Comparison

Budgets vs Gist Money

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Budgets

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
Read full description

Where does the money go? Create your Budgets and keep to them - Get 'Budgets - Expense Tracker' ! 'Budgets - Expense Tracker' logs your purchases against your budgets so you can see how much you have spent. Your budgets can be monthly, weekly, or any other time period you like. ◆ Know instantly how much you've got left to spend in your budget ◆ Keep track of your spending so you Don't Overspend. You can set up as many Budgets as you need and monitor your spending over any time period. √ See how much of your Budgets you have left to spend with the Coin Tubes Display! √ Budgets can be monthly, weekly, or any time period you define √ View your Purchase History √ Includes Secure Passcode Entry System to keep your budget data private ◆ This app is part of the MoneyBudgie Finance Tracking Suite. - All 4 Apps work together to help you get in control of your finances. For example, you can use budgets planned with the Home Budget Plan app in this app, whilst purchases logged in this app affect your bank account balances tracked by Spending Log, etc. Get 'Budgets - Expense Tracker', create your Budget and keep to it.

About

Gist Money

Master your budget, track expenses, and save more with this privacy-focused financial control app. It offers bill reminders, insightful analytics, and customizable tracking to help you understand spending habits and achieve financial goals.

Highlights
  • Privacy-focused data security
  • Easy budget creation and management
  • Insightful spending analytics
  • Bill tracking with due date reminders
  • Customizable tags and categories
  • Visual spend analysis with graphs
Features
Read full description

Say it or type it. Gist Money helps (formerly 'Expenses Manager') you turn everyday spending into a clearer picture of your money. Track expenses, plan monthly budgets, organize bills, and understand your spending habits - with less manual entry and no ads. SMARTER EVERYDAY TRACKING Say It. Review It. Save It. Describe an expense naturally, by voice or text. Gist Money turns it into transaction details you can review, edit, and save. Budget with More Clarity Set budgets for groceries, dining out, transport, and more. Follow your progress and get alerts as you approach your limits. Understand Your Spending Explore spending insights, charts, and reports. See which categories take the biggest share of your budget and how your habits change over time. KEEP YOUR MONEY ORGANIZED Income and Expenses Record daily spending and income, organize transactions, and keep a clear view of your cash flow. Bills and Reminders Keep upcoming payments organized with bill reminders that help you stay on top of due dates. Accounts, Cards, and Wallets Track transactions across your accounts, credit cards, and wallets. Keep your recorded balances and spending together in one place. Custom Categories and Tags Organize your records in a way that makes sense to you, with personalized categories and tags. Optional Cloud Sync Keep your financial data private and stay in control, or choose to sync across devices so your records stay up to date wherever you use Gist Money. No Ads. A Clearer View. Stay focused on your money with a clean, distraction-free interface. Some features require a paid plan. WE VALUE YOUR FEEDBACK Help us make Gist Money more useful for your everyday finances. Send your questions or suggestions to help@gistmoney.com. Terms of Service: https://gistmoney.com/tos Privacy Policy: https://gistmoney.com/privacy

Screenshots

Budgets4 screens
Gist Money4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Gist Money at none against Budgets's shown. Gist Money also leads on update cadence (weekly vs every 6 weeks) and ratings volume (48 vs 3). Budgets's advantage is review sentiment (100% vs 76%) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.0). On price, rating, in-app purchases and monetization model 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Budgets sells 6 one-off in-app purchases and Gist Money sells 17 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.3 for Budgets against 4.3 for Gist Money. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Gist Money has 48 ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 100% of Budgets's written reviews are positive against 76% of Gist Money's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Budgets ships an update every 6 weeks, Gist Money weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 30, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Budgets versus Gist Money: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBudgetsGist Money
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.3 (3 ratings) — better4.3 (48 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews — better75.9% of reviews
Number of ratings348 — better
Update frequencyEvery 6 weeksWeekly — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS13.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size12 MB92 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMoneyBudgieAmit Mohan

Customer experience

Budgets

All ratings3 ratings
Positive66.7%
Neutral33.3%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Gist Money

All ratings48 ratings
Positive83.3%
Neutral4.2%
Negative12.5%
Written reviews83 reviews
Positive75.9%
Neutral9.6%
Negative14.5%

In-app purchases

6 purchases

Budgets

One-time6
  • Descriptions with Purchases$0.99
  • Carry Over Under & Over Spend to next Period$0.99
  • No Ads$1.99
Show 3 more
  • Transaction CSV Export, Multi-Delete & Filter$1.99
  • App Customisation using Themes$1.99
  • PRO - All Features$4.99
17 purchases

Gist Money

Subscriptions12
  • Premium7 Days trial$2.997 Days
  • Premium1 Month trial$5.991 Month
  • Premium2 variants$5.991 Month
Show 9 more
  • Premium7 Days trial$19.991 Year
  • Premium2 variants$19.991 Year
  • Premium7 Days trial$29.991 Year
  • Premium1 Year trial3 variants$39.991 Year
  • Premium3 Days trial$39.991 Year
  • Premium$39.991 Year
  • Premium7 Days trial$39.991 Year
  • Pro7 Days trial$59.991 Year
  • Pro1 Month trial$59.991 Year
One-time5
  • Premium (6 months)$8.99
  • Premium (12 months)$15.99
  • Unlimited Premium Access$71.99
Show 2 more
  • Lifetime Premium$71.99
  • Lifetime Premium$89.99

Questions

Is Budgets free?
Budgets is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Gist Money free?
Gist Money is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Budgets or Gist Money?
Budgets is rated higher. Budgets averages 4.3 out of 5 from 3 ratings, while Gist Money averages 4.3 from 48 ratings.
Do Budgets or Gist Money have ads?
Budgets shows ads; Gist Money does not.
Which is updated more often, Budgets or Gist Money?
Budgets ships an update every 6 weeks, and Gist Money weekly. Most recently, Budgets was updated on October 24, 2026 and Gist Money on October 30, 2026.

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