Apps Archives - Page 2 of 5

May 9, 2026 — Comments are off for this post.

XTB App Review UK 2026: One Star Opinion (1/5)

Last updated: 10 June 2026

By Stiv · Design, technology and personal finance

I have used investing apps for over a decade, including Freetrade, Lightyear, Trading 212, Interactive Brokers and JPMorgan Personal Investing. This XTB app review is based on real, recent first-hand use on iPhone over the past few weeks.

This is an opinion piece. Views expressed are my own personal experience and observations. Other XTB customers have reported very different experiences, both better and worse, and you can read those views directly on the App Store, Google Play and Trustpilot. Nothing in this review constitutes professional, financial or legal advice, nor an allegation of wrongdoing by XTB. Capital is at risk when investing.

This article contains affiliate or referral links. If you click through and sign up I may earn a commission or referral bonus at no extra cost to you. It does not affect my editorial view. This post does not contain any XTB referral links; where alternative brokers are mentioned, those links may include CoolCuration referral codes. We have no referral relationship with XTB and do not benefit financially from XTB itself.

Capital at risk. The value of investments can go down as well as up and you may get back less than you invested. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results.

Cool Factor: 1/5

Welcome to our XTB app review. After spending the last few weeks battling with the broker's iOS app, surviving a verification process worthy of a Kafka novella, and being chased around the screen by stock notifications I never asked for, I have reached a personal verdict. It is not flattering. So if you have seen the ads and the free share offers, this XTB app review explains exactly what you would be signing up for, in my experience.

Published by Stiv in Apps, Personal finance, Reviews

Tags: broker app, broker review, Freetrade alternative, investment apps, Lightyear alternative, opinion, uk investing, XTB, XTB app, XTB review

April 29, 2026 — Comments are off for this post.

Sprive vs Plum vs Chip: Honest Comparison (2026)

Last updated: 19 July 2026

By Stiv · Design, technology and personal finance

I've been using Sprive with my Nationwide mortgage since October 2021, making £100 monthly overpayments through the app. This comparison is based on over four years of real use alongside Chip and Plum.

Sprive vs Plum vs Chip is the question that keeps coming up whenever anyone in the UK talks about saving money automatically. All three apps promise to do the hard bit for you. But they are not the same thing, and picking the wrong one means you are either missing features you need or paying for ones you do not. Here is how they actually compare after months of using all three.

Between the team, we run all three. Sprive handles mortgage overpayments. Chip is our primary auto-saver. Plum runs alongside Chip so we can see how the two compare in real life. Each has earned its place on someone's home screen, but for very different reasons.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Some apps in this comparison offer investing features, which carry risk including the possible loss of capital. Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage. CoolCuration is not authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority. This article contains affiliate or referral links. If you click through and sign up I may earn a commission or referral bonus at no extra cost to you. It does not affect my editorial view.

Sprive's current sign-up offer

If Sprive ends up being your pick of the three, the latest welcome bonus is always on our referral page.

View the current Sprive bonus

Published by Stiv in Apps, Finance, Money saving, Personal finance, Saving

Tags: app comparison, auto-saving apps, Chip, Chip vs Plum, fintech UK, money apps UK, mortgage overpayment, personal finance uk, Plum, savings apps UK, Sprive, Sprive vs Chip

April 26, 2026 — Comments are off for this post.

Chip App Review UK 2026: 3 Years Tested, Rates, Prize Saver, Fees

Last updated: 10 June 2026

By Stiv · Design, technology and personal finance

This Chip app review UK draws on three and a half years of my personal daily use, starting 3 November 2022, across auto-save, the Instant Access Saver, Prize Savings, ChipX (briefly) and a Chip Stocks and Shares ISA.

This is an opinion piece. Views expressed are the author's own and do not constitute professional advice.

This article contains affiliate or referral links. If you click through and sign up I may earn a commission or referral bonus at no extra cost to you. It does not affect my editorial view.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Some features of Chip involve investing, which carries risk including the possible loss of capital. Savings rates can change. Always do your own research or consult a qualified financial adviser. CoolCuration is not authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority.

Fancy trying Chip yourself?

New customers can pick up a £50 cash bonus with a qualifying £5,000 deposit held for 90 days; the current code and full terms are on our Chip referral page.

Get the Chip referral bonus

Cool Factor

★★★★☆

4 out of 5 · Stone cold

My Chip app review UK is grounded in the actual ledger: £174.41 in interest earned, £180 in tax-free prize wins, £0.80 in investment returns, and three and a half years of daily use since November 2022. That is the unvarnished record of what I have personally taken out of Chip across four different account types. Below is what I kept, what I binned, what works, and the one quirk that still mildly irritates me.

Published by Stiv in Apps, Finance, Personal finance, Reviews

Tags: auto-saving, cash ISA, chip app, Chip review, ClearBank, fintech UK, personal finance, Prize Savings Account, reviews, savings apps

April 24, 2026 — Comments are off for this post.

