# SpendNotes vs Budgeting App

The clearest difference is update cadence: Budgeting App at every 6 days against SpendNotes's every 3 weeks. Budgeting App also leads on review sentiment (79% vs 69%). SpendNotes's advantage is ratings volume (406 vs 83). On price, rating, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. SpendNotes sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per 3 months and Budgeting App sells 7 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for SpendNotes against 4.7 for Budgeting App. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 406 and 83 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 69% of SpendNotes's written reviews are positive against 79% of Budgeting App's.

SpendNotes ships an update every 3 weeks, Budgeting App every 6 days. The most recent releases landed on October 13, 2026 and October 14, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | SpendNotes | Budgeting App |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.8 (406 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/spendnotes-budget-tracker/id1505752740/reviews)** | [4.7 (83 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/budgeting-app-spend-tracker/id1636460435/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **406** | 83 |
| Positive reviews | 69.2% of reviews | **78.9% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | **Every 6 days** |
| Monetization | Freemium | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 15 MB | 63 MB |
| Requires iOS | **15.0** | 16.0 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Suhaib Al-Absi](https://appshunter.io/developer/1505752739) | [The Budgeting Company](https://appshunter.io/developer/1818945575) |

## What reviewers say

### 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


### Budgeting App

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/budgeting-app-spend-tracker/id1636460435)

Manage your personal finances with this comprehensive budget planner and expense tracker. It offers features like device syncing, custom categories, flexible budgeting, and insightful analytics to help you stay on track with your spending and savings goals.

**Highlights:** Sync across devices, Customizable spending categories, Flexible budget creation (weekly, monthly), Track income and expenses, Automated recurring transactions, Detailed spending analytics, Multiple account management, Savings and loan tracking

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (7)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Pro (Monthly) | $2.99 | per month |
| Lifetime Bank Sync Add-On (Monthly) | $5.99 | per month |
| Pro Sync (Monthly) | $9.99 | per month |
| Pro (Annual) | $26.49 | per year |
| Pro Sync (Annual) | $89.99 | per year |
| The Budgeting App Pro Lifetime | $33.99 | one-time |
| The Budgeting App Pro Lifetime | $59.90 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is SpendNotes free?

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

### Is Budgeting App free?

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

### Which has better reviews, SpendNotes or Budgeting App?

SpendNotes is rated higher. SpendNotes averages 4.8 out of 5 from 406 ratings, while Budgeting App averages 4.7 from 83 ratings.

### Do SpendNotes or Budgeting App have ads?

Neither SpendNotes nor Budgeting App shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, SpendNotes or Budgeting App?

SpendNotes ships an update every 3 weeks, and Budgeting App every 6 days. Most recently, SpendNotes was updated on October 13, 2026 and Budgeting App on October 14, 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.*