# Budgets vs Gist Money

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.

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.

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.

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

## The numbers

| Metric | Budgets | Gist Money |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.3 (3 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/budgets-expense-tracker/id1118397541/reviews)** | [4.3 (48 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/gist-money-expense-tracker/id1590852070/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | 3 | **48** |
| Positive reviews | **100.0% of reviews** | 75.9% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | Yes | **No** |
| Update frequency | Every 6 weeks | **Weekly** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 12 MB | 92 MB |
| Requires iOS | **13.0** | 15.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [MoneyBudgie](https://appshunter.io/developer/354069981) | [Amit Mohan](https://appshunter.io/developer/1590852072) |

## 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 |


### Gist Money

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/gist-money-expense-tracker/id1590852070)

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:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases (17)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Premium | $2.99 | per 7 days |
| Premium | $5.99 | per month |
| Premium | $5.99 | per month |
| Premium | $19.99 | per year |
| Premium | $19.99 | per year |
| Premium | $29.99 | per year |
| Premium | $39.99 | per year |
| Premium | $39.99 | per year |
| Premium | $39.99 | per year |
| Premium | $39.99 | per year |
| Pro | $59.99 | per year |
| Pro | $59.99 | per year |
| Premium (6 months) | $8.99 | one-time |
| Premium (12 months) | $15.99 | one-time |
| Unlimited Premium Access | $71.99 | one-time |
| Lifetime Premium | $71.99 | one-time |
| Lifetime Premium | $89.99 | one-time |


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