Comparison

Cashews vs Envelope Budget

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

Head to head
About

Cashews

This app analyzes your income and expenses to tell you how much you can safely spend. It offers a unique approach to budgeting by focusing on your current financial health rather than rigid categories. Make informed decisions with a 'Can I afford it?' widget and achieve your financial goals.

Highlights
  • Connect to bank accounts
  • Analyze income and expenses
  • Predictive cash flow algorithm
  • Spendable money calculation
  • Financial goal setting
  • 'Can I afford it?' widget
  • Automated account syncing
Features
Read full description

What did you spend this month? Cashews answers that in 10 seconds. Connect your bank accounts and credit cards, and Cashews shows you one number: Spent So Far. It's the simplest way to stay on top of your money, whether you budget or not. WHAT MAKES CASHEWS DIFFERENT Most finance apps make tracking your spending feel like homework. Cashews takes a different approach. Connect your accounts, see what you've spent, categorize with a swipe. Need, Want, or Other. Done. You get the clarity of knowing where your money goes without the effort of maintaining a traditional budget. And if you want more detail, custom categories let you go deeper. IT PAYS FOR ITSELF Cashews automatically detects every recurring charge across all your accounts. Subscriptions you forgot about, bills you didn't realize were still running, annual renewals you missed. Most people find more in forgotten charges than Cashews costs. HOW IT WORKS 1. Connect your banks and credit cards (12,500+ US institutions supported). 2. See your Spent So Far number, updated daily across all accounts. 3. Swipe to categorize your transactions in seconds. 4. See every recurring charge, cashflow trend, and credit card balance in Insights. HOUSEHOLD SHARING (NEW) Your partner's credit cards, your checking account, that joint savings. Now everyone sees the same number. Invite your financial plus one and get a complete picture of your household's spending. One price covers everyone. KEY FEATURES - Spent So Far: one number, all accounts, updated daily - Household Sharing: invite your partner or family - Simple categorization: Need, Want, Other (or custom categories) - Recurring charge detection with payment reminders - "Can I Afford It?" spending confidence check - Credit card utilization tracking - Cashflow trends: month over month, year over year - Smart notifications: unusual activity, upcoming bills, missed payments - 12,500+ US banks and credit cards supported - Bank-level encryption via Plaid. Read-only access. We never see your login. PRICING $3.99/month or $39.99/year for your whole family. Most people find more than that in forgotten charges. No ads, no hidden fees, no selling your data. Cancel anytime. Cashews uses Plaid (https://plaid.com) to securely connect to your financial institutions. We have read-only access to your accounts. Check if your bank is supported at https://plaid.com/institutions. Currently supports US banks and credit cards only. SUPPORT Questions or feedback? Reach us anytime at support@cashews.finance. Learn more: https://cashews.finance Terms of Service: https://cashews.finance/terms-and-conditions Privacy Policy: https://cashews.finance/privacy-policy

About

Envelope Budget

Effortlessly manage your finances with an envelope budgeting system. Link accounts, track spending, and fund categories with ease. Gain clarity on your financial standing with insightful reports and a user-friendly interface.

Highlights
  • Envelope budgeting system
  • Unlimited spending categories
  • Track expenses, income, debt, and bills
  • Automatic bank syncing via Plaid
  • Net worth tracking
  • Spending trend reports
Features
Read full description

