Budget Variance Tracker Calculator
Compare your planned budget to actual spending. Identify which categories are over or under budget and track your overall variance.
Inputs
Results
Total Planned
$3,200.00
≈ 3 smartphones
Total Actual
$3,225.00
≈ 3 smartphones
How to Use This Calculator
- Enter Planned Housing, Actual Housing, and Planned Food.
- Set Actual Food, Planned Transport, and Actual Transport.
- Adjust Planned Entertainment, Actual Entertainment as needed.
- Review Total Planned ($) and Total Actual ($).
- Use Total Variance ($) and Variance % to inform your decision.
How the result changes with Planned Housing
| Planned Housing | Total Planned | Total Actual |
|---|---|---|
| $5,000.00 | $6,700.00 | $3,225.00 |
| $17,500.00 | $19,200.00 | $3,225.00 |
| $32,500.00 | $34,200.00 | $3,225.00 |
| $45,000.00 | $46,700.00 | $3,225.00 |
What each input means
- Planned Housing
- Budgeted amount for housing.
- Actual Housing
- What you actually spent on housing.
- Planned Food
- Budgeted amount for food.
- Actual Food
- What you actually spent on food.
- Planned Transport
- Budgeted amount for transportation.
- Actual Transport
- What you actually spent on transport.
- Planned Entertainment
- Budgeted amount for entertainment.
- Actual Entertainment
- What you actually spent on entertainment.
- Planned Savings
- Budgeted savings amount.
- Actual Savings
- What you actually saved.
How this is calculated
Worked example, using the default values
- Identify Input Parameters4 parametersPlanned Housing = 1500, Actual Housing = 1500, Planned Food = 500, Actual Food = 620 = 10 input(s) provided
- Calculate Total PlannedTotal Planned3200 = $3,200
- Calculate Total ActualTotal Actual3225 = $3,225
- Calculate Total VarianceTotal Variance25 = $25
- Calculate Variance %Variance %0.8 = 0.8
Engine last updated .
Related Calculators
The questions that sit next to this one — chosen by subject, including calculators filed under a different category.
Needs vs Wants Calculator
Score and categorize your expenses into needs, wants, and savings. See how your spending compares to the 50/30/20 guideline.
Zero-Budget PlanningZero-Based Budget Builder
Allocate every dollar of your income to a category until your remaining balance hits zero. The gold standard of intentional budgeting.
Zero Budget AdvancedBudget Accountability Score Calculator
Adherence score from planned vs actual.
Government FinanceBudget Variance Calculator
Analyze department budget variance, project year-end spending, and identify over/under budget status.
Zero-Budget PlanningSpending Rate Calculator
Track your daily and weekly burn rate within a budget category to see if you're on pace for the month.
More in Budgeting & Personal Finance.