# Monthly Expenses Lite vs Budgets

Monthly Expenses Lite and Budgets both sit at 4.4 stars, but that hides the real split: 100% of Budgets's written reviews are positive against 38% of Monthly Expenses Lite's. Budgets also leads on iOS requirement (13.0 vs 16.0). Monthly Expenses Lite's advantage is ratings volume (47 vs 3) and update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 6 weeks). On price, rating, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Monthly Expenses Lite sells 7 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month and Budgets sells 6 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.4 for Monthly Expenses Lite against 4.3 for Budgets. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Monthly Expenses Lite has 47 ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 38% of Monthly Expenses Lite's written reviews are positive against 100% of Budgets's.

Monthly Expenses Lite ships an update every 2 weeks, Budgets every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 19, 2026 and October 13, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Monthly Expenses Lite | Budgets |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.4 (47 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/monthly-expenses-lite-tracker/id455028239/reviews)** | [4.3 (3 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/budgets-expense-tracker/id1118397541/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **47** | 3 |
| Positive reviews | 38.5% of reviews | **100.0% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | Yes | Yes |
| Update frequency | **Every 2 weeks** | Every 6 weeks |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 24 MB | 12 MB |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 | **13.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Janarthanan V](https://appshunter.io/developer/330371834) | [MoneyBudgie](https://appshunter.io/developer/354069981) |

## What reviewers say

### Monthly Expenses Lite

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/monthly-expenses-lite-tracker/id455028239)

Effortlessly track daily expenses, manage budgets, and analyze spending habits with an intuitive interface. Visualize your financial patterns with a calendar view, set reminders for bills, and gain insights through detailed reports and graphs. Customize expense categories to fit your lifestyle and protect your data with backups.

**Highlights:** Calendar expense tracking, User-friendly interface, Spending reminders, Graphs and reports, Customizable categories, Data backup and iCloud sync

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (7)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Monthly Premium | $0.99 | per month |
| Quarterly Premium | $2.99 | per 3 months |
| Half-Yearly Premium | $4.99 | per 6 months |
| Yearly Premium | $7.99 | per year |
| Buy Ad Removal Pack | $2.99 | one-time |
| Backup Lite | $2.99 | one-time |
| Buy 'Backup Pro' | $3.99 | one-time |


### Budgets

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/budgets-expense-tracker/id1118397541)

Track your spending against custom budgets to avoid overspending. See how much money you have left to spend with visual displays and review your purchase history. This app helps you regain control of your finances.

**Highlights:** Create custom budgets (monthly, weekly, etc.), Log purchases against budgets, View remaining budget amounts visually, Track spending history, Secure passcode protection

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (6)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Descriptions with Purchases | $0.99 | one-time |
| Carry Over Under & Over Spend to next Period | $0.99 | one-time |
| No Ads | $1.99 | one-time |
| Transaction CSV Export, Multi-Delete & Filter | $1.99 | one-time |
| App Customisation using Themes | $1.99 | one-time |
| PRO - All Features | $4.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Monthly Expenses Lite free?

Monthly Expenses Lite is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Budgets free?

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

### Which has better reviews, Monthly Expenses Lite or Budgets?

Monthly Expenses Lite is rated higher. Monthly Expenses Lite averages 4.4 out of 5 from 47 ratings, while Budgets averages 4.3 from 3 ratings.

### Do Monthly Expenses Lite or Budgets have ads?

Both Monthly Expenses Lite and Budgets show ads.

### Which is updated more often, Monthly Expenses Lite or Budgets?

Monthly Expenses Lite ships an update every 2 weeks, and Budgets every 6 weeks. Most recently, Monthly Expenses Lite was updated on October 19, 2026 and Budgets on October 13, 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.*