A free budget app for the UAE
BudgetByChat is a free budget app and expense tracker for life in the UAE. Budget your salary in dirhams, track rent, school fees and daily spending, and plan the money you send home in rupees or any other currency at today’s rate.
What works differently in the UAE
No UAE bank connection needed
Some popular budgeting apps can only import transactions from banks in a few countries; YNAB, for example, lists direct import for the US, Canada, the UK and select European countries. BudgetByChat never connects to a bank, so it works the same with every UAE bank and card.
Dirhams in, rupees out
Keep AED as your main currency and add an account in PKR, INR or PHP for family back home. Transfers record what left in dirhams and what arrived at home, so you see the real cost of each remittance.
A template built for UAE expats
The expat template plans rent, school fees and remittances as shares of take-home pay and leaves about a fifth for savings. It is the same plan the app creates when you pick the “Expat UAE” template at sign-up.
What is free, and what will cost AED 9 a month
Everything in the web app is free in the UAE, with no feature limits:
- Zero-based monthly budgets
- Expense and income tracking
- Accounts: bank, cash, credit card and mobile wallet, with transfers
- Multi-currency transactions converted at the latest exchange rate
- Savings goals
- Wealth tracker and net worth history
- Debt manager with avalanche and snowball payoff plans
- Financial Health Score
- Reports with PDF and Excel export
The only paid part will be the optional WhatsApp add-on (logging by message, bill reminders, budget status). Its planned price for the UAE is AED 9 a month. It is not launched yet and nothing is charged today. See pricing.
Accounts you can track
- Salary bank account
- Cash
- Credit card
- Account in your home currency
Rates into AED today
| Currency | 1 unit in AED |
|---|---|
| USD | AED 3.67 |
| EUR | AED 4.10 |
| GBP | AED 4.92 |
| PKR | AED 0.01 |
| INR | AED 0.04 |
Mid-market rates as of 2 November 2026. BudgetByChat converts every transaction at the latest rate, synced several times a day.
Get started in the UAE
- Sign up free and choose AED as your main currency.
- Pick a starter template, or start blank.
- Add your accounts: bank, cash, cards and wallets.
- Log what you spend and receive, in any currency.
Questions
Sources
- YNAB help: my bank isn’t listed · checked 10 October 2026