Comparison

Wave Budget vs Envelope Budget App

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

Head to head
About

Wave Budget

Easily set up a monthly budget and monitor your spending to understand your remaining funds. Its minimalist design ensures quick and efficient financial management. Connect with your Apple ID for seamless cross-device synchronization.

Highlights
  • Monthly budget setup
  • Expense tracking
  • Minimalist design
  • Cross-device sync via Apple ID
  • No login required
Features
Read full description

Save money with Wave Budget! Wave Budget helps you to set up a monthly budget and keep track of your expenses. This way, you always know how much there is left for you to spend. It sounds simple, and it is! This is, why the app has this minimalistic style. Budgeting should not take more time than necessary, the simple design of Wave Budget helps you with that. You can use Wave Budget without logging in, but we recommend connecting your account with your Apple ID. This way you can manage your budget on all your devices. The app uses the standard Apple End User License Agreement: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Envelope Budget App

This app helps you manage your finances by focusing on food expenses first. It offers a simple, private way to track spending, set budgets, and build healthy financial habits one category at a time.

Highlights
  • Focus on food expenses
  • Private and local tracking
  • Simple transaction entry
  • Category budgeting
  • Integrated tip calculator
  • Bill splitter
Features
Read full description

Tuck is for anyone who finds budgeting overwhelming. It is a simple way to see where your money actually goes. Give every part of your spending its own envelope: Groceries, Rent, Coffee, Savings. Set what each one holds, log transactions as you go, and keep your month on track one envelope at a time. No bank logins, no charts to decode, no noise. EMBRACE SIMPLICITY No sign-in and no bank linking. Completely private and local to your device. Add a transaction in seconds. Create envelopes, set budgets, allow negative balances, and roll unspent money into next month. Move budgeted money between envelopes, or cash between accounts, with a tap. A calm home screen that shows exactly what is left this month. SEE YOUR MONTH Calendar, insights, and spend-by-envelope reports. Home screen and lock screen widgets. Dark mode, your choice of currency, and a Face ID or Touch ID lock. Local backups every launch and CSV export. Your data is always yours. DO MORE WITH TUCK PLUS Unlimited accounts, envelopes, and transactions. iCloud sync across your devices, and partner sharing so two people keep one budget. Recurring bills and paychecks, with gentle reminders. Beautiful Monthly Journal, Year in Review, and Statement exports as PDFs. More color palettes to make Tuck yours. Tuck Plus is available monthly, yearly, or as a one-time lifetime purchase. Everything else stays free. TUCK PLUS SUBSCRIPTION Tuck Plus is available as an auto-renewing subscription: Monthly: $3.99 per month Yearly: $29.99 per year A one-time Lifetime purchase ($49.99) is also available and does not renew. Payment is charged to your Apple Account at confirmation of purchase. The subscription renews automatically unless it is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period, and your account is charged for renewal within 24 hours before the period ends. You can manage or cancel your subscription anytime in your App Store account settings after purchase. Privacy Policy - https://lifesimulator.io/#privacypolicy Terms of Use - https://lifesimulator.io/#terms

Screenshots

Wave Budget4 screens
Envelope Budget App4 screens

Verdict

The call

Wave Budget and Envelope Budget App both sit at 4.8 stars, but that hides the real split: 100% of Wave Budget's written reviews are positive against 75% of Envelope Budget App's. Wave Budget also leads on iOS requirement (12.0 vs 17.0). 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. Wave Budget sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month and Envelope Budget App sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 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 — 4.8 for Wave Budget against 4.8 for Envelope Budget App. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 13 and 30 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 100% of Wave Budget's written reviews are positive against 75% of Envelope Budget App's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Wave Budget ships an update fortnightly, Envelope Budget App every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on October 30, 2026 and October 29, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Wave Budget versus Envelope Budget App: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterWave BudgetEnvelope Budget App
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (13 ratings) — better4.8 (30 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews — better75.0% of reviews
Number of ratings1330 — better
Update frequencyFortnightlyEvery 10 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemiumFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS12.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size55 MB18 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperStefan GallerChimpanzee, LLC

Customer experience

Wave Budget

All ratings12 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Envelope Budget App

All ratings30 ratings
Positive96.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative3.3%
Written reviews8 reviews
Positive75.0%
Neutral12.5%
Negative12.5%

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Wave Budget

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly Subscription$0.991 Month
  • Yearly Subscription$9.491 Year
3 purchases

Envelope Budget App

Subscriptions2
  • Tuck Monthly Subscription$1.991 Month
  • Tuck Yearly Subscription$12.991 Year
One-time1
  • Tuck Plus Lifetime$19.99

Questions

Is Wave Budget free?
Wave Budget is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Envelope Budget App free?
Envelope Budget App is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Wave Budget or Envelope Budget App?
Wave Budget is rated higher. Wave Budget averages 4.8 out of 5 from 13 ratings, while Envelope Budget App averages 4.8 from 30 ratings.
Do Wave Budget or Envelope Budget App have ads?
Neither Wave Budget nor Envelope Budget App shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Wave Budget or Envelope Budget App?
Wave Budget ships an update fortnightly, and Envelope Budget App every 10 days. Most recently, Wave Budget was updated on October 30, 2026 and Envelope Budget App on October 29, 2026.

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