Plum App Review UK 2026: Honest Verdict After 3 Months

Last updated: 9 June 2026

By Stiv · Design, technology and personal finance

This is an opinion piece. Views expressed are the author's own and do not constitute professional advice.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Some features of Plum involve investing, which carries risk including the possible loss of capital. Always do your own research or consult a qualified financial adviser. CoolCuration is not authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority. This article contains affiliate or referral links. If you click through and sign up I may earn a commission or referral bonus at no extra cost to you. It does not affect my editorial view.

Keen to give Plum a go?

Our Plum referral page shows any current new-user offer and walks through the sign-up, and using it supports the site at no cost to you.

Try Plum via our link

Cool Factor

★★★☆☆

3 out of 5 · Cool

This Plum app review is based on three months of hands-on use. We set up Plum to run alongside our existing auto-saver to see whether it would earn a permanent place on our home screen. Plum is one of those apps that does a lot and wants you to know it. Auto-saving, round-ups, investing, bills management, cashback offers, interest-earning pockets. After three months of testing, here's whether all that activity translates into actually saving more money.

Published by Stiv in Apps, Finance, Reviews

Tags: auto-saving, Finance Apps, money apps, Plum, Plum app, reviews, Round-Ups, Saving Apps

April 22, 2026 — Comments are off for this post.

Best Apps to Save Money UK 2026: The Ones We Actually Use

Last updated: 10 June 2026

By Stiv · Design, technology and personal finance

There are hundreds of money-saving apps in the UK app stores. Most of them are rubbish. The best apps to save money are the ones we've tested over the past few years, narrowed down and kept on our phones because they actually work. No fluff, no apps we downloaded once and forgot about. Just the ones that earned a permanent spot.

Between the team we've got about 12 money apps installed. Half of them we actually use. The other half sit there judging us. We tried about 20 apps before settling on this list. Some were too fiddly. Some had great ideas but terrible execution. A couple were brilliant but shut down. These are the survivors.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Some apps in this list offer savings and investment features. Your capital may be at risk. CoolCuration is not authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority. This article contains affiliate or referral links. If you click through and sign up I may earn a commission or referral bonus at no extra cost to you. It does not affect my editorial view.

Our top money-saving pick

If you only set up one, make it Chip: it is the app that has quietly saved us the most by moving money before we miss it.

Try Chip

Published by Stiv in Apps, Finance, Money saving, Personal finance, Saving

Tags: airtime rewards, auto-saving, budgeting apps, cashback apps, chip app, emma app, JamDoughnut, money saving apps, monzo, personal finance uk, Plum app, saving apps UK, Sprive, TopCashback, TrainPal

April 13, 2026 — Comments are off for this post.

How to Get Cashback on Groceries UK: Save £100+ a Year (2026)

Last updated: 8 June 2026

By Stiv · Design, technology and personal finance

This article contains affiliate or referral links. If you click through and sign up I may earn a commission or referral bonus at no extra cost to you. It does not affect my editorial view.

This article is for information only and does not constitute financial advice. CoolCuration is not authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority. Rates and terms can change; always check the provider's current terms before acting.

If you want cashback on groceries UK, there are a handful of apps that deliver results. We have been using JamDoughnut, TopCashback, and Sprive for our own weekly food shops for months, and the savings quietly stack up. This is not couponing. This is not switching to own-brand everything. It is simply routing your existing spending through an app that gives you a percentage back.

We ran the numbers on a typical £80 weekly Tesco shop using JamDoughnut and, at a standard rate of around 2%, that works out at roughly £83 back over a year. When rates get "pumped up" (more on that below), it could be closer to £125 or more. For cashback beyond groceries, see our full cashback apps roundup.

Our pick for grocery cashback

Of the three we use, JamDoughnut is the one I like best for the weekly shop, thanks to the widest supermarket list and instant payouts.

Get started with JamDoughnut

Published by Stiv in Apps, Discount, Money, Services

Tags: Aldi, Asda, cashback, gift card cashback, groceries, grocery shopping, JamDoughnut, money saving, mortgage cashback, Sainsbury’s, Sprive, supermarket cashback, Tesco, TopCashback

April 12, 2026 — Comments are off for this post.

Monzo vs Starling 2026: Which UK Challenger Bank Is Better?

Last updated: 9 June 2026

By Stiv · Design, technology and personal finance

The Monzo vs Starling debate is the one that never dies in UK personal finance. Both are app-first, both are FSCS-protected, and both let you spend abroad without sneaky fees. On paper, they look almost identical. But after using both across our team for years, the differences show up in the daily details. This is not a spec sheet comparison. It is what actually matters when you open both apps every day.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. CoolCuration is not authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and does not provide personalised financial guidance. This article contains affiliate or referral links. If you click through and sign up I may earn a commission or referral bonus at no extra cost to you. It does not affect my editorial view. We have no commercial relationship with Starling Bank.

