Developer is tricking people with the name
It is wildly deceptive of the developer to use the same name as another budget app; I believe it as a clear attempt to trick people into using this one.
Response from developer
Similar names exist all over the App Store, and a similar name alone is not a fair reason to call an app deceptive. This is an independent iPhone and iPad app, built with its own code. The open source Actual Budget is a completely different project, and we have no connection to it. Our app needs no setup. It gives you a weekly Safe to Spend figure and keeps track of your expenses, bills and savings goals, all stored in your own iCloud. It may not be what you were looking for. If you do try it, we would love to hear what you think.
Using an established app name when unaffiliated
Response from developer
This isn't the open source Actual Budget from actualbudget.org, and it has no connection to it. It's a separate iPhone and iPad app with its own code, and afterbudget.com is our site. The two do different jobs. The open source project is self hosted and syncs to a server you run yourself. This one needs no setup: a weekly Safe to Spend figure, expenses, bills and savings goals, all kept in your own iCloud. If the self hosted project is what you came for, go straight to actualbudget.org. It's the right fit, and we'd rather you end up there than here by mistake.
Scam
Response from developer
Every specific claim in this review is false, and all of it takes about a minute to check. There is no sign up. No account, no email, no password, nothing to register. The one setup screen turns on iCloud sync and it can be skipped. You described a flow this app does not have. There is no AI. No chatbot, no generated text, no model, nowhere in it. The app adds up numbers you type in, on your own device. It never asks for a bank login or card details, and the price is on screen before anything is charged. I am an independent developer. I have never claimed to be anyone else, or to be connected to anyone else. You did not use this app. You opened it, saw a price, and typed "scam". That word is an accusation, and nothing in your review earns the right to make it.
“free trial” charged me $30
Response from developer
Calling it a lie does not change your own purchase history, so here it is plainly. You got the free trial. You started it, you kept it the full week, and it cost you nothing. Apple gives that trial once per Apple ID, not once per visit. So when you came back later and tapped the plan a second time, there was no trial left to give you. That tap was a purchase and it billed. We do not take your money and we cannot. Apple bills, and Apple refunded you in full the next day. This app has been paid nothing. What was on us is that our screen still said trial to people Apple would no longer give one to. That wording is gone. It shipped in 1.7.0.
Productivity
Response from developer
Thanks for writing this. Keeping the daily use quick is the part we work hardest on, so your weekly budget and your Safe to Spend number are a glance rather than a chore. Speed and smoothness get measured every release and we keep pushing on them. One thing worth knowing: there are no ads, no bank login and no account.
totally paywalled
Response from developer
The app is paid, and that is a deliberate choice. There are no ads in it, so it is funded by the people who use it rather than by advertisers. Worth correcting one thing though: a subscription is not required. There is a one time purchase that unlocks everything permanently, and it sits next to the yearly plan on the same screen. What that covers: a weekly Safe to Spend figure, expenses and income, savings goals, recurring bills with alerts, cash flow and debt payoff, four home screen widgets and full iPad layouts. No bank login, and no account with us.
Serious app bug
Response from developer
You are right, this is a bug. The budget screen could end up waiting on setup data that never arrived, with no timeout and no way out, so it stayed on "Calculating budget" even after a restart. I could not reproduce it here, but that path is gone in 1.6.0: the calculation times out and offers a retry, and the iCloud work behind it no longer blocks the screen. Until it is out, the bottom tab bar still responds, so the other tabs are usable. If it happens again on 1.6.0, email me at halimozturk@windowslive.com with your iPhone model.
