Comparison

Purchase Tracker vs Budget Bestie

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

Head to head
About

Purchase Tracker

A privacy-focused expense tracker that works entirely offline. Log daily spending, set budgets, and gain insights into your financial habits with simple charts and graphs. Ideal for users seeking a straightforward and secure way to manage their money without ads or subscriptions.

Highlights
  • Log daily expenses
  • 100% offline functionality
  • Set monthly spending limits
  • Customizable categories
  • Spending insights with charts
  • Data export/import
Read full description

Take control of your money with Purchase Tracker, a simple and privacy friendly way to log your daily expenses. Unlike many finance apps, it works 100% offline, with no ads, no subscriptions, and no online data storage. Perfect for anyone who wants a clean, fast, and reliable spending tracker. Why Choose Purchase Tracker? • Minimalist and easy to use, log purchases in seconds • 100% offline, your data stays private on your device • Free and no ads • Perfect for students, travelers, freelancers or anyone who wants simple expense tracking Track and Manage Your Spending • Record purchases with amount, date and category • View monthly spending in one place • Create custom categories with colors and icons Budgeting Made Simple • Set monthly spending limits • Get insights into your habits with clean charts and graphs • Stay on track without overwhelming features Extra Features • Quick search to find past expenses • Personalize with currency and themes • Export and import data for backup or device transfer With Purchase Tracker, you get a lightweight yet powerful budget manager that focuses on what really matters: helping you understand where your money goes. Start today and build better spending habits with a tool that respects your privacy and time.

About

Budget Bestie

This app helps you manage your money using the cash stuffing method, digitally. It guides you through creating expense envelopes, allocating funds, and tracking spending to meet savings goals. Get reminders for bills and budget according to your pay schedule.

Highlights
  • Digital cash stuffing method
  • Customizable expense envelopes
  • Automated spending tracking
  • Bill payment reminders
  • Savings goal management
  • Budgeting by pay schedule
Currently charting
Read full description

hey bestie, ready to make budgeting effortless? with budget bestie, you can take full control of your money on your own terms—whether you get paid weekly, biweekly, twice a month, or monthly, we’ve got you covered. using the cash stuffing method, you’ll say goodbye to stress and hello to a budgeting approach that fits your life perfectly. okay but what’s cash stuffing? 1. create envelopes – create an envelope for each expense category like food, eating out, rent 2. stuff your envelopes – put all of your cash into envelopes based on how much you’ll spend before you get paid again 3. spend your money – this is the fun part - don’t feel guilty for spending your hard earned money. when you buy something, use the cash from the corresponding envelope 4. get paid, repeat - record your income (cha-ching) and go back to step 2, stuff your envelopes how budget bestie works - no need to carry cash - we’ve taken this 100+ year old proven technique and put it in your iPhone - say bye to math and spreadsheets - we’ll recommend how much to stuff into each envelope based on previous spending habits and upcoming bills - avoid late fees by getting reminded - we’ll send you a notification when you haven’t recorded paying a recurring expense - hit your savings goals - create savings envelopes and we’ll make sure you’re on track to hit your goals - budget on your schedule - whether it’s weekly, biweekly, twice a month, or monthly, you can budget based on what works for you what our besties are saying: “First full month of the app and it's so simple. I've not had to dip into my emergency fund or sinking fund or use overdraft. I've even managed to put some money towards debt and not reuse it” - @Nicola Disney Pomeranian Mummy "Been using budget bestie for a month!The monthly recap made me realize I spend so much on little things (like buying to go lunch everyday) since it's in budget, but never seen how much it adds up" – @Julia "This app is great I have been searching for a budgeting app that lets me budget per check and this is it” - @Chy6699 “Definitely helped me the last two weeks. Can't wait to see how much money I can save.” - @Erin Backes subscription details: before your free trial begins, you’ll choose between a monthly or annual subscription. subscriptions are billed and managed directly by Apple. you can manage or cancel your subscription anytime within your iPhone settings app. terms of use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Purchase Tracker4 screens
Budget Bestie4 screens

Verdict

The call

Purchase Tracker and Budget Bestie both sit at 4.8 stars, but that hides the real split: 83% of Purchase Tracker's written reviews are positive against 31% of Budget Bestie's. Purchase Tracker also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 8) and device support (4 vs 1). Budget Bestie's advantage is update cadence (fortnightly vs every 35 months) and ratings volume (3.2K vs 15). On price and rating 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. Budget Bestie sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Purchase Tracker asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for Purchase Tracker against 4.7 for Budget Bestie. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Budget Bestie has 3.2K ratings behind it against 15, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 83% of Purchase Tracker's written reviews are positive against 31% of Budget Bestie's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Purchase Tracker ships an update every 35 months, Budget Bestie fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on November 2, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 3 level
Purchase Tracker versus Budget Bestie: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPurchase TrackerBudget Bestie
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (15 ratings) — better4.7 (3.2K ratings)
Positive reviews83.3% of reviews — better30.7% of reviews
Number of ratings153.2K — better
Update frequencyEvery 35 monthsFortnightly — better
Ads—Yes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank—#43 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — betteriPhone
Requires iOS13.0 — better16.0
Further details — not scored
Size25 MB125 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperKhanh SteffenBudget Bestie Corp.

Customer experience

Purchase Tracker

All ratings14 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews12 reviews
Positive83.3%
Neutral16.7%
Negative0.0%

Budget Bestie

All ratings3,169 ratings
Positive91.4%
Neutral1.4%
Negative7.2%
Written reviews313 reviews
Positive30.7%
Neutral9.9%
Negative59.4%

Bugs and requests

Purchase Tracker

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Budget Bestie

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Freezing/crashing on certain screens
  • Inability to type zeros
  • Transactions not updating in real-time
  • Difficulty navigating/accessing certain features

Requested features

5 requests
  • Debt tracking section
  • Ability to edit/delete past transactions
  • Flexible pay schedule options
  • Sharing/collaboration features
  • Free basic version

In-app purchases

None

Purchase Tracker

No in-app purchases

6 purchases

Budget Bestie

Subscriptions6
  • Monthly Subscription3 Days trial$4.991 Month
  • Monthly Subscription3 Days trial2 variants$7.991 Month
  • Monthly Subscription3 Days trial$8.991 Month
Show 3 more
  • Annual Subscription3 Days trial2 variants$49.991 Year
  • Annual Subscription3 Days trial$59.991 Year
  • Annual Subscription3 Days trial$69.991 Year

Questions

Is Purchase Tracker free?
Purchase Tracker is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Budget Bestie free?
Budget Bestie is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Purchase Tracker or Budget Bestie?
Purchase Tracker is rated higher. Purchase Tracker averages 4.8 out of 5 from 15 ratings, while Budget Bestie averages 4.7 from 3.2K ratings.
Which is updated more often, Purchase Tracker or Budget Bestie?
Purchase Tracker ships an update every 35 months, and Budget Bestie fortnightly. Most recently, Purchase Tracker was updated on November 2, 2026 and Budget Bestie on November 3, 2026.

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