Comparison

Go Budget vs Simple Budget

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

Head to head
About

Go Budget

Plan your spending with envelope-style categories and track bills. Share budgets with family and sync across devices with an optional subscription. Designed for simple, manual budget tracking.

Highlights
  • Envelope-style spending categories
  • Bill reminders and tracking
  • Budget sharing with family
  • Seamless sync across devices
  • Monthly, weekly, and bi-weekly budgeting
  • Manual progress tracking
Features
Read full description

Go Budget will be shut down July 1, 2026. Please export your data before that date! --- Use Go Budget to plan your budget and take control of your finances. - Create envelope-style spending categories and track purchases painlessly - Get reminders for recurring bills and track when they are paid - Add Go Budget+ to share a budget with a partner or your whole family Go Budget is designed around two goals: 1. Take the normally unpleasant experience of managing a budget and make it simple and easy to stay on top of. 2. Provide a seamless sync experience for families and others who need to share a budget. The Go Budget app is fully featured and allows you to track income, bills, daily spending, and saving goals right from your phone with a simple, modern interface. You can subscribe to Go Budget+ to: - Share and sync budgets with others - we'll automatically keep your budgets in sync - Backup budgets online securely - Access from any device To restore an existing Go Budget+ subscription, sign into the Go Budget account used when subscribing to Go Budget+. -- Go Budget embraces the philosophy that the best way to manage your budget is the old school way - by setting budgeting goals and manually tracking your progress. Go Budget makes this as simple as possible, and automates things that repeat like bills and regular income. Our budgeting method is strongly influenced by the envelope budget method, which has been battle-proven by millions of successful budgeters over the years. Go Budget makes things a bit simpler than putting money in physical envelopes, but the core principles are the same - start with your income and separate your money for bills, spending, and saving. Go Budget supports a variety of different budgeting time periods: - Monthly budgeting - Weekly budgeting - Semi-monthly budgeting - Bi-weekly budgeting This enables you to budget in the way that makes sense for you. The app also supports pretty much any type of income or bill schedule, so you can stay on top of things without having to enter them again and again every time they repeat. With Go Budget+, you can manage your household budget painlessly - every purchase and bill payment will be synced with all budget members automatically. Terms and conditions: https://gobudget.io/terms Privacy policy https://gobudget.io/privacy

About

Simple Budget

This financial tool simplifies budgeting using the envelope system with digital enhancements. Manually track expenses, gain powerful insights into spending habits, and forecast future financial scenarios to grow your savings. Access your budget across devices with phone number sign-up.

Highlights
  • Envelope budgeting system
  • Manual transaction entry
  • Spending insights and analysis
  • Budget calculator
  • Cross-device access
  • Transaction export
Features
Read full description

Simple Budget is a hands-on budgeting app for people who want control over where their money goes. SEE WHERE YOUR MONEY GOES Break your spending down into categories, and give each category a budget. By planning your spending ahead of time, you can build savings directly into your budget, allowing you to have guilt-free spending money while still keeping up with your savings. Track your spending habits with Simple Budget to see if your spending matches your goals. HANDS-ON, WITHOUT THE HASSLE Stay close to your spending to see exactly where your money is going. Avoid the set-it-and-forget-it model and plan for every dollar. When you see each one coming in and out, you understand what you're spending and what you're saving. PLAN FOR THE FUTURE, LEARN FROM THE PAST • Plan your spending ahead of time, from retirement savings to weekend shopping. • Budget Calculator: see how your month ends up after the bills you know are coming, before you decide on that splurge. • Projected spending and savings for the current month. • Recurring income on any schedule: weekly, biweekly, monthly and more. • Year Savings: income, spending and savings for every month of the year. • Spending History: track your spending habits month to month. ENVELOPE BUDGETING, MADE EASY Building your budget is quick and easy with customizable, pre-built budget categories. Find what applies to you, tailor it to your needs, and build a budget that works for you. YOUR BUDGET, YOUR WAY • Track balances across your accounts, free. • Search, filter and sort every transaction, free. • Export your transactions to CSV anytime, free. • Sign in with your phone number and pick up your budget on any device, free. FREE AND PREMIUM Simple Budget is built for everyone, and stays affordable for anyone looking for extra budgeting firepower. The core of Simple Budget is free: budgets and categories, transactions, accounts, income, monthly insights and CSV export. Premium adds detailed category insights and trends, yearly insights, full Budget Calculator editing, history from previous years, and more. Simple Budget Premium is an auto-renewing subscription, billed monthly or annually. Payment is charged to your Apple ID at confirmation of purchase. Your subscription renews automatically unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel anytime in your App Store account settings. Questions or ideas? luke@pgmediasolutions.com Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://www.gosimplebudget.com/privacy-policy

Screenshots

Go Budget4 screens
Simple Budget4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Go Budget at every 9 days against Simple Budget's every 3 months. Go Budget also leads on review sentiment (93% vs 67%) and rating (4.8 vs 4.5). On price, ratings volume, ads and in-app purchases 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. Go Budget sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $1.99 per month and Simple Budget sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Go Budget holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.5. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 39 and 54 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 93% of Go Budget's written reviews are positive against 67% of Simple Budget's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Go Budget ships an update every 9 days, Simple Budget every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 30, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Go Budget versus Simple Budget: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterGo BudgetSimple Budget
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (39 ratings) — better4.5 (54 ratings)
Positive reviews92.9% of reviews — better66.7% of reviews
Number of ratings3954 — better
Update frequencyEvery 9 days — betterEvery 3 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemiumFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPod
Requires iOS15.615.6
Further details — not scored
Size33 MB59 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperGo Apps LLCLuke Brady

Customer experience

Go Budget

All ratings38 ratings
Positive94.7%
Neutral2.6%
Negative2.6%
Written reviews14 reviews
Positive92.9%
Neutral7.1%
Negative0.0%

Simple Budget

All ratings50 ratings
Positive86.0%
Neutral4.0%
Negative10.0%
Written reviews9 reviews
Positive66.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative33.3%

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Go Budget

Subscriptions1
  • Go Budget+1 Month trial$1.991 Month
2 purchases

Simple Budget

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly Premium Subscription1 Month trial$0.991 Month
  • Annual Premium Subscription$9.991 Year

Questions

Is Go Budget free?
Go Budget is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Simple Budget free?
Simple Budget is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Go Budget or Simple Budget?
Go Budget is rated higher. Go Budget averages 4.8 out of 5 from 39 ratings, while Simple Budget averages 4.5 from 54 ratings.
Do Go Budget or Simple Budget have ads?
Neither Go Budget nor Simple Budget shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Go Budget or Simple Budget?
Go Budget ships an update every 9 days, and Simple Budget every 3 months. Most recently, Go Budget was updated on October 24, 2026 and Simple Budget on October 30, 2026.

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