# Goodbudget Budget Planner vs SimpleSpend

The clearest difference is update cadence: SimpleSpend at every 8 days against Goodbudget Budget Planner's every 3 weeks. Goodbudget Budget Planner's advantage is chart position (#86 vs unranked) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 18.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Goodbudget Budget Planner sells 8 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month and SimpleSpend sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.29 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Goodbudget Budget Planner ships an update every 3 weeks, SimpleSpend every 8 days. The most recent releases landed on November 11, 2026 and November 9, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Goodbudget Budget Planner | SimpleSpend |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.6 (14K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/goodbudget-budget-planner/id471112395/reviews)** | — |
| Number of ratings | **14K** | — |
| Positive reviews | 58.2% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | **Every 8 days** |
| Monetization | Freemium | — |
| Best chart rank | **#86** | — |
| Size | 23 MB | 42 MB |
| Requires iOS | **15.0** | 18.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | **iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Dayspring Technologies](https://appshunter.io/developer/471112398) | [杭 李](https://appshunter.io/developer/1874468752) |

## What reviewers say

### Goodbudget Budget Planner

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/goodbudget-budget-planner/id471112395)

**Currently charting:** #86 Top Grossing · Finance (US App Store)

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:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (8)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Monthly Plus Plan | $5.99 | per month |
| Monthly Plus Plan | $6.99 | per month |
| Monthly Plus Plan | $7.99 | per month |
| Monthly Premium Plan | $9.99 | per month |
| Annual Plus Plan | $49.99 | per year |
| Annual Plus Plan | $59.99 | per year |
| Annual Plus Plan | $69.99 | per year |
| Annual Premium Plan | $79.99 | per year |

**What reviewers like**

- 💻 Excellent app for tracking and managing finances
- 🤝 Great for couples and families to manage budgets together
- 📈 Helpful envelope system and budgeting tools
- 🕰️ Ability to schedule recurring payments and income
- 🗓️ Useful for budgeting by pay period instead of monthly

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🔍 Confusing or unintuitive interface for some users
- 💰 Paid subscription seen as too expensive by some
- 🐛 Occasional bugs, crashes, and syncing issues reported
- 🔢 Limited free version with only 10 envelopes
- 🔍 Difficulty making changes to existing budgets

**Reported bugs**

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

**Requested features**

- 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


### SimpleSpend

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/simplespend-expense-tracker/id6769626633)

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Apple Watch app, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| SimpleSpend Pro | $1.29 | per month |
| SimpleSpend Pro | $7.99 | per year |
| SimpleSpend Pro | $26.90 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Goodbudget Budget Planner free?

Goodbudget Budget Planner is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is SimpleSpend free?

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

### Do Goodbudget Budget Planner or SimpleSpend have ads?

Neither Goodbudget Budget Planner nor SimpleSpend shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Goodbudget Budget Planner or SimpleSpend?

Goodbudget Budget Planner ships an update every 3 weeks, and SimpleSpend every 8 days. Most recently, Goodbudget Budget Planner was updated on November 11, 2026 and SimpleSpend on November 9, 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.*
