Six Budgeting Methods. One App. Switch Anytime.
Most budgeting apps lock you into one methodology. Compound ships six — pick the one that fits how your brain works, and switch later without starting over.
Most budgeting apps assume one methodology fits everyone. YNAB and EveryDollar only do zero-based. Mint and its successors only do passive tracking, with no methodology at all. If the one approach they picked doesn't match how your brain works, you're stuck forcing it or giving up on budgeting entirely.
Compound ships six methods in one account: Pay Yourself First, 50/30/20, Envelope, Zero-Based, Three Buckets, and Custom. You pick one during onboarding based on a plain-language description of how it works, and if it turns out to be the wrong fit, you change it from Settings any time — your old setup is archived, not deleted, so switching back later restores everything instead of starting over. The four pages below go deeper on how each method works, who it suits, and how Compound implements it, so you can compare them before you choose.
Simplest
Pay Yourself First
Set one savings target, see what's left to spend. No categories at all.
See how Pay Yourself First works →A Simple Rule
50/30/20 Budget
Needs, wants, and savings at a fixed ratio that always sums to 100%.
See how 50/30/20 works →Strict Carry-Forward
Envelope Budgeting
Fund named envelopes each month and spend them down — balances carry forward.
See how Envelope works →Full Control
Zero-Based Budgeting
Give every dollar of income a job until nothing is left unassigned.
See how Zero-Based works →Plus Two More: Three Buckets and Custom
Compound also includes Three Buckets — a simple split between fixed bills, day-to-day spending, and money set aside for upcoming expenses — and Custom, a framework your financial coach builds and assigns just for you, if you work with one. Both are available in the app; they don't have a dedicated page here because Three Buckets is the default starting point most new users see first, and Custom is entirely coach-defined, so there's no one generic description that fits every version of it.
Pick one. Switch later.
Try Compound Free for 14 Days
Connect your accounts, choose the method that fits, and change your mind later without losing anything — no card required, cancel anytime.
Still not sure which one fits? Take the 2-minute budget method quiz →