Comparison

Goodbudget Budget Planner vs SUM+= Simple Expense Tracker

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

Head to head
About

Goodbudget Budget Planner

This personal finance app helps you plan your budget, track expenses, and manage debt using a virtual envelope system. Share your financial data with others across multiple devices and access insightful reports to understand your spending habits.

Highlights
  • Virtual envelope budgeting system
  • Shared budgets for couples and families
  • Cross-device synchronization (iOS, Android, Web)
  • Insightful spending and debt reports
  • Transaction scheduling
  • CSV transaction export
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

Goodbudget is a personal finance app perfect for budget planning, debt tracking, and money management. Share your budget and data across multiple phones (and the web!). MANAGE MONEY WITH PEOPLE YOU LOVE Goodbudget is perfect for sharing a budget with a spouse, family member, or friend because your budget is backed up. Share your budget across multiple devices including iPhones, other smartphones, and the web. * Transactions get backed up to the cloud and are accessible from other devices, including Goodbudget's web app! * Stay on the same page about finances with those close to you * Your data is automatically and securely backed up to Goodbudget's website * Download transactions to CSV (on website) INSIGHTFUL REPORTS Goodbudget helps you make sense of your budgeting and spending with in-app reports. * Know how to modify your budget after analyzing reports * Spending by envelope report (cool-looking pie chart!) * Income vs spending report * Debt progress report (track your payoff!) * Even more reports on the web A PROVEN SYSTEM Goodbudget is based on the envelope budgeting method. But with no physical envelopes...only virtual envelopes! * Check envelopes balances (aka how much you have left to spend) while you're on-the-go * Add transactions and track expenses easily on the go * Use the proven cash envelope budgeting method * Track your bank balances in addition to envelope balances * Pay off debt and manage payments * Live within your means * Schedule transactions and automatically fill envelopes Ad-free, Free Forever version includes 10 regular envelopes & 10 annual envelopes. Use envelope budgeting to plan your spending, not just track it! ================================ SUBSCRIBERS GET MORE FEATURES! ================================ * Unlimited Envelopes AND Accounts * Automatic Bank Sync * 5 devices for sharing * 7 years of transaction history * Personal and friendly email support Subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24-hours before the end of the current period. Payment will be charged to iTunes Account at confirmation of purchase. Account will be charged for renewal within 24-hours prior to the end of the current period, and identify the cost of the renewal. Subscriptions may be managed by the user and auto-renewal may be turned off by going to the user's Account Settings after purchase. If you're looking to track where your money goes, plan your spending, or create a budget that works, try us out! Goodbudget: Budget well. Live life. Do Good. Features, bugs? Please email us at support@goodbudget.com! We're happy to help! ** Leading personal finance app downloaded over 2,000,000 times AND previously featured by Apple, The New York Times, Forbes, CNET, LifeTime TV, The Boston Globe, and Lifehacker **

About

SUM+= Simple Expense Tracker

This finance app simplifies expense tracking with AI assistance, allowing for quick data entry and powerful analysis through large language models. It prioritizes user control and privacy with local data storage and a minimalist design.

Highlights
  • AI-assisted data entry
  • LLM analysis and forecasting
  • Minimalist and beautiful design
  • Local data storage and privacy
  • User-controlled database
  • Subscription options with free trial
Features
Read full description

