Savings Challenge vs SetAside
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Savings Challenge
This app helps you achieve savings goals through a fun envelope challenge. You can either follow a pre-set 100-envelope challenge to save $5,050 or create your own custom savings plan with a set amount and number of envelopes.
- Envelope savings challenge tracker
- Customizable savings goals
- Daily money saving
- Track progress towards goals
- Surprise savings amounts
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Meet envelope savings tracker! Achieve your goals with the Envelope Challenge. Would you like to have extra $5,050? We dare you to take the Envelopes Challenge! Rules: 1. You have 100 envelopes with surprise number from $1 to $100. 2. Open one envelope per day and save this money. 3. After the 100th envelope you’ll achieve $5050! Is this surprise challenge not for you? Create a goal you want to achieve. Set up the savings sum and the amount of envelopes, that suites you. Add surprise challenge to your savings routine! EULA: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
SetAside
This app helps you manage future expenses by breaking them down into manageable monthly savings goals. It uses the sinking funds method to prevent overspending and reduce financial stress. Plan for large, infrequent purchases without impacting your daily budget.
- Virtual sub-accounts for savings
- Sinking funds method implementation
- Automatic monthly transfer calculation
- Track individual future expenses
- Reduces financial stress
- Builds healthy money habits
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SetAside turns one savings account into many virtual sub-accounts. Trick yourself out of Parkinsons Law, stop spending money future-you is counting on, and never stress bout money again! WHY does it feel like you never have enough money? Payday comes in, your balance looks great… …and then car insurance hits. Big, rare expenses always seem to show up at the worst time. Most people think: “I just need to earn more.” But even when the income goes up, the stress often stays. That’s Parkinson’s Law: The more money sits in your account, the more you spend – without noticing. The real problem? A part of your balance is already promised to future costs. You just don’t see it. When you buy a car, you don’t just buy the car. You “sign up” for: • yearly insurance • new tires every few years • repairs • inspections and check-ups Those expenses are guaranteed. They’re not “maybe”. So a part of the money on your bank account already belongs to them. But then what happens? Parkinson’s Law happens: You spend all the money – even the money your future self is counting on. That’s why every bill feels like a punch in the face. And it keeps happening again and again, right? Fridge broken - $800 Laptop too slow - $1,200 New tires $800 Dentist $$$ House Repairs $$$ etc. — The solution: set money aside before you can spend it SetAside is a simple personal finance and smart saving app based on the sinking funds method. Sinking funds turn those guaranteed future costs into small monthly amounts, so you stop spending money your future self already needs. Instead of guessing, you: 1. Create one extra savings account at your bank of choice. 2. Add all your future expenses into SetAside (car insurance, new phone, dentist, vacation, etc.). 3. SetAside calculates your monthly transfer amount. Set up one automatic transfer – and you’re done! On your real account, you only see money that truly belongs to you. In SetAside, you see exactly how much of your savings belongs to each expense. No spreadsheets. No mental math. No surprises. — Typical expenses you can plan with SetAside: • Car insurance (yearly) • New tires (every 4 years) • Car repairs (regularly) • New iPhone (every 3 years) • New MacBook (every 5 years) • Dentist (yearly) • Glasses (every few years) • Annual vacation or trips (yearly) • Taxes and government fees • Vet costs for pets • Furniture and home improvements …and anything else that tends to “suddenly” appear. — How SetAside helps you feel richer without earning more People who use this method often say: “I don’t actually earn more, but it feels like I do. I never hit tight spots anymore, and every bill is easy to pay.” You finally: • feel calm when bills arrive • follow through on your plans (vacations, upgrades, hobbies) • build healthy money habits without complicated finance tools SetAside is built for young adults, students, freelancers and anyone who wants simple, stress-free money management. — Key features • Virtual sub-accounts for every future expense (sinking funds) • Automatic monthly amount calculation for each expense • Clear overview of how much of your savings belongs to what • Support for one-time and recurring expenses • Flexible due dates and intervals (yearly, every 2 years, every 4 years, etc.) • Lightweight and focused - no confusing charts, no bank login required • Privacy in mind: All data stays on your device and iCloud account — Why SetAside? Schools rarely teach real-world money skills. SetAside gives you a structure that finally makes sense: If you’re tired of financial stress, surprise bills and broken plans, SetAside helps you take back control - one calm month at a time. Download SetAside and start setting money aside for future costs that are guaranteed to come – and never feel financially stressed again. — Privacy Policy: https://setasideapp.com/privacy Terms of use: https://ichbinjona.com/setaside-terms
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Savings Challenge at 4.7 against SetAside's 1.0. Savings Challenge also leads on ratings volume (446 vs 1) and update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 2 months). SetAside's advantage is review sentiment (67% vs 53%). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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
Both are free to download. Savings Challenge sells 9 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month and SetAside sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $15.99 per year. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Savings Challenge holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 1.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Savings Challenge has 446 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 53% of Savings Challenge's written reviews are positive against 67% of SetAside's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Savings Challenge ships an update every 3 weeks, SetAside every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on November 7, 2026 and November 1, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Savings Challenge | SetAside |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (446 ratings) — better | 1.0 (1 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 52.9% of reviews | 66.7% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 446 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks — better | Every 2 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Freemium |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone, iPad — better |
| Requires iOS | 18.6 | 18.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 49 MB | 13 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Mihail Kuznecovs | ichbinjona.com |
Customer experience
Savings Challenge
SetAside
Bugs and requests
Savings Challenge
Reported bugs
6 issues- App glitches quite a bit
- Hold down the amount to get it to register is dumb (new update issue)
- Cannot create own challenge, it doesn't save
- App is buggy, cannot press back arrow on most screens
- Total saved amount keeps changing and is inaccurate
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- Cannot access settings, they won't open
Requested features
14 requests- Allow skipping and filling other envelopes before completing smaller amounts
- Allow setting multiple active challenges
- Ability to edit challenges without deleting
- Ability to pick a random envelope to use
- Ability to create own challenges that save
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- Option to skip an envelope or unclick it to move on
- Option to 'catch up' on opening envelopes if behind
- Option to pay out on payday
- Include an optional random number generator
- Create $5s and $10s challenges
- Make challenges scratches, revealing saved amount and waiting until tomorrow to scratch again
- Bring back the old design/font
- Allow users to change currency (e.g., to £)
- Allow users to access settings to change challenge amounts
SetAside
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Savings Challenge
- Monthly subscription3 Days trial$1.991 Month
- Weekly subscription3 Days trial$2.997 Days
- Monthly subscription2 variants$4.991 Month
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- Yearly subscription7 Days trial$5.991 Year
- Yearly subscription3 Days trial$11.991 Year
- Yearly subscription7 Days trial$11.991 Year
- Yearly subscription$11.991 Year
- Design Bundle$3.99
- Lifetime purchase$19.99
SetAside
- SetAside Pro$15.991 Year
Questions
Is Savings Challenge free?
Is SetAside free?
Which has better reviews, Savings Challenge or SetAside?
Do Savings Challenge or SetAside have ads?
Which is updated more often, Savings Challenge or SetAside?
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