# Budget app vs Expensi

The clearest difference is update cadence: Budget app at weekly against Expensi's every 7 months. Budget app also leads on ratings volume (16K vs 1) and chart position (#74 vs unranked). Expensi's advantage is review sentiment (100% vs 79%) and rating (5.0 vs 4.7). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Budget app sells 8 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month and Expensi sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Expensi holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Budget app has 16K ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 79% of Budget app's written reviews are positive against 100% of Expensi's.

Budget app ships an update weekly, Expensi every 7 months. The most recent releases landed on October 25, 2026 and October 8, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Budget app | Expensi |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.7 (16K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/budget-app-spending-tracker/id1525179720/reviews) | **[5.0 (1 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/expensi-expense-tracker/id6744638845/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **16K** | 1 |
| Positive reviews | 78.9% of reviews | **100.0% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Weekly** | Every 7 months |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | **#74** | — |
| Size | 241 MB | 34 MB |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 | **14.0** |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch** | iPhone, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [InnerGrow](https://appshunter.io/developer/1828382777) | [Planning Technologies LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/1618240887) |

## What reviewers say

### Budget app

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/budget-app-spending-tracker/id1525179720)

**Currently charting:** #74 Top Grossing · Finance (US App Store)

This personal finance app helps you track spending, plan budgets, and save money to achieve financial freedom. It offers features like AI-powered tracking, shared budgeting, and detailed stats to understand your financial habits.

**Highlights:** Budget Planner, Spending Tracker, Money Management, Recurring Transactions, Shared Budgeting, AI Tracking, Stats & Charts

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Family Sharing, Apple Watch app, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (8)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Budget Premium Monthly | $2.99 | per month |
| Financial Empowerment | $5.99 | per year |
| Yearly Premium | $6.99 | per year |
| Lifetime Premium Sale | $4.99 | one-time |
| lifetime member sale | $6.99 | one-time |
| Budget Lifetime Member | $8.99 | one-time |
| Lifetime Premium Global | $8.99 | one-time |
| Family Premium | $14.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 User-friendly interface
- 🚀 Straightforward and intuitive
- 💰 Affordable one-time purchase
- 🎨 Customizable categories and colors
- 🗓️ Helpful calendar and transaction views

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Recurring bills/payments not working as expected
- 🔍 Lack of advanced reporting and analytics
- 🤝 Sharing/collaboration features not reliable
- 🇨🇦 Limited support for Canadian banks/accounts
- 🔀 Difficulty moving money between budgets

**Reported bugs**

- Syncing issues between devices
- Transactions not always loading correctly
- Upgrade/premium features not working as expected

**Requested features**

- Ability to carry over surplus/deficit between months
- Option to view remaining budget instead of just spent
- Multiple savings account/ledger support
- Automatic recurring bill/subscription tracking
- Web/desktop app version for easier data entry


### Expensi

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/expensi-expense-tracker/id6744638845)

Easily manage and understand your daily expenses with real-time tracking. Supports multiple currencies and offers robust data protection with backup and restore features.

**Highlights:** Real-time expense logging, Multi-currency support, Data encryption and security, App lock features, Secure backup and restore

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

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Full Access for a Month | $0.99 | per month |
| Full Access for a Year | $9.99 | per year |
| Full Access Forever | $19.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Budget app free?

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

### Is Expensi free?

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

### Which has better reviews, Budget app or Expensi?

Expensi is rated higher. Budget app averages 4.7 out of 5 from 16K ratings, while Expensi averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.

### Do Budget app or Expensi have ads?

Neither Budget app nor Expensi shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Budget app or Expensi?

Budget app ships an update weekly, and Expensi every 7 months. Most recently, Budget app was updated on October 25, 2026 and Expensi on October 8, 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.*