# Budget app vs Basis

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Basis at none against Budget app's 8. Basis also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 79%) and rating (5.0 vs 4.7). Budget app's advantage is ratings volume (16K vs 1) and update cadence (every 4 days vs every 2 weeks). On price and ads there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Budget app sells 8 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month. Basis asks for nothing beyond the download.

Basis 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 Basis's.

Budget app ships an update every 4 days, Basis every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 5, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Budget app | Basis |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 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/basis-simple-budgeting/id6790152431/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **16K** | 1 |
| Positive reviews | 78.8% of reviews | **100.0% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 4 days** | Every 2 weeks |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | **Free** |
| Best chart rank | **#61** | — |
| Size | 247 MB | 3 MB |
| Requires iOS | **16.0** | 26.0 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch** | iPhone |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [InnerGrow](https://appshunter.io/developer/1828382777) | [Silvia Stocchi](https://appshunter.io/developer/6781853309) |

## What reviewers say

### Budget app

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

**Currently charting:** #61 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 | $5.99 | per month |
| Yearly Premium | $6.99 | per year |
| Financial Empowerment | $9.99 | per year |
| Lifetime Premium Sale | $4.99 | one-time |
| Budget Lifetime Member | $8.99 | one-time |
| lifetime member sale | $14.99 | one-time |
| Lifetime Premium Global | $19.99 | one-time |
| Family Premium | $29.99 | 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


### Basis

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/basis-simple-budgeting/id6790152431)

This app helps you save money by prioritizing savings before budgeting. It allows you to define spending categories, make conscious decisions about overspending, and track your savings growth over time. It offers quick expense logging and receipt scanning for a streamlined financial management experience.

**Highlights:** Save first budgeting method, Customizable spending categories, Deliberate period closing, On-device receipt scanning, Home-screen widgets, Complete privacy (no cloud/account)

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

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Budget app free?

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

### Is Basis free?

Basis is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

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

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

### Do Budget app or Basis have ads?

Neither Budget app nor Basis shows ads.

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

Budget app ships an update every 4 days, and Basis every 2 weeks. Most recently, Budget app was updated on November 5, 2026 and Basis on October 31, 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.*