iCloud同步功能无法使用
Response from developer
您好，谢谢您把问题写得这么具体。 飞行模式那一段帮我们找到了真正的问题。断网之后还显示"同步成功"，说明那个提示根本没有去确认同步有没有完成，它只是在您点击之后过两秒就自己变成成功。提示是错的，您看到的并不是真实状态。这一点我们已经改掉，会随之后的版本一起发布。 同步本身用不了，原因也在我们这边，跟您的设备、Apple ID 或网络都没有关系。从 App Store 下载的版本连接的是 iCloud 的正式环境，而我们在那个环境上缺少同步所需的数据结构，所以请求一直被拒绝。 这个已经在 8 月 5 日修好了，是在服务器上完成的，您不需要更新或者重装。修好之后被拒绝的请求几乎降到零，之前留在设备上的数据也开始上传。您可以在一台设备上新增一笔记录，过几分钟看看另一台上有没有出现，请以这个为准，暂时不要相信那句提示。 我们还在补两件事：持续盯住同步的失败率，以及做一个能看到同步真实状态的页面，这样下次不用等用户来告诉我们。如果两台设备之间还是对不上，请写信到 halimozturk@windowslive.com，告诉我们是哪两台设备、大概什么时候试的，我们接着查。
function
Response from developer
An app that won't open is worth nothing, and twice in a row isn't bad luck. I'd rather find this than argue about it. Here is where I got to. I put it through repeated clean installs and launches, ran a full test pass over it, and went through the App Store analytics for this app line by line. No freeze on my side, and no crash report from any device. I'm not telling you it didn't happen. I'm telling you the data isn't showing me where it happened, and I don't want to guess at a fix. Going looking did turn up things worth fixing, so they're fixed. The opening screens are lighter now, animation that could drag on older iPhones is gone, and I closed a rare case where the app could end up stuck waiting on itself instead of getting on with its work. The download is also about 25 MB smaller, since a few components it no longer needed were cut out. That work is finished and going out in an update. If you're up for it, the fastest way to close this properly is an email to halimozturk@windowslive.com: which screen it stopped on (the welcome screen, one of the setup questions, or the main screen after that), your iPhone model, and a screenshot if you can grab one. Send that and I'll get straight on it and do everything I can to sort it out quickly.
Functional Yes, useful? No.
Recommend spending the time doing your expenses in something more viable, even an excel spreadsheet with enough know how can be more useful.
Response from developer
Fair, and thanks for putting it plainly. If getting anything useful out of the app means typing in every purchase by hand, that's a real cost, and you're right to weigh it. The linking part is a deliberate choice on our side, not a missing piece. Connecting to your accounts means handing a bank login to a third-party service and letting your whole transaction history leave your phone. We decided we didn't want to sit in the middle of that. Your data stays on your device and in your own iCloud, and we never ask for a bank login. That choice only earns its keep if the manual side is quick, so here's what already runs on its own: fixed costs like rent, subscriptions, insurance and loan payments are entered once as recurring transactions, and after that the app posts each one for you every period. Bill reminders clear the rest in a tap. A spreadsheet, however well built, won't do that part for you. What's left is the day-to-day variable spending, and that's the piece your review is really about. Making that piece faster is what we're building now, in large part because of feedback like yours: bulk import from a bank statement or spreadsheet file, one-tap quick entry, and automatic category suggestions. If you write in and tell us which format your bank exports (CSV, OFX, QFX and so on), we'll make sure it's on the list.
No Expense Sync
Response from developer
Thanks for being blunt. The manual entry part is a fair hit and it deserves a real answer. We don't connect to bank accounts, and that's a decision rather than something we forgot. Bank sync means handing your banking login to a third-party aggregator and letting your whole transaction history leave your phone. We'd rather not be in that position. Your entries stay on your device and in your own private iCloud, not on our servers, and we never ask for a bank login. That said, typing in everything isn't how this is meant to work either. Your fixed costs (rent, subscriptions, insurance, loan payments) get entered once as recurring transactions, and after that the app posts them for you every period on its own. Bill reminders let you settle the rest in a tap. For most people that's the bulk of a month handled without typing. What's actually missing is a fast way to bring in the rest, and you named it. Bulk import from a statement or spreadsheet file, one-tap quick entry, and automatic category suggestions are on our roadmap now because of this review. If you write in and tell us which file format your bank exports, we'll make sure that one is covered.
Support
Response from developer
Thank you for your feedback! We believe great support is just as important as great features, and we're always here to help when needed. We truly appreciate your kind words.