Kualia makes envelope budgeting effortless. Whether you're just getting started or switching from another app, you can set up your budget, link your accounts, and start tracking spending in minutes. Every dollar gets a purpose. Fund your categories with a single tap, review imported transactions with a swipe, and always know exactly where you stand financially. =============== What Users Are Saying "For those familiar with an envelope budget, or zero-based budget, this app really nails it. For a fraction of the price of competitors, it offers pretty much the same functionality, it's being actively developed, and the developers are super friendly and really prioritize user feedback." "I've spent a long time and numerous app downloads to find a budget app that meets all my needs and this is the one! This app is so easy to use and covers every single aspect that I am looking for." =============== Why Kualia? Budget With Confidence Built around the envelope method, Kualia turns budgeting from a chore into a daily habit you can actually keep up with. Create unlimited categories to organize your spending Set weekly, monthly, or yearly targets for each category Track expenses, income, debt, and recurring bills in one place Fund your entire budget with a single tap Bank Syncing Through Plaid Link your accounts and let transactions flow in automatically. Connect to thousands of financial institutions Review and categorize imported transactions one by one Enter transactions manually whenever you prefer Reports That Actually Help See the full picture of your finances without digging through spreadsheets. Track your net worth over time View monthly spending trends and top categories Reports classify transactions as inflows or outflows based on their net effect Spending breakdowns across savings, checking, and credit accounts Designed to Be Fast Kualia is built for speed. Budgeting a full list of categories, reviewing transactions, swiping through your day -- it all feels snappy and responsive. No lag, no waiting. Built by an Indie Developer Kualia is built and maintained by a solo developer who reads every piece of feedback. This isn't a faceless corporation. If you have a question, you'll hear back from the person who actually builds the app. =============== Subscription Kualia runs on a simple subscription with no ads, ever. 7-day free trial to explore everything No free tier with locked features. Everyone gets the full app. Subscriptions renew automatically unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the billing cycle. Any unused portion of the free trial is forfeited upon subscribing. Take control of your money with Kualia. Terms of Use: https://kualia.com/terms-of-service Privacy Policy: https://kualia.com/privacy

Screenshots

Cashews4 screens
Envelope Budget4 screens

Verdict

The call

Cashews and Envelope Budget both sit at 4.5 stars, but that hides the real split: 90% of Envelope Budget's written reviews are positive against 50% of Cashews's. Cashews's advantage is iOS requirement (15.0 vs 18.0). On price, rating, ratings volume and update cadence 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. Cashews sells 9 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month and Envelope Budget sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.5 for Cashews against 4.6 for Envelope Budget. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 70 and 47 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 50% of Cashews's written reviews are positive against 90% of Envelope Budget's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Cashews ships an update every 3 days, Envelope Budget every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on October 14, 2026 and October 21, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Cashews versus Envelope Budget: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCashewsEnvelope Budget
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (70 ratings)4.6 (47 ratings) — better
Positive reviews50.0% of reviews89.7% of reviews — better
Number of ratings70 — better47
Update frequencyEvery 3 days — betterEvery 4 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationSubscriptionSubscription
DevicesiPhone, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS15.0 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size74 MB45 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperCashews Finance LLCKualia, Inc.

Customer experience

Cashews

All ratings70 ratings
Positive87.1%
Neutral5.7%
Negative7.1%
Written reviews10 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral10.0%
Negative40.0%

Envelope Budget

All ratings47 ratings
Positive89.4%
Neutral0.0%
Negative10.6%
Written reviews29 reviews
Positive89.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative10.3%

In-app purchases

9 purchases

Cashews

Subscriptions9
  • Cashews Finance Monthly14 Days trial$3.991 Month
  • Monthly3 Days trial$5.991 Month
  • Monthly7 Days trial$8.991 Month
Show 6 more
  • Quarterly$13.493 Months
  • Quarterly14 Days trial$19.993 Months
  • Cashews Finance Annual14 Days trial$39.991 Year
  • Yearly3 Days trial$59.991 Year
  • Yearly14 Days trial$59.991 Year
  • Yearly1 Year trial4 variants$69.991 Year
5 purchases

Envelope Budget

Subscriptions4
  • Kualia Pro Month7 Days trial$9.991 Month
  • Kualia Pro Monthly$9.991 Month
  • Kualia Pro Year7 Days trial$79.991 Year
Show 1 more
  • Kualia Pro Year$79.991 Year
One-time1
  • Kualia Pro Lifetime$199.99

Questions

Is Cashews free?
Cashews is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Envelope Budget free?
Envelope Budget is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Cashews or Envelope Budget?
Envelope Budget is rated higher. Cashews averages 4.5 out of 5 from 70 ratings, while Envelope Budget averages 4.6 from 47 ratings.
Do Cashews or Envelope Budget have ads?
Neither Cashews nor Envelope Budget shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Cashews or Envelope Budget?
Cashews ships an update every 3 days, and Envelope Budget every 4 days. Most recently, Cashews was updated on October 14, 2026 and Envelope Budget on October 21, 2026.

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