What’s the best app to manage a self build budget in the UK?
We built Self Build Budget, so we’re not neutral. We’ve tried to be fair anyway: this page says what each option does, using only what we could check on each provider’s own pages, and when you’d be better off with something other than ours. Last checked: 25 October 2026. Features and prices change, so check each site before you decide.
Short answer
There isn’t one best app for everyone. A spreadsheet is free and flexible but relies on you to keep it right. Build It offers a free cost calculator and paid estimates prepared from your plans, which are good for working out what the build should cost but aren’t for tracking spend. Self Build Budget is built just for the money side: estimate, stage budget, quotes, payments and VAT in one place.
A spreadsheet
Most self builders start here, and so did we. A spreadsheet costs nothing if you use Google Sheets, it does exactly what you tell it, and you can share it with your partner, architect or lender.
The catch is that every formula, category and VAT column is yours to design and maintain. It’s easy for a quote to sit in one tab, the invoice in another and the VAT in a third, with nothing checking they agree. Spreadsheets also tend to show what you’ve spent, not what you’re heading towards.
Suits you if: you’re confident with spreadsheets, your build is simple, and you’re happy to keep it up to date every week.
Build It’s calculator and Estimating Service
Build It’s free cost calculator walks you through floor area, region, structural system, finishes, fit-out and your build route, then gives a total building cost and a price per m². It’s free, but you register to see the results, and Build It says it’s a guide, not a quote, and doesn’t include land.
If you want a figure based on your actual drawings, Build It runs a paid Estimating Service using HBXL estimating software. You send your plans and get a detailed estimate with materials and labour costs, a breakdown you can use for finance applications and a 3D model of your home. It starts from £529 for a new build (the page doesn’t say whether that includes VAT). There’s also a lighter Benchmark Report, from £219 + VAT, which prices each phase of the build but leaves out the detailed breakdown, cash flow forecast and project schedule.
These are for working out what your build should cost. Neither is designed to track quotes, invoices or VAT as the build goes on.
Suits you if: you want an independent, plan-based estimate before you commit, or something to compare builders’ quotes against.
Household budgeting apps (YNAB, Emma)
Apps such as YNAB and Emma are good at personal finance. YNAB helps you plan spending and set goals; Emma connects your bank accounts and tracks budgets and subscriptions. They’re built for household budgets, not build stages, quotes or VAT. They won’t know that a payment to your groundworker belongs to the foundations stage, that it’s against a quote you accepted, or how much VAT on it you might reclaim.
Suits you if: you want to keep your household spending under control while you build, alongside something else for the build itself.
Self Build Budget
Self Build Budget is a budget management tool for UK self builders and renovators, built by us as first-time self builders. You start with a free ranged estimate (a low and high figure for your floor area, quality and region), then turn it into a budget by UK build stage. You store and compare quotes, record every invoice, and see budget, spent, remaining and projected cost for every line and stage. Projected cost includes quotes you’ve accepted, so an overrun shows before the money goes. Contingency is tracked as its own budget. On Standard you can record VAT on every invoice; Professional adds the VAT claim tracker and claim pack.
It works in your phone’s browser (there’s no app to install), up to 5 people can share a project, and you can export everything at any time.
Where it isn’t the right choice:
- You want full project management. We don’t do scheduling, Gantt charts or task lists. If that’s what you need, use a project management tool or pay for a project manager.
- You want a professional estimate from your drawings. Our estimate is a per-m² range to plan with, not a priced estimate from your plans. For that, use Build It’s Estimating Service or a quantity surveyor.
- Your build is small and you love spreadsheets. A well-kept spreadsheet may be all you need.
On our build
At Highfields we started with a spreadsheet and a crude cost per m². We couldn’t see where we stood, quotes covered different things, and we kept arguing about figures with and without VAT. We looked for a tool that handled UK build stages, quotes and VAT together, didn’t find one, and built it.
How Self Build Budget helps
If the money side is what keeps you up at night, Self Build Budget puts the estimate, stages, quotes, payments and VAT in one place, so you can see where you stand at any point. The free estimate needs no credit card; the working budget, including VAT on every invoice, is on Standard (£12 a month), and the VAT claim tracker and claim pack are on Professional (£20 a month). See how the method works and pricing.
Questions people also ask
Can I use a spreadsheet and Self Build Budget together? Yes. Plenty of people keep a spreadsheet for their own notes. You can export all your data and documents from Self Build Budget at any time.
Is the Build It calculator free? Build It describes it as free, but you need to register to see your results.
Do I need a paid estimate if I have a ranged estimate? A range is good for deciding whether a project is viable. Once you have drawings, a plan-based estimate or a quantity surveyor gives you something firmer to compare quotes against.
Is there a Self Build Budget app in the app stores? No. It works in your phone’s browser, so there’s nothing to install.
Can my architect or lender see my budget? Yes. You can add up to 5 partners and viewers to a project. Viewers can see but not change anything.
Sources
- Build It: Self build cost calculator, steps and inputs (checked 25 October 2026)
- Build It: Build cost calculator (checked 25 October 2026)
- Build It: Bungalow construction cost calculator Q&A (checked 25 October 2026)
- Build It: Budgeting to build your own home (checked 25 October 2026)
- Build It Estimating Service (checked 25 October 2026)
- Build It Estimating Service: Benchmark Report (checked 25 October 2026)
- YNAB: Pricing (checked 25 October 2026)
- Emma (checked 25 October 2026)