?
No. The simpler choice is a total for each line each month. Choosing transactions adds a sheet for individual payments, which each month adds up by line.
Is it a weekly budget?
No. It plans by month, with one sheet for each. For something to look at between pay days, the Summary shows the year so far and the largest overspends.
Related Due Form edition
The Career Break File
Plan the dates, money, work arrangement and return for a defined break from paid work.
Use it when a budget has to cover months without pay.
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Tell us what you would like to add, change or fix in the Budget Tracker builder.