Copper is an envelope budget for iPhone, with a web app that opens the same budget. You link your bank, give each bill its own bucket, and Copper shows you one number: what’s left-to-spend. Setup takes a few minutes. Every step after the first can be skipped and done later.

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Create your account

The first time you open Copper, four short intro screens explain how it works. Swipe through them or tap Skip, then tap Create your account. Enter your email address and a password of at least 8 characters. Your name is optional; Copper uses it to greet you. Copper then emails you a confirmation link. Open it on the same iPhone to finish signing up. Already have an account? Tap I already have an account and sign in instead.

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The setup steps

The first time you sign in, a short setup walks you through the basics. The top of the screen shows which step you’re on, and the back arrow returns to the previous one.
1

Welcome

A quick look at how Copper works: connect your bank, cover your bills, spend what’s left. Tap Get started, or Skip setup to go straight to the app.
2

Choose a plan

Pick Core or Plus, billed monthly or yearly. When a free trial is available, the screen shows the day it ends and what the plan costs after that. Tap Not now to skip. Linking a bank needs a plan, so skipping here also skips the bank step. This step doesn’t appear if you already have a plan. See Plans & billing.
3

Connect your bank

Tap Connect with Plaid and sign in to your bank in the secure Plaid window. Your bank login goes to Plaid, never to Copper, and Copper can only read balances and transactions. Tap I’ll do this later to skip. See Connect a bank.
4

Add your bills

If you linked a bank, Copper looks for payments that repeat. This can take up to a minute. The bills it finds start ticked; untick anything that isn’t a bill, and tap Missing one? Add bills myself to add more.Without a bank (or if nothing turns up yet), pick from common bills: Rent, Utilities, Phone, Internet, Insurance, Car payment and Streaming. Enter a rough amount and the day it’s due (1 to 31). Each bill you add becomes a monthly bill bucket.
5

You're all set

A summary shows what’s done and what’s left for later. Tap Open Copper.
Bills found in your bank also get an auto-assign rule, so their charges land in the right bucket as they sync. See Auto-assign rules.

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Finding your way around

The iPhone app has five tabs:

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What to do next

Your left-to-spend is ready as soon as a bank is linked. To get the most out of Copper, these are good next steps:

Understand Left-to-Spend

The one number, and exactly how it’s worked out.

Set up a funding schedule

Fill your buckets on payday, automatically.

Cover your credit cards

Set card purchases aside for the bill.

Find once-a-year bills

Registration, memberships and renewals, saved for monthly.