Comparison

PocketSmith Sidekick vs Back to Black

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

Head to head
About

PocketSmith Sidekick

Manage your finances on the go with this companion app. Track spending, view account balances, and categorize transactions from your bank, credit card, and investments. Organize financial documents and customize your dashboard for personalized insights.

Highlights
  • Track spending activity
  • View and categorize transactions
  • Add notes and labels to transactions
  • View all account balances
  • Organize financial documents
  • Customize mobile dashboard
Features
Read full description

PocketSmith Sidekick works alongside the web app so you can check your budgets, balances and spending - wherever you are! This mobile app makes staying on top of your PocketSmith account a breeze. See all your bank, credit card, investment and loan accounts in one place without needing to use different apps. Bank Feeds keep PocketSmith automatically updated, so you can see where your money is going. You need a PocketSmith web account to use the mobile app. Learn more and sign up at pocketsmith.com. APP FEATURES - Stay on top of your spending activity - View, categorize and edit your transactions on-the-go - Add notes and labels to your spending to record your memories - View all your account balances at a glance - Organize household documents like receipts and warranties by attaching them as images and documents to transactions - Customize your mobile dashboard to see the insights that matter to you We're constantly improving the app to help you make better money decisions. --- Also available POCKETSMITH PLANS Premium - monthly $14.49 - Bank feeds - Automatic and manual transaction importing - Automatic categorization - Unlimited budgets - 10 accounts - 10 years' projection Super - monthly $28.49 - Bank feeds - Automatic and manual transaction importing - Automatic categorization - Unlimited budgets - Unlimited accounts - 30 years' projection Price may vary by location. Subscriptions will be charged to your credit card through your iTunes account. Your subscription will automatically renew unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. No cancellation of the current subscription is allowed during the active subscription 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, will be forfeited when the user purchases a subscription.

About

Back to Black

Features
Read full description

Plan your next pay before it lands. Bills, plans and debts sorted by payday, with money you have, not money you borrow. Not a loan. A plan. Back to Black is a pay planner for people paid weekly, fortnightly or monthly. Tell it your pay and what's coming up. It works out what to put aside from each pay, and when each plan will be ready. PLAN YOUR NEXT PAY • Set your pay: how much lands, and when • See what goes to bills, plans, saving and debt, and what's yours to spend until next payday • Your bills, from rent to rego, worked out per pay for you CHECK IN ON PAYDAY • Your payday check-in lists what to move • Move each amount in your own banking app, then tick it off • A short pay? Choose what waits until next pay. That's allowed CHRISTMAS, HOLIDAYS AND BIG COSTS • Make a plan for Christmas, a trip home, car rego, school costs or a birthday • Give it a total and a date. Back to Black works out each pay, and has it ready about a week early • Gold means ready. Red only ever means money on credit GET BACK TO BLACK, THEN STAY THERE • Paying off a card or a loan? Choose an amount each pay and see the date it's paid off • Saving goals, a little each pay, for a rainy day fund or anything else • Savings calculator: "$900 by Christmas?" See what it takes each pay, then save it as a plan PLAN IT TOGETHER • Share a plan with your partner, your family or the group going on the trip • Everyone sees the costs and who's covering what ANY BANK, NOTHING TO LOG • Works with any bank. You never link it, and we never ask for your banking login • Nothing to log: no receipts, no categories, no bank sync to break • Lock it with a PIN or Face ID • On your phone, or on the web at app.backtoblack.app FREE TO PLAN YOUR NEXT PAY Everything you need to plan your next pay is free. One day we'll offer paid extras, such as sharing plans with family. The essentials will stay free. Built by someone who's had more than 250 paydays in a row, and watched most of them come and go. One pay at a time. Did you plan your next pay? Back to Black shows the numbers; you decide. It isn't financial advice. Privacy: https://backtoblack.app/privacy · Terms: https://backtoblack.app/terms

Screenshots

PocketSmith Sidekick4 screens
Back to Black4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Back to Black at none against PocketSmith Sidekick's 2. Back to Black also leads on update cadence (every 10 days vs every 6 weeks). PocketSmith Sidekick's advantage is iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.1). On price, ads 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. PocketSmith Sidekick sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $10.99 per month. Back to Black asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

PocketSmith Sidekick ships an update every 6 weeks, Back to Black every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on November 2, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
PocketSmith Sidekick versus Back to Black: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPocketSmith SidekickBack to Black
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.1 (53 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews34.6% of reviews—
Number of ratings53 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 6 weeksEvery 10 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS13.0 — better15.1
Further details — not scored
Size26 MB34 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperPocketSmithYASIN A HASAN

Bugs and requests

PocketSmith Sidekick

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Transactions not syncing properly
  • Duplicate transactions appearing
  • Categorization issues and inconsistencies
  • App crashes and freezes
  • Incompatibility with certain bank accounts

Requested features

5 requests
  • Google login option
  • Ability to manually add transactions
  • Custom date ranges for budgets
  • Receipt scanning and attachment
  • More detailed transaction history and reporting

Back to Black

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

2 purchases

PocketSmith Sidekick

Subscriptions2
  • Premium$10.991 Month
  • Super$18.991 Month
None

Back to Black

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is PocketSmith Sidekick free?
PocketSmith Sidekick is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Back to Black free?
Back to Black is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do PocketSmith Sidekick or Back to Black have ads?
Neither PocketSmith Sidekick nor Back to Black shows ads.
Which is updated more often, PocketSmith Sidekick or Back to Black?
PocketSmith Sidekick ships an update every 6 weeks, and Back to Black every 10 days. Most recently, PocketSmith Sidekick was updated on November 2, 2026 and Back to Black on October 31, 2026.

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