# Budget Planner Expense Manager vs SpendNotes

The clearest difference is review sentiment: SpendNotes at 69% against Budget Planner Expense Manager's 0%. SpendNotes also leads on rating (4.8 vs 3.0) and ratings volume (406 vs 4). Budget Planner Expense Manager's advantage is iOS requirement (12.0 vs 15.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Budget Planner Expense Manager sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month and SpendNotes sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per 3 months. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

SpendNotes holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 3.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: SpendNotes has 406 ratings behind it against 4, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 0% of Budget Planner Expense Manager's written reviews are positive against 69% of SpendNotes's.

Budget Planner Expense Manager ships an update every 6 weeks, SpendNotes every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 7, 2026 and October 29, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Budget Planner Expense Manager | SpendNotes |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [3.0 (4 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/budget-planner-expense-manager/id1169353587/reviews) | **[4.8 (406 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/spendnotes-budget-tracker/id1505752740/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | 4 | **406** |
| Positive reviews | 0.0% of reviews | **69.2% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 6 weeks | **Every 3 weeks** |
| Monetization | Freemium | Freemium |
| Size | 37 MB | 15 MB |
| Requires iOS | **12.0** | 15.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [nectarbits](https://appshunter.io/developer/527127089) | [Suhaib Al-Absi](https://appshunter.io/developer/1505752739) |

## What reviewers say

### Budget Planner Expense Manager

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/budget-planner-expense-manager/id1169353587)

This personal finance app helps you manage your money, track spending, and create budgets to achieve your financial goals. It offers features like bill reminders, custom reports, and an EMI calculator to simplify your financial planning.

**Highlights:** Custom monthly budgeting, Expense tracking, Bill reminders, Detailed custom reports, Recurring expense management, EMI calculator, Family spending tracker

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases (6)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| (1 Month) Unlock All features | $1.99 | per month |
| (3 Month) Unlock All features | $3.99 | per 3 months |
| (12 Month) Unlock All features | $12.99 | per year |
| Remove ads | $0.99 | one-time |
| Unlimited Goals | $0.99 | one-time |
| Unlock All | $1.99 | one-time |


### SpendNotes

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/spendnotes-budget-tracker/id1505752740)

Easily track daily income and expenses with an intuitive interface. Organize transactions, set budgets, and monitor financial goals. Offers detailed analytics and customizable PDF reports for better financial control.

**Highlights:** Track expenses and income, Organize transactions by account, Create custom categories, Set daily, weekly, monthly, yearly budgets, Define saving goals, Finance overview with charts and tables, Detailed analytics and PDF reports

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| SpendNotes Plus - 3 Months | $4.99 | per 3 months |
| SpendNotes Plus - Yearly | $14.99 | per year |
| SpendNotes Plus - Lifetime | $59.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Easy to use and track spending
- ⭐️ Excellent for financial management
- 💰 Inexpensive subscription/purchase
- ✨ Highly customizable
- 💯 Best app of its kind

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Glitching during purchase
- 🤔 Some features not fully understood
- ⚠️ Widget issues after update
- 💸 Lifetime purchase price steep
- ❌ Inability to track category totals over time (initially)

**Reported bugs**

- App boots off when trying to purchase full version
- Widgets not showing properly after update
- Developer not responding to emails

**Requested features**

- Add a 'debts' section
- Add 'deposit', 'withdrawal', and 'savings' categories
- MAC compatibility
- Set budgets on a biweekly basis
- Add multiplication and division to the calculator


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Budget Planner Expense Manager free?

Budget Planner Expense Manager is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is SpendNotes free?

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

### Which has better reviews, Budget Planner Expense Manager or SpendNotes?

SpendNotes is rated higher. Budget Planner Expense Manager averages 3.0 out of 5 from 4 ratings, while SpendNotes averages 4.8 from 406 ratings.

### Do Budget Planner Expense Manager or SpendNotes have ads?

Neither Budget Planner Expense Manager nor SpendNotes shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Budget Planner Expense Manager or SpendNotes?

Budget Planner Expense Manager ships an update every 6 weeks, and SpendNotes every 3 weeks. Most recently, Budget Planner Expense Manager was updated on October 7, 2026 and SpendNotes on October 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.*