# The Beans vs CardBrain

The clearest difference is iOS requirement: The Beans at 15.1 against CardBrain's 17.0. On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. The Beans sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month and CardBrain sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $14.99 per year. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

The Beans ships an update every 2 weeks, CardBrain every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 5, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | The Beans | CardBrain |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.1 (87 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/the-beans/id1472437187/reviews)** | — |
| Number of ratings | **87** | — |
| Positive reviews | 65.9% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks | **Every 10 days** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Size | 58 MB | 19 MB |
| Requires iOS | **15.1** | 17.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [TheBeans](https://appshunter.io/developer/1472415861) | [Yishu Gu](https://appshunter.io/developer/1891227083) |

## What reviewers say

### The Beans

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/the-beans/id1472437187)

This app offers a free, personalized visual financial plan to help you achieve money and life balance. It automatically categorizes transactions, plans expenses, and provides spending updates. Securely connect your accounts for a holistic financial overview.

**Highlights:** Custom visual financial plan, Automatic transaction labeling, Monthly expense planning, Spending and bill updates, Secure account connection, Personalized plan customization

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (2)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| The Beans Premium - 1 month | $4.99 | per month |
| The Beans Premium - 1 year | $29.99 | per year |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Easy to use and user-friendly
- 🚀 Helps stay motivated and reduce financial anxiety
- 💡 Provides a clear picture of budget and finances
- ✅ Quick and easy plan development
- ✨ Well-designed and reliable

**What reviewers complain about**

- ❌ Not great for entrepreneurs with complex income
- 💸 Unauthorized withdrawal of funds
- 🚫 Unable to download on iPhone
- 🤔 Confusing interface and lack of explanation
- ⚠️ Inaccurate expense tracking

**Reported bugs**

- 🐛 App unable to recognize all income flows for entrepreneurs
- 🐛 Buggy app preventing access to transferred money details
- 🐛 Inaccurate tracking of expenses and month-over-month spending
- 🐛 App overheats iPhone
- 🐛 Transactions on account not showing up in the app

**Requested features**

- Ability to manually add reoccurring expenses and income
- More clear explanations of visuals and functionality
- Option to delete account directly within the app
- Support for weekly payment schedules
- Improved handling of complex income flows for entrepreneurs


### CardBrain

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/cardbrain-benefit-tracker/id6761742264)

**In-app purchases (6)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| CardBrain Pro Annual | $14.99 | per year |
| Small thanks | $2.99 | one-time |
| You're awesome | $6.99 | one-time |
| This app rocks | $9.99 | one-time |
| You're a legend | $14.99 | one-time |
| CardBrain Pro Lifetime | $29.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is The Beans free?

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

### Is CardBrain free?

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

### Do The Beans or CardBrain have ads?

Neither The Beans nor CardBrain shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, The Beans or CardBrain?

The Beans ships an update every 2 weeks, and CardBrain every 10 days. Most recently, The Beans was updated on November 6, 2026 and CardBrain on November 5, 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.*