# Balance Guide vs Spending Tracker

The clearest difference is price: Spending Tracker at Free against Balance Guide's $2.99. Spending Tracker also leads on ratings volume (19K vs 15) and rating (4.8 vs 4.5). Balance Guide's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and ads (none vs shown). On review sentiment there is nothing between them.

Spending Tracker is free to download; Balance Guide costs $2.99 up front. Spending Tracker sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Balance Guide asks for nothing beyond the download.

Spending Tracker holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Spending Tracker has 19K ratings behind it against 15, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 87% of Balance Guide's written reviews are positive against 95% of Spending Tracker's.

Balance Guide ships an update monthly, Spending Tracker every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on September 20, 2026 and September 24, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Balance Guide | Spending Tracker |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | $2.99 | **Free** |
| Rating | [4.5 (15 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/balance-guide-bills-forecast/id427557586/reviews) | **[4.8 (19K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/spending-tracker/id548615579/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | 15 | **19K** |
| Positive reviews | 86.7% of reviews | **94.6% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | **No** | Yes |
| Ads | **No** | Yes |
| Update frequency | **Monthly** | Every 2 months |
| Monetization | **Free** | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 31 MB | 50 MB |
| Requires iOS | **12.0** | 15.5 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | **iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac, Apple Watch** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Mindwarp Consultancy Ltd](https://appshunter.io/developer/379259897) | [MH Riley Ltd](https://appshunter.io/developer/409695800) |

## What reviewers say

### Balance Guide

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/balance-guide-bills-forecast/id427557586)

This app helps you manage your money by tracking expenses, forecasting bills, and visualizing your financial status. It offers features like multiple account management, recurring transactions, and customizable categories to simplify budgeting and financial planning.

**Highlights:** Multiple account management, Recurring transaction setup, Visual financial overview, Customizable expense categories, PIN security, Instant balance corrections

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Easy to use interface
- 📈 Excellent forecasting capabilities
- 🧮 Manages multiple accounts
- 💰 Helps control finances
- 📊 Clear graphs and visualizations

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Forecast graph needs EOD Balance
- 🐛 No confidentiality statement for support
- 🐛 Cannot change payments in forecast based on budget/wages
- 🐛 Cannot list all months events, only from today
- 🐛 Balance goes mad since Jan 19

**Reported bugs**

- Balance goes mad since Jan 19
- Change of year blip
- New version won't let correct balance
- Lost half of stuff in new version
- Useless now because it doesn't work

**Requested features**

- Forecast graph to report on EOD Balance instead of Start Balance
- Confidentiality statement for support requests
- Option to change payments based on budget/wages
- Ability to list all months events, not just from today
- Notification before planned transaction is overdue


### Spending Tracker

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/spending-tracker/id548615579)

Easily track your expenses and income to gain control over your finances. Set budgets, view spending summaries, and generate reports with interactive charts. Take the first step towards saving money by understanding where your money goes.

**Highlights:** Simple and intuitive interface, Flexible time period tracking (Weekly, Monthly, Yearly), Budget mode with carry-over, Summary view of spending progress, Log expenses and income, Editable spending and income categories, Interactive charts and reports

**Features:** Family Sharing, Apple Watch app

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Pro Upgrade | $2.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Easy to use
- 📊 Helpful reports and charts
- 💰 One-time fee for premium features
- 🔁 Recurring transactions
- 🗂️ Multiple accounts and categories

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Occasional syncing issues
- 🔢 Lack of fortnightly budget option
- 🗂️ Difficulty deleting unused categories
- 💰 Paid upgrade required for some features
- 📈 Limited budget tracking within categories

**Reported bugs**

- Transactions sometimes entered in wrong order
- Backup and restore functionality not always reliable

**Requested features**

- Add ability to split transactions into multiple categories
- Incorporate currency conversion and exchange rates
- Allow family/shared account access and updates
- Implement a 'Debt' category to track loan payments
- Add option to take photos of receipts and attach to transactions


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Balance Guide free?

Balance Guide costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Spending Tracker free?

Spending Tracker is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Balance Guide or Spending Tracker?

Spending Tracker is rated higher. Balance Guide averages 4.5 out of 5 from 15 ratings, while Spending Tracker averages 4.8 from 19K ratings.

### Do Balance Guide or Spending Tracker have ads?

Spending Tracker shows ads; Balance Guide does not.

### Which is updated more often, Balance Guide or Spending Tracker?

Balance Guide ships an update monthly, and Spending Tracker every 2 months. Most recently, Balance Guide was updated on September 20, 2026 and Spending Tracker on September 24, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*