YNAB vs Purchase Tracker
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
YNAB
This app helps users gain control of their finances by creating flexible spending plans, tracking expenses, and managing debt. It aims to reduce financial stress and empower users to reach their goals. Features include account linking, manual transaction entry, and collaborative planning for multiple users.
- Create and share unlimited spending plans
- Automatically import transactions
- Manually add transactions
- Loan Planner for debt paydown
- Visualize progress towards goals
- Real-time updates for shared plans
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Have you ever worried about money? You are not alone. Download YNAB, get good at money, and never worry about money again. “We started YNAB January 1st with $37 saved and ended the year with $42,000. Plus we paid $14,000 cash for a new roof.” -Kyle, YNAB user since 2020 Start your free one-month trial and stop feeling like you’re bad at money. “YNAB has removed the stress of money from my life and in doing so has helped make me a better husband. It's like I got to remove a personal flaw I had never been able to fix." -Kyle, again. We didn’t even pay him to say this, but maybe we should. Why YNAB? -92% of YNAB users report feeling less stressed about money since starting. -The average user saves $600 in the first month, and $6,000 in the first year. “A year of YNAB costs less than a massage and is a heck of a lot better for reducing stress.” -Kat, YNAB user since 2016 Benefits and Features STOP ARGUING ABOUT MONEY …and start planning your life, together -Create and share unlimited plans with up to six people with one subscription -Real time updates between devices make it easy to keep everyone informed -Cheaper than couples counseling STOP DROWNING IN DEBT …and start seeing progress with your paydown -Make a plan to pay down debt by calculating time and interest saved with the Loan Planner -Avoid new credit card debt with YNAB’s clever built-in spending categorization feature -Enjoy the benefits of a debt-paying community and resources STOP FEELING DISORGANIZED …and start feeling totally in control -Securely link financial accounts to automatically import transactions -Easily add transactions manually, if you prefer -Ask Siri to update your plan or provide expense category balances on the go START REACHING MORE GOALS …and stop thinking your future is limited -Keep your priorities and goals in focus -Visualize progress as you go -Watch your net worth climb START SPENDING CONFIDENTLY …and stop feeling guilt, doubt, and regret -Calculate your “Cost to Be Me” -Make a flexible, proactive spending plan -Always know how much you have to spend START FEELING SUPPORTED …and stop feeling like you’re alone in this -Talk to our “freakishly nice” award-winning support team (don’t tell them we called them freakish) -Become part of our community of genuine, amazingly supportive people who get it -Attend one of our live events to learn, share, play, and even get tattooed with like-minded getting-good-at-money people. (Seriously.) The first step of never worrying about money again is starting a free one-month trial. Are you ready to get good at money? (You seem ready! And we already really like you, so please join us.) Free for 30 Days, then Monthly/Annual Subscriptions Available Subscription Details -YNAB is a one-year auto-renewable subscription, billed monthly or annually. -Payment will be charged to iTunes Account at confirmation of purchase. -Subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24-hours before the end of the current period. -Account will be charged for renewal within 24-hours prior to the end of the current period. -Subscriptions may be managed by the user and auto-renewal may be turned off by going to the user's Account Settings after purchase. -Any unused portion of a free trial period, if offered, will be forfeited when the user purchases a subscription to that publication, where applicable. You Need A Budget UK Limited is acting as an agent of TrueLayer, who is providing the regulated Account Information Service, and is authorized by the Financial Conduct Authority under the Electronic Money Regulations 2011 (Firm Reference Number: 901096) Terms of Use: https://www.ynab.com/terms/?isolated Privacy Policy: https://www.ynab.com/privacy-policy/?isolated California Privacy Policy: https://www.ynab.com/privacy-policy/california-privacy-disclosure?isolated
Purchase Tracker
A privacy-focused expense tracker that works entirely offline. Log daily spending, set budgets, and gain insights into your financial habits with simple charts and graphs. Ideal for users seeking a straightforward and secure way to manage their money without ads or subscriptions.
- Log daily expenses
- 100% offline functionality
- Set monthly spending limits
- Customizable categories
- Spending insights with charts
- Data export/import
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Take control of your money with Purchase Tracker, a simple and privacy friendly way to log your daily expenses. Unlike many finance apps, it works 100% offline, with no ads, no subscriptions, and no online data storage. Perfect for anyone who wants a clean, fast, and reliable spending tracker. Why Choose Purchase Tracker? • Minimalist and easy to use, log purchases in seconds • 100% offline, your data stays private on your device • Free and no ads • Perfect for students, travelers, freelancers or anyone who wants simple expense tracking Track and Manage Your Spending • Record purchases with amount, date and category • View monthly spending in one place • Create custom categories with colors and icons Budgeting Made Simple • Set monthly spending limits • Get insights into your habits with clean charts and graphs • Stay on track without overwhelming features Extra Features • Quick search to find past expenses • Personalize with currency and themes • Export and import data for backup or device transfer With Purchase Tracker, you get a lightweight yet powerful budget manager that focuses on what really matters: helping you understand where your money goes. Start today and build better spending habits with a tool that respects your privacy and time.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Purchase Tracker at none against YNAB's 4. Purchase Tracker also leads on review sentiment (83% vs 51%) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 18.0). YNAB's advantage is update cadence (weekly vs every 35 months) and ratings volume (62K vs 15). On price, rating and device support there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. YNAB sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $14.99 per month. Purchase Tracker asks for nothing beyond the download.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for YNAB against 4.8 for Purchase Tracker. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: YNAB has 62K ratings behind it against 15, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 51% of YNAB's written reviews are positive against 83% of Purchase Tracker's.
YNAB ships an update weekly, Purchase Tracker every 35 months. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 14, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | YNAB | Purchase Tracker |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (62K ratings) | 4.8 (15 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 50.9% of reviews | 83.3% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 62K — better | 15 |
| Update frequency | Weekly — better | Every 35 months |
| Ads | No | — |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Subscription | Free — better |
| Best chart rank | #5 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — better |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | 13.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 155 MB | 25 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | You Need A Budget LLC | Khanh Steffen |
Customer experience
YNAB
Purchase Tracker
Bugs and requests
YNAB
Reported bugs
2 issues- Frequent disconnections from bank accounts
- Syncing issues between mobile and web versions
Requested features
5 requests- Fortnightly budgeting options
- Improved reporting and analytics
- Ability to upload files/documents
- Undo/redo functionality
- Biometric login for mobile app
Purchase Tracker
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
YNAB
- YNAB Subscription1 Month trial$14.991 Month
- YNAB Subscription$14.991 Month
- YNAB Subscription1 Month trial$109.001 Year
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- YNAB Subscription$109.001 Year
Purchase Tracker
No in-app purchases