There are hundreds of expense tracker apps and they all do more or less the same thing. But oddly enough, not a single one suited my needs, so I developed my own. Through small but targeted adjustments, I've developed the app to become my preferred solution: • Control stays with the user while data entry is greatly simplified: The time between "open app" and "entry saved" has been reduced to a minimum. AI can support this process so that in many cases you wouldn't even need to open the app • AI analysis through LLMs: Instead of developing custom analysis logic, the app prepares your data so it can be used directly in Large Language Models like ChatGPT or Claude: for analysis, forecasts and recommendations • Minimalist design: The app is designed to look beautiful and works without distracting extras • Full control & privacy: No login, no account. Data stays locally on your device. You have complete control over your own database. If you want to share your data with an AI, you decide that yourself Financial barriers shouldn't stand in the way of your personal financial planning with Sum. Contact us for individual solutions via the support form. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Goodbudget Budget Planner4 screens
SUM+= Simple Expense Tracker4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: SUM+= Simple Expense Tracker at 100% against Goodbudget Budget Planner's 58%. SUM+= Simple Expense Tracker also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.6) and update cadence (every 4 days vs every 3 weeks). Goodbudget Budget Planner's advantage is ratings volume (14K vs 2) and chart position (#84 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Goodbudget Budget Planner sells 8 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month and SUM+= Simple Expense Tracker sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

SUM+= Simple Expense Tracker holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Goodbudget Budget Planner has 14K ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 58% of Goodbudget Budget Planner's written reviews are positive against 100% of SUM+= Simple Expense Tracker's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Goodbudget Budget Planner ships an update every 3 weeks, SUM+= Simple Expense Tracker every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on November 11, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
Goodbudget Budget Planner versus SUM+= Simple Expense Tracker: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterGoodbudget Budget PlannerSUM+= Simple Expense Tracker
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (14K ratings)5.0 (2 ratings) — better
Positive reviews58.2% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings14K — better2
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 4 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemiumFreemium
Best chart rank#84 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS15.0 — better26.2
Further details — not scored
Size23 MB28 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperDayspring TechnologiesJonas Zimmermann

Customer experience

Goodbudget Budget Planner

All ratings13,528 ratings
Positive92.0%
Neutral3.5%
Negative4.5%
Written reviews397 reviews
Positive58.2%
Neutral9.1%
Negative32.7%

SUM+= Simple Expense Tracker

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews4 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Goodbudget Budget Planner

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Transactions not saving properly
  • Envelopes resetting or losing balances
  • Recurring income/payments not working as expected
  • Syncing issues between devices

Requested features

6 requests
  • Ability to group/organize envelopes
  • Option to reconcile transactions and mark as cleared
  • Transaction search functionality within the app
  • Customizable envelope colors or themes
  • Automatic transaction syncing from bank accounts
Show 1 more
  • More detailed reporting and analytics features

SUM+= Simple Expense Tracker

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

8 purchases

Goodbudget Budget Planner

Subscriptions8
  • Monthly Plus Plan$5.991 Month
  • Monthly Plus Plan2 variants$6.991 Month
  • Monthly Plus Plan$7.991 Month
Show 5 more
  • Monthly Premium Plan$9.991 Month
  • Annual Plus Plan$49.991 Year
  • Annual Plus Plan2 variants$59.991 Year
  • Annual Plus Plan$69.991 Year
  • Annual Premium Plan$79.991 Year
4 purchases

SUM+= Simple Expense Tracker

Subscriptions2
  • SUM Pro1 Month trial$3.991 Month
  • SUM Pro1 Month trial$22.991 Year
One-time2
  • 7-day TrialFree
  • Sum Premium$6.99

Questions

Is Goodbudget Budget Planner free?
Goodbudget Budget Planner is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is SUM+= Simple Expense Tracker free?
SUM+= Simple Expense Tracker is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Goodbudget Budget Planner or SUM+= Simple Expense Tracker?
SUM+= Simple Expense Tracker is rated higher. Goodbudget Budget Planner averages 4.6 out of 5 from 14K ratings, while SUM+= Simple Expense Tracker averages 5.0 from 2 ratings.
Do Goodbudget Budget Planner or SUM+= Simple Expense Tracker have ads?
Neither Goodbudget Budget Planner nor SUM+= Simple Expense Tracker shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Goodbudget Budget Planner or SUM+= Simple Expense Tracker?
Goodbudget Budget Planner ships an update every 3 weeks, and SUM+= Simple Expense Tracker every 4 days. Most recently, Goodbudget Budget Planner was updated on November 11, 2026 and SUM+= Simple Expense Tracker on October 31, 2026.

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