Comparison

Debts vs PocketGuard

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

Head to head
About

Debts

This app helps you manage and pay off your debts. Track payments, get reminders, and use a built-in estimator to plan your payoff strategy, including the debt snowball method. Export reports and manage multiple currencies.

Highlights
  • Track debt and payments
  • Payment schedule and reminders
  • Debt payoff estimator
  • Debt snowball method support
  • Export reports (CSV/PDF)
  • Multi-currency support
Currently charting
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Debts is a companion app for tracking debt on your road to financial freedom. Track what you owe, record payments and spending, get reminders from your payment schedule, and plan your payoff with the built-in estimator. Record detailed payment and spending transactions for accurate balances. A clear progress indicator keeps your payoff momentum going, while the payment schedule highlights upcoming due dates at a glance. Use the Payoff Plan to estimate total interest and your payoff date. Debts includes the popular debt snowball method, taught and endorsed by many financial professionals: you focus on one debt at a time in a chosen payoff order, and once a debt is cleared, its payment amount “snowballs” to the next. FEATURES * Payment progress indicators for easy tracking and motivation * Record payment and spending transactions for accurate balances * Quick view of upcoming scheduled payments * Timely due-date reminders with notifications * Payoff Plan estimator to support your payoff planning * Built-in debt snowball method for estimates and planning * Export reports with charts in CSV/PDF and open in third-party apps (e.g., Numbers, Dropbox) * Supports multiple currencies based on your device region settings (USD, EUR, JPY, and more) Debts is a universal app for iPhone and iPad. No sign-up. No ads. Your data stays on your device.

About

PocketGuard

This app simplifies personal finance by automatically tracking expenses and bills. It helps you understand your disposable income, analyze spending habits, and manage subscriptions to save money. Set financial goals and create debt-payoff plans with smart algorithms.

Highlights
  • Automatic expense tracking
  • Bill and subscription monitoring
  • Disposable income calculation
  • Spending habit analysis
  • Financial goal setting
  • Debt-payoff plan creation
Features
Currently charting
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PocketGuard is an award-winning Budget App, Spending Tracker & Money Manager trusted by 1.7M+ users. Plan your budget, track expenses, manage bills, and know what’s safe to spend. RECOGNIZED AMONG THE BEST BUDGET APPS OF 2026 • Forbes Advisor — Best for Managing Recurring Expenses • Kiplinger — Best for Debt Management • NerdWallet — Featured among The Best Budget Apps for 2026 • Experian & Investopedia — Featured among the Best Budgeting Apps of 2026 “PocketGuard is the best budgeting app for tracking spending. PocketGuard makes it easy for users to analyze their spending habits through custom reports and allows them to create a fully customized budget and a personalized debt payoff schedule.”— Forbes Always Know What's in Your Pocket • Track all your income and expenses • Safe-to-spend amount after bills, goals, and essentials • How much you can safely contribute, save, invest Budgeting Features • Custom categories • Budget limits • Overspending prevention • Rollover budgets • Spending Prediction Spending Pace — Predict Your Spending Spending Pace analyzes your spending habits to predict whether you’ll stay on budget before the month ends. Choose your budgeting method • Zero-based budgeting • Envelope budgeting • 50/30/20 budget rule • Build your own custom budgeting system. Smart Transaction Rules — Automatic Expense Categorization • Detect merchant names, keywords, amounts, categories, and accounts • Rename merchants, fix categories, and add hashtags for tracking • Apply rules to every new transaction Spending Insight & Monthly Budget Review • Visual spending reports • Categories, budgets, bills and merchant breakdowns • Month-to-month budget • Spending trend analysis Bills organizer and Subscription manager Connect your bank and PocketGuard automatically identifies bills, subscriptions, and recurring payments. • Never miss a due date • Spot and cancel forgotten subscriptions • Lower bills using a built-in bill negotiation service Build Your Debt-Payoff Plan PocketGuard builds a personalized debt payoff plan based on your balances and repayment strategy, helping you reduce interest costs, see your debt-free date, and track every payment along the way. Bank-Level Security Your data is protected with 256-bit SSL encryption, biometric login (Touch ID & Face ID), PIN codes, and industry-standard privacy practices. FAQ You need a budget to track every dollar? PocketGuard connects to your bank accounts via secure data connectors (Plaid, Finicity, Salt Edge, Apple Wallet), automatically categorizes transactions, identifies bills and subscriptions, and calculates leftover which you can contribute to any budgeting category or spend guilt-free, setup a goal, save or invest. Which budgeting methods are supported? PocketGuard is a category budgeting but the app lets you budget your way. Use zero-based budgeting, envelope budgeting, the 50/30/20 rule, or create your own custom budget — without being locked into one budgeting method. Who is PocketGuard best for? Anyone who wants to plan a budget, track spending, stop overspending, pay off debt, manage subscriptions or build savings. Is it safe to connect my bank? Yes. PocketGuard uses 256-bit SSL encryption, biometric login, PIN protection, and MFA. Your credentials are never stored — read-only access only. Which countries and banks are supported? PocketGuard Budget App connects to financial institutions in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Can I use PocketGuard without connecting to a bank? Yes. You can add transactions manually or manage cash accounts. PocketGuard Plus Subscription Start a 7-day free trial and choose a plan: Monthly — $12.99 Annual — $74.99. Prices may vary by region. Subscriptions renew automatically unless canceled at least 24 hours before renewal. Any unused portion of a free trial is forfeited once a subscription is purchased. Privacy Policy: https://pocketguard.com/privacy/. Terms of Use: https://pocketguard.com/terms/.

