Comparison

Simple Budget Planner vs Nickel

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

Head to head
About

Simple Budget Planner

Manage your money effortlessly with this intuitive app. Track income and expenses, utilize the envelope system for category budgeting, and set savings goals. Automate recurring transactions and gain insights into your spending habits.

Highlights
  • Expense and income tracking
  • Envelope budgeting system
  • Savings goal setting
  • Scheduled transactions
  • Income and expense statistics
  • Customizable budgets and categories
Features
Read full description

Simple Budget Planner is a calm, manual budget for you and your household. No bank login, no connected accounts, nothing automatic happening behind your back: you write down what you spend, and you always know what's left. PLAN YOUR MONTH • Give every category a budget, envelope-style, and see what's left at a glance • Bills and recurring payments are added for you and count before they arrive, so "left to spend" is honest • Monthly from your payday, weekly, or every 2 or 4 weeks • A "Left to spend" widget for your Home Screen and Lock Screen, with amounts you can hide TRACK IN SECONDS • Add an expense in three taps with the quick keypad • Edit anything in place, move entries between categories, undo a delete • Search, filter and sort by date or by due date SAVE ON PURPOSE • Savings goals with contributions and progress • Money set aside is shown separately, never counted as spending SHARE WITH YOUR HOUSEHOLD • Invite your partner or family to the same budget • Everyone sees the same numbers, on their own iPhone or iPad SEE WHERE IT GOES • Clear spending and income insights by category • Money in against spent over the last 6 months • Look back over any dates: a whole year, the last 3 months or your own range, with every entry in one list • Every chart has a text summary and a table view YOURS TO KEEP • Export everything to CSV at any time, on every plan • Works offline and syncs when you're back online • Your data is never sold and never used for ads • On iPhone and iPad, with two columns on the bigger screen PREMIUM Simple Budget Planner is free to download and use. The free plan includes 40 entries for your household, and every feature. Premium is an optional auto-renewing subscription that removes the entry limit. One subscription covers your household through Family Sharing. Payment is charged to your Apple Account at confirmation of purchase. The subscription renews automatically unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. You can manage or cancel it in your App Store account settings. Any unused part of a free trial is forfeited when you buy a subscription. Terms of Use: https://sbp.sh/terms Privacy Policy: https://sbp.sh/privacy

About

Nickel

Features
Read full description

Nickel is a private expense tracker. No bank login, no account, no cloud. You log what you spend, or photograph the receipt and let Nickel read it, and every number stays on your phone. FAST TO LOG - Amount, category, date and a note in a couple of taps - Scan a receipt and Nickel reads the merchant, the total and the date on your device - Ask Siri to log a spend without opening the app - A widget, a Lock Screen glance and two Control Center buttons for the times you are already holding your phone BUDGETS THAT SAY SOMETHING - A monthly limit per category, with a live burn rate rather than a total after the fact - A Live Activity in the last week of the month, so the budget is on the Lock Screen while it matters - Insights written as sentences: what you are over on, what you are on pace for, what changed since last month THE MONTH AHEAD, ALREADY COUNTED - Nickel finds the subscriptions and bills hiding in your own history - Put one on the calendar and it logs itself on the day, or reminds you and waits for a tap - See what next month is committed to before it starts BRING YOUR HISTORY WITH YOU - Import a CSV statement from your bank or card. You export it, you hand it over, nothing connects to anyone - Export a spreadsheet any time, or a clean PDF statement with Pro ON A BIGGER SCREEN On iPad, Nickel opens into two columns: your months down the left and the month you picked on the right, with the budgets and the category breakdown beside them. PRIVATE BY DESIGN Everything lives on your device. No account, no sign-up, no tracking, no ads, and no connection to your bank, ever. NICKEL PRO Unlimited receipt scans, unlimited budgets, your full history, custom categories, CSV import and PDF statements. Start with a 7-day free trial, then $2.99 per month or $19.99 per year. There is also a one-time purchase if you would rather not rent it. Payment is charged to your Apple Account at confirmation of purchase. A subscription renews automatically unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel any time in your Apple Account settings. Privacy Policy: https://legal.unreel.ae/privacy/nickel.html Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Simple Budget Planner4 screens
Nickel4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Nickel at every 5 days against Simple Budget Planner's fortnightly. On price, ads, in-app purchases 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. Simple Budget Planner sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per 7 days and Nickel sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Simple Budget Planner ships an update fortnightly, Nickel every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 26, 2026 and October 28, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 9 level
Simple Budget Planner versus Nickel: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSimple Budget PlannerNickel
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.4 (283 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews59.6% of reviews—
Number of ratings283 — better—
Update frequencyFortnightlyEvery 5 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.017.0
Further details — not scored
Size24 MB5 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMehmet CetinAndrii Zakharov

Bugs and requests

Simple Budget Planner

Reported bugs

6 issues
  • Periodic transactions not recorded automatically
  • App freezes or becomes unusable after declining to rate
  • Glitching UI elements
  • Data export errors
  • Subscription sharing/family plan issues
Show 1 more
  • Screen size/balance partially hidden on some devices

Requested features

11 requests
  • Add dark mode option
  • Allow sorting expenses by due date
  • Add bi-weekly pay period option
  • Add weekly budget option
  • Improve screen resolution and UI scaling
Show 6 more
  • Add option to subtract budgeted items from income
  • Separate statistics for savings
  • Export data to CSV
  • More detail for periodic transactions
  • Pleasing icons or artwork
  • Option to sort accounts alphabetically

Nickel

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

5 purchases

Simple Budget Planner

Subscriptions4
  • Unlimited Weekly$1.997 Days
  • Unlimited Monthly$4.991 Month
  • Unlimited Annually14 Days trial$17.991 Year
Show 1 more
  • Unlimited Semiannually$24.996 Months
One-time1
  • Remove Ads$9.99
3 purchases

Nickel

Subscriptions2
  • Cashflow Pro7 Days trial$2.991 Month
  • Nickel Pro7 Days trial$19.991 Year
One-time1
  • Nickel Pro Lifetime$24.99

Questions

Is Simple Budget Planner free?
Simple Budget Planner is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Nickel free?
Nickel is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Simple Budget Planner or Nickel have ads?
Neither Simple Budget Planner nor Nickel shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Simple Budget Planner or Nickel?
Simple Budget Planner ships an update fortnightly, and Nickel every 5 days. Most recently, Simple Budget Planner was updated on October 26, 2026 and Nickel on October 28, 2026.

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