Picking Monzo? Grab the sign-up reward

Join through a referral link and make a card payment within 30 days, and a random £5 to £50 lands in your account; the steps are on our Monzo page.

Get the Monzo mystery reward

Published by Stiv in Apps, Finance, Money, Personal finance, Services

Tags: bank comparison, challenger banks, digital banking, free bank account, monzo, Monzo vs Starling, Starling, uk banking

April 11, 2026 — Comments are off for this post.

Chip Prize Saver vs Premium Bonds UK 2026: Which Is Actually Better?

Last updated: 9 June 2026

By Stiv · Design, technology and personal finance

Over 24 million people in the UK hold Premium Bonds, which makes them the nation's most popular savings product. Yet most holders have never weighed up Chip Prize Saver vs Premium Bonds side by side, and the numbers reward a closer look. Around 62% of Premium Bonds holders have never won a single prize, according to AJ Bell. The prize fund rate sits at 3.30% for the June 2026 draw, with each £1 bond facing odds of 23,000 to 1. From the July 2026 draw, however, NS&I lifts the rate to 3.80% and shortens those odds to 22,000 to 1.

Meanwhile, Chip's Prize Savings Account offers an alternative: a prize-draw savings account that claims roughly 3.5 times better odds than Premium Bonds, plus quarterly big prizes reaching £250,000. We are not saying Premium Bonds are bad. Indeed, they are backed by the Treasury and pay tax-free prizes, which is a real advantage. However, if you have not compared them to anything in years, this is worth ten minutes of your time.

This article contains affiliate or referral links. If you click through and sign up I may earn a commission or referral bonus at no extra cost to you. It does not affect my editorial view.

Want to try the Chip Prize Saver?

Our Chip referral page carries the current new-customer bonus and the sign-up steps, kept up to date.

Open Chip via our referral

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. It is not a recommendation to open, close, or switch any savings or investment product. Always do your own research or consider a qualified financial adviser before making financial decisions. CoolCuration is not authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority. Tax treatment depends on individual circumstances and may change. All product details were verified at the time of writing but may change, so always check the provider's website for current terms.

Published by Stiv in Apps, Finance, Money, Money saving, Saving, UK Made

Tags: Chip, Chip Prize Saver, FSCS, NS&I, Premium Bonds, prize draw savings, savings, savings comparison, tax-free savings, UK savings

April 9, 2026 — Comments are off for this post.

Autopilot App Review UK: 10 Months of Copy Trading Tested (2026)

Last updated: 21 June 2026

By Stiv · Design, technology and personal finance

Welcome to my updated Autopilot app review from a UK perspective, with performance as at 21 June 2026. Two months ago I was sitting on a tidy gain. Since then, I have sold out of one folio entirely, doubled down on another, and watched a third quietly surge. Same app, same dual-app setup, yet a very different portfolio. If you ever wanted proof that copy trading is a bumpy ride, this Autopilot app review is it.

This article contains affiliate or referral links. If you click through and sign up I may earn a commission or referral bonus at no extra cost to you. It does not affect my editorial view.

This is a personal account of my own experience and does not constitute financial advice.

Capital at risk. The value of investments can go down as well as up and you may get back less than you invested. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results.

This is an opinion piece. Views expressed are the author's own and do not constitute professional advice.

This Autopilot app review is based on ten months of personal use since 11 August 2025, copy trading through a Robinhood UK account with real money on the line. Every number, friction point and verdict below comes from my own portfolio.

Cool Factor: 2/5

Want to try copy trading via Robinhood UK?

Autopilot cannot run without a connected broker, and Robinhood UK is the account I use for it. Your capital is at risk, and the latest sign-up terms sit on our referral page.

Open a Robinhood UK account

Published by Stiv in Apps, Investing, Reviews

Tags: Autopilot, copy trading, Inverse Cramer, investing apps, investment review, Jim Simons, Pelosi Tracker, Robinhood UK, stock trading, US stocks UK

April 2, 2026 — Comments are off for this post.

New on Mobbin April 2026: Polestar, Paramount+ and AI Agents

Last updated: 2 April 2026

By Stiv · Design, technology and personal finance

This article contains affiliate or referral links. If you click through and sign up I may earn a commission or referral bonus at no extra cost to you. It does not affect my editorial view.

Tracking Mobbin new apps each month is one of the fastest ways to spot where real product UX is heading without scrolling app stores for sport. April's batch has a clear theme: AI agents are moving out of chatbot demos and into real products people actually use every day.

If you are new to Mobbin, start here first: Mobbin review: is it worth it? If you already know you want it and just want the cheaper route: Mobbin promo code.

What was new on Mobbin April 2026? The picks are below. For every edition of the series in one place, see our Mobbin new apps hub, updated each month.

Published by Stiv in Apps, Designers, Services

Tags: ai ux, connected product ux, content discovery, mobbin, mobbin new apps, product design, ui patterns, ux design