Screenshots

Debts4 screens
PocketGuard4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: PocketGuard at Free against Debts's $2.99. PocketGuard also leads on update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 5 months). Debts's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 14) and ads (none vs shown). On chart position and device support 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

PocketGuard is free to download; Debts costs $2.99 up front. PocketGuard sells 11 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per 7 days. Debts asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Debts ships an update every 5 months, PocketGuard every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 27, 2026 and October 26, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
Debts versus PocketGuard: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDebtsPocketGuard
Price$2.99Free — better
Rating—4.6 (7.7K ratings) — better
Positive reviews66.7% of reviews — better38.7% of reviews
Number of ratings—7.7K — better
Update frequencyEvery 5 monthsEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFree with in-app purchases — better
Best chart rank#189#69 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, Apple Watch
Requires iOS14.1 — better16.0
Further details — not scored
Size3 MB164 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperCooplaPocketGuard, Inc.

Customer experience

Debts

Written reviews24 reviews
Positive66.7%
Neutral4.2%
Negative29.2%

PocketGuard

All ratings7,674 ratings
Positive90.5%
Neutral3.6%
Negative5.9%
Written reviews349 reviews
Positive38.7%
Neutral11.5%
Negative49.9%

Bugs and requests

Debts

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

PocketGuard

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Inconsistent transaction syncing and labeling
  • Inability to delete or manage connected accounts
  • Budgeting data disappearing or not updating properly

Requested features

5 requests
  • Ability to carry over unspent budget to next month
  • More advanced reporting and analytics
  • Light/dark mode theme options
  • Improved transaction categorization and learning
  • Support for multiple users/family budgeting

In-app purchases

None

Debts

No in-app purchases

11 purchases

PocketGuard

Subscriptions10
  • Weekly offer with 7 day trial7 Days trial$2.997 Days
  • PocketGuard Plus3 variants$4.991 Month
  • Monthly subscription$4.991 Month
Show 7 more
  • PocketGuard Plus7 Days trial$7.991 Month
  • Monthly subscription$7.991 Month
  • Monthly Subscriptions7 Days trial$12.991 Month
  • Monthly Subscription$12.991 Month
  • PocketGuard Plus7 Days trial$24.991 Year
  • PocketGuard Plus$34.991 Year
  • Yearly Subscription7 Days trial$74.991 Year
One-time1
  • Lifetime Membership$79.99

Questions

Is Debts free?
Debts costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is PocketGuard free?
PocketGuard is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Debts or PocketGuard have ads?
PocketGuard shows ads; Debts does not.
Which is updated more often, Debts or PocketGuard?
Debts ships an update every 5 months, and PocketGuard every 3 weeks. Most recently, Debts was updated on October 27, 2026 and PocketGuard on October 26, 2026.
Which is more popular, Debts or PocketGuard?
Debts currently peaks at #189 in the App Store charts, and PocketGuard at #69. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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