# Budgets vs Emma

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Budgets at 100% against Emma's 38%. Budgets also leads on iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.1). Emma's advantage is update cadence (every 6 days vs every 6 weeks) and rating (4.7 vs 4.3). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Budgets sells 6 one-off in-app purchases and Emma sells 8 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Emma holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Emma has 1.4K ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 100% of Budgets's written reviews are positive against 38% of Emma's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

Budgets ships an update every 6 weeks, Emma every 6 days. The most recent releases landed on August 23, 2026 and September 29, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Budgets | Emma |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.3 (3 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/budgets-expense-tracker/id1118397541/reviews) | **[4.7 (1.4K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/emma-budget-planner-tracker/id1270062373/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | 3 | **1.4K** |
| Positive reviews | **100.0% of reviews** | 38.3% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | Yes | Yes |
| Update frequency | Every 6 weeks | **Every 6 days** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 12 MB | 165 MB |
| Requires iOS | **13.0** | 15.1 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [MoneyBudgie](https://appshunter.io/developer/354069981) | [Emma Technologies LTD.](https://appshunter.io/developer/1202559061) |

## What reviewers say

### Budgets

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/budgets-expense-tracker/id1118397541)

Track your spending against custom budgets to avoid overspending. See how much money you have left to spend with visual displays and review your purchase history. This app helps you regain control of your finances.

**Highlights:** Create custom budgets (monthly, weekly, etc.), Log purchases against budgets, View remaining budget amounts visually, Track spending history, Secure passcode protection

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (6)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Descriptions with Purchases | $0.99 | one-time |
| Carry Over Under & Over Spend to next Period | $0.99 | one-time |
| No Ads | $1.99 | one-time |
| Transaction CSV Export, Multi-Delete & Filter | $1.99 | one-time |
| App Customisation using Themes | $1.99 | one-time |
| PRO - All Features | $4.99 | one-time |


### Emma

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/emma-budget-planner-tracker/id1270062373)

Consolidate all your financial accounts in one place to track spending, manage subscriptions, and set budgets. Receive weekly reports, daily balance notifications, and overdraft alerts. Offers bank-level security with SSL encryption and biometric authentication.

**Highlights:** Consolidate all accounts, Track subscriptions, Set budgets, Weekly spending reports, Overdraft alerts, Bank-level security

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Apple Wallet, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (8)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Emma Plus Monthly | $4.99 | per month |
| Emma Pro Monthly | $9.99 | per month |
| Monthly Pro Subscription | $9.99 | per month |
| Emma Pro | $9.99 | per month |
| Emma Ultimate | $14.99 | per month |
| Emma Plus Yearly | $41.99 | per year |
| Emma Pro | $83.99 | per year |
| Subscription | $83.99 | per year |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Helpful for budgeting and tracking spending
- 🚀 Efficient at categorizing transactions
- 💡 Useful for detecting subscriptions and recurring payments
- 👍 Intuitive and user-friendly interface
- 👍 Provides good financial insights and analytics

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🔒 Concerns about data privacy and security
- 💰 Expensive subscription model, features locked behind paywall
- 🐛 Syncing issues, transactions not always accurately categorized
- 🔍 Difficult to cancel subscription or delete account
- 📢 Aggressive upselling and notifications

**Reported bugs**

- App crashes or freezes frequently
- Transactions not syncing properly or showing incorrect balances
- Issues connecting to certain bank accounts
- Recurring payments not being tracked accurately

**Requested features**

- Add support for more banks and financial institutions
- Improve budgeting features with better categorization and goal-setting
- Provide more customization options for categories and reporting
- Integrate with investment accounts and track net worth
- Offer a more affordable pricing model or free tier with core features


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Budgets free?

Budgets is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Emma free?

Emma is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Budgets or Emma?

Emma is rated higher. Budgets averages 4.3 out of 5 from 3 ratings, while Emma averages 4.7 from 1.4K ratings.

### Do Budgets or Emma have ads?

Both Budgets and Emma show ads.

### Which is updated more often, Budgets or Emma?

Budgets ships an update every 6 weeks, and Emma every 6 days. Most recently, Budgets was updated on August 23, 2026 and Emma on September 29, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*