IRS vs Build a Budget
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
IRS
Access your IRS account securely from your mobile device to view your balance, make payments, and check your refund status. You can also access tax records, view notices, and manage your profile. Guest access allows checking refunds and finding tax preparation assistance.
- Secure account sign-in
- View account balance
- Make payments
- Check refund status
- Access tax records
- View notices and letters
- Opt-in to email notifications
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Use the same secure sign-in you already use on IRS.gov to access your account anytime, anywhere from your mobile device. Sign in to your account on the app: - View account balance - Make payments - Check refund and amended return status - Access tax records - View notices and letters - Opt in to email notifications - Manage your profile - And more Use the app without signing in: Check your refund status, make a guest payment, find free tax preparation assistance, sign up for helpful tax tips, and follow the latest news from the IRS.
Build a Budget
Manually log income and expenses quickly with customizable categories and recurring transaction schedules. Automate tracking with Apple Shortcuts for a faster financial overview.
- Manual income and expense logging
- Customizable categories
- Recurring transaction scheduling
- Apple Shortcuts automation
- Quick transaction entry
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Track Everything, Your Way Log income and expenses manually in seconds. Add an amount, pick a category, jot a quick note, and you're done. Mark transactions as recurring - weekly, monthly, every 3 weeks, whatever fits your life - and Build a Budget keeps track of the schedule for you. Highly customizable categories and schedules makes tracking your expenses easy. Build automations using Apple Shortcuts to make the process even faster.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: Build a Budget at every 10 days against IRS's every 3 months. Build a Budget also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.6). IRS's advantage is ratings volume (14K vs 1) and chart position (#77 vs unranked). 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Build a Budget holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: IRS has 14K ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.
IRS ships an update every 3 months, Build a Budget every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on November 11, 2026 and November 10, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | IRS | Build a Budget |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.6 (14K ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 27.8% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 14K — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | Every 10 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Best chart rank | #77 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 16.4 — better | 26.5 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 40 MB | 6 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Internal Revenue Service | ALEXANDER KALMAN DUNN |
Customer experience
IRS
Build a Budget
Bugs and requests
IRS
Reported bugs
4 issues- Login/authentication problems
- Incorrect refund information displayed
- Inability to check status after multiple attempts
- Lack of compatibility with older devices
Requested features
4 requests- Ability to view tax transcripts
- Improved payment scheduling options
- Notifications for refund status changes
- Expanded historical data access
Build a Budget
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
IRS
No in-app purchases
Build a Budget
No in-app purchases