Not Actual Budget
Response from developer
You're probably thinking of actualbudget.org, the open source, self hosted project. This is a separate app, built independently, and it isn't connected to that project or run by the same people. If that's the one you wanted, this isn't it, and that's worth knowing before you spend time here. What this app is: a private budgeting app for iPhone and iPad. You set a weekly Safe to Spend number, log income and expenses, track savings goals and recurring bills, and everything syncs through your own iCloud instead of a server we run. No bank logins, no account with us. It's free to download and try. Anything paid shows its price up front before you decide, and downloading on its own never costs anything. If you give it a run and something's missing for the way you budget, tell us from Settings, Help and Contact. We read those.
Very good app only a couple steps short of perfection.
My honest rating would be 4.5/5, but we can’t submit half-ratings.
Response from developer
Thank you so much for the thoughtful review. Comments like this genuinely mean a lot to us, especially coming from someone with experience using other budgeting apps. We’re continuously refining the smaller details while staying focused on building a budgeting experience that feels simple, modern, and genuinely useful long-term. If there’s ever a feature, improvement, or workflow you’d personally like to see, please feel free to reach out through our support email anytime. We read every message and are always happy to hear feedback from users who care deeply about the product. Thanks again for giving the app a chance and being part of the journey.
Au top
Response from developer
Bonjour, Merci beaucoup pour ce retour si positif et sincère. Nous développons Actual Budget en continu afin de rendre le suivi du budget plus clair, plus fiable et plus agréable au quotidien. L’application est optimisée pour iOS 18 et les versions ultérieures afin d’offrir de meilleures performances et une expérience plus stable. Chaque retour utilisateur est très précieux pour nous : il nous aide à améliorer l’application et à offrir une assistance rapide et attentive lorsque c’est nécessaire. Nous serons ravis de vous retrouver sur un appareil compatible. Merci encore pour votre soutien et votre confiance.
Not actual budget
Response from developer
Thanks for sharing this. Actual Budget is an independent, standalone budgeting app for iPhone and iPad. It is designed for users who want simple expense tracking, budgets, savings goals, and private iCloud sync across Apple devices. It does not connect to external or self-hosted budgeting servers. We understand how that expectation could be confusing, and we’ll make the App Store listing clearer so users know exactly what the app is built for.
Belle découverte
Response from developer
Merci beaucoup pour votre retour. Nous sommes ravis que vous trouviez Actual Budget intuitive et agréable à utiliser. Notre objectif est de rendre le suivi des dépenses, la gestion du budget et des objectifs d’épargne aussi simples, clairs et motivants que possible. Merci sincèrement pour votre confiance et pour avoir pris le temps de partager votre expérience.
Want to Like it ...
Response from developer
You're right that changing a number after you've entered it is basic, and it works. Open any expense or income to edit the amount, the date, the category or the notes, or swipe on the row to edit or delete it. Nothing is locked once it's saved. Syncing across devices runs through your own private iCloud, so the same data shows up on your iPhone and iPad with no account on our side. If one device was behind, it was usually a stale iCloud pull that a relaunch clears. A lot has changed since the version you tried, and the editing problem you hit was a real bug that's since been fixed. If anything on your account still isn't sorted, write to us from Settings, Help and Contact and we'll deal with it directly with you. We'd rather the app earn its place than feel half finished, so if something is still rough, tell us exactly where and we'll get on it.
Confusing and no customisation
Response from developer
Thanks for the honest feedback. The daily figure is not random. It is a Safe to Spend calculation based on the income, bills, recurring transactions, and timing in your budget. That said, if the logic was not clear enough in the app, that is something I need to improve. Payday aligned budget cycles are a valid feature request and already under consideration. The lifetime offer is optional, and I agree that any limited time offer should feel transparent and trustworthy.
Great App with Active Developer
Response from developer
Thank you for your thoughtful review. I am delighted to hear that the app’s simplicity and ease of use have helped keep you motivated. Creating a polished and genuinely useful experience is always the goal, so your feedback truly means a great deal. I sincerely appreciate your support and will continue working to make Actual Budget even better.
