About SpendMath

Why this tool exists

Most households don’t lose money in one big way. It slips out through small, regular costs that are easy to miss: a subscription nobody uses, a bill that crept up, interest on a card. This tool helps you find those leaks and plug them.

It is free, needs no sign-up and works in many countries and languages, because careful money planning shouldn’t depend on where you live or what you can pay for an app.

Who runs it

SpendMath is an independent project, built and looked after by a small team who want household money to be simpler to understand.

How the calculator works

• You enter your bills. Income, housing, utilities, transport, food, loans and subscriptions, as you pay them in a normal month. Costs that come once a year are spread over twelve months.
• We compare them with typical households. Each bill is set against a typical range for households like yours in the country you choose.
• We suggest changes, with the sum behind each. Every idea shows the bill it works on, the share it usually saves and the result, under “How did we get this?”. If two ideas cut the same bill, the second only counts what is left.
• Only what you choose counts. Ideas you add to your plan change your results. Interest you would avoid on debt is shown separately and is not counted as money saved each month.

Where the numbers come from

Each country has its own file of typical amounts: income, rent, groceries, power, fuel, school fees and more, for three kinds of household. These are estimates for planning, not exact figures for your city, and some are still being checked against local data. For any other country, typical amounts are worked out as shares of your own income.

The table shows when each country’s figures were last reviewed and how many sources were used. You can open the list of sources below it.

Sources by country

Your privacy

Your budget is worked out in your own browser and is never sent to us. There is no account and nothing to sign up for. Ads keep the tool free. Read the full Privacy Policy.

Editorial standards

Everything here is for general education. It is not financial, tax or legal advice, and it does not recommend any product or provider. Figures are estimates, and we say so when a number is uncertain.

Found a mistake, a figure that looks wrong or a broken link? Please tell us. We read every message and correct errors as soon as we can.