# Budget App vs Marlo

The clearest difference is rating: Marlo at 5.0 against Budget App's 4.4. Marlo also leads on ads (none vs shown). Budget App's advantage is ratings volume (636 vs 1). On price, update cadence, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Budget App sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per 7 days and Marlo sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $6.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Marlo holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Budget App has 636 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Budget App | Marlo |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.4 (636 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/budget-app-expense-tracker/id1562877905/reviews) | **[5.0 (1 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/marlo-budget-expense-tracker/id6778914533/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **636** | 1 |
| Positive reviews | 51.0% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | Yes | **No** |
| Update frequency | Every 6 weeks | Every 6 weeks |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Freemium |
| Size | 13 MB | 17 MB |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 17.0 |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone |
| Age rating | 4+ | +4 |
| Developer | [WALABOK LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/913827467) | [Anicca LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/6771920747) |

## What reviewers say

### Budget App

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/budget-app-expense-tracker/id1562877905)

Manage your monthly budget and track expenses with this intuitive app. Gain direct control over logged spending, set financial plans, and visualize your expenditures with charts to save money.

**Highlights:** Set monthly budgets, Log expenses by category, Visualize spending with pie charts, Real-time remaining balance, Editable and categorized expenses, One-time purchase for premium

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

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Budgetize Premium Weekly | $2.99 | per 7 days |
| Budgetize Premium Yearly | $16.99 | per year |
| Premium Version | $19.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Simple and easy to use interface
- 📊 Good data visualization with pie charts
- 🎨 Intuitive design with helpful color coding
- ⚡ Quick expense tracking functionality
- 💰 Effective for basic budget planning

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Frequent bugs and glitches
- 📢 Excessive advertisements interrupting usage
- ❌ Limited customization options
- 🔧 Poor editing and deletion functionality
- 📉 Inaccurate expense calculations and display

**Reported bugs**

- White screen display issue on app launch
- Expenses not saving properly
- Duplicate expense entries appearing
- Expenses and labels getting mixed up/swapped
- App force closing during deletion

**Requested features**

- Percentage display on pie chart categories
- Custom expense category creation
- Edit and delete expense functionality
- Percentage labels for spending categories
- Custom labels and personalized expense names


### Marlo

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/marlo-budget-expense-tracker/id6778914533)

This app calculates your 'safe to spend' amount by subtracting fixed costs, budgets, and savings from your income. It provides a clear, guilt-free number for discretionary spending, with budgeting and savings goal features. All data is stored locally for privacy.

**Highlights:** Calculates 'Safe to Spend' amount, Budget tracking by category, Savings goal setting and tracking, Recurring income and bill setup, Optional daily logging reminders, Private, on-device data storage

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

**In-app purchases (4)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Marlo Pro Monthly | $6.99 | per month |
| Marlo Pro Annual Intro | $24.99 | per year |
| Marlo Pro Annual | $29.99 | per year |
| Marlo Pro — Lifetime | $39.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Budget App free?

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

### Is Marlo free?

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

### Which has better reviews, Budget App or Marlo?

Marlo is rated higher. Budget App averages 4.4 out of 5 from 636 ratings, while Marlo averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.

### Do Budget App or Marlo have ads?

Budget App shows ads; Marlo does not.

### Which is updated more often, Budget App or Marlo?

Budget App ships an update every 6 weeks, and Marlo every 6 weeks. Most recently, Budget App was updated on October 24, 2026 and Marlo on October 25, 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.*