Here are five free Excel budget templates for your personal budget. Download one, open it in Excel and start typing, with no email and no sign-up; each opens on a How to use tab that walks you through it. If you'd rather not type in every purchase, SheetLink's Excel add-in can fill them from your bank: each one already has the columns it writes.
| Template | Excel | Google Sheets |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly budget | Download | Sheets version |
| 50/30/20 budget | Download | Sheets version |
| Annual budget | Download | Sheets version |
| Subscriptions and recurring spending | Download | Sheets version |
| Expense tracker | Download | Sheets version |
1. Monthly budget template
Plan an amount for each category, then compare planned and actual for any month: what you've spent, what's left, and which categories are over. Summary cards show your income, planned, spent and net, and a chart puts planned and actual side by side.
- Type the month and your planned amounts in the green cells.
- Change the month to look back at any past month.
Download the monthly budget template (.xlsx)
2. 50/30/20 budget template
The 50/30/20 rule puts about half your take-home pay toward needs, 30% toward wants and 20% toward savings and debt. This template sorts every category into one of the three and shows how each compares with its target. Move a category between needs and wants on the Categories tab.
Download the 50/30/20 budget template (.xlsx)
3. Annual budget template
Every category across all 12 months, with your income on top, yearly totals, monthly averages and an optional yearly plan to measure against. Good for spotting seasonal costs and setting next year's budget.
Download the annual budget template (.xlsx)
4. Subscription and recurring spending tracker
List the merchants you suspect you pay every month (18 common ones are filled in to start) and the tracker checks the last four months. Anything charged in at least three of them is flagged as recurring, with its average charge and what it costs you a year.
Download the subscription tracker (.xlsx)
5. Expense tracker template
Not ready for a full budget? Log what you spend and the tracker compares this month with last month by category, shows each category's share, and names your biggest one.
Download the expense tracker (.xlsx)
How to make a monthly budget in Excel
Download the template
Download the monthly budget template and open it in Excel. If Excel opens it in Protected View, choose Enable Editing.
Plan each category
Type the month and a planned amount for each category in the green cells. Start from last month's spending if you're not sure.
Record your spending
On the Manual tab, add each purchase with its date, description, amount and a category from the dropdown. Money out is positive and money in is negative, the same as bank rows.
Check in every week
Compare planned and actual, and adjust next month's plan where you keep going over.
Fill it from your bank
Microsoft's Money in Excel used to connect bank accounts to a budget workbook, until Microsoft ended support on June 30, 2023. SheetLink's Excel add-in fills that gap in any workbook, these templates included: each one already has a Transactions tab with the 34 columns the add-in writes.
Install the add-in
In Excel, go to Insert > Add-ins > Get Add-ins, search for SheetLink and choose Add, or get it from Microsoft AppSource. Then choose Open SheetLink on the Home tab, and Continue with Google to sign in.
Add your bank
On the Banks tab, choose Add bank and connect through Plaid.
Press Sync now
With the template open, press Sync now on the Sync tab. New transactions land at the end of the Transactions tab, rows already there are skipped, and every summary updates. SheetLink writes into the workbook you have open and never creates one.
Tip
Leave the Transactions and Accounts tabs' header rows as they are. SheetLink checks them before it writes, and pauses if they've changed.
The Excel add-in is part of Pro, at $4.99 a month or $39.99 a year, which also covers every bank you connect and up to 2 years of history. SheetLink's Free plan works with Google Sheets only.
How the templates handle your bank data
- Categories come mapped. The Categories tab maps Plaid's categories to budget lines, splits groceries from dining out, and treats credit card payments as transfers so card spending isn't counted twice.
- Pending and transfers are left out. Spending only counts posted transactions, and moving money between your own accounts isn't spending.
- The same formulas work in Excel and Google Sheets. They stick to functions both apps share, like SUMIFS and INDEX/MATCH, so a template behaves the same in either one.
Questions
Does Excel have a budget template?
Yes. In Excel, go to File > New (File > New from Template on a Mac) and search for budget to see Microsoft's own templates. They track amounts you type in. The templates on this page add categories mapped to bank data, a 50/30/20 view and a subscription tracker, and SheetLink's Excel add-in can fill them from your bank.
How do I make a monthly budget in Excel?
Start from a template. Download the monthly budget template on this page, type the month and a planned amount for each category, then record your spending on the Manual tab, or sync it from your bank with SheetLink's Excel add-in. The template compares planned and actual for each category and shows what's left to spend.
Are these Excel budget templates really free?
Yes. They're plain .xlsx downloads, with no email and no sign-up, and filling them in by hand costs nothing. SheetLink's Excel add-in, which fills them from your bank, is part of Pro at $4.99 a month or $39.99 a year.
Can I connect my bank account to Excel?
Yes. Microsoft's Money in Excel did this until Microsoft ended support on June 30, 2023. SheetLink's Excel add-in connects your banks through Plaid: press Sync now and new transactions land at the end of the Transactions tab in the workbook you have open. It's included with Pro and Max.
Do these templates work in Google Sheets?
Yes. The formulas use only functions that work the same in Excel and Google Sheets, and each template has a Google Sheets version you can copy in one click from our free Google Sheets budget templates post.
Do they work in Excel for Mac and Excel on the web?
Yes. The templates are standard .xlsx files built on common functions like SUMIFS and INDEX/MATCH, so they work in Excel for Windows, Excel for Mac and Excel on the web. SheetLink's add-in runs in all three: Excel for Windows and Mac with Microsoft 365, and Excel on the web.