Comparison

Checkbook vs Balance Guide Lite

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

Head to head
About

Checkbook

Manage your daily finances with this app, tracking credit card charges, cash expenditures, and more. It offers multiple accounts, recurring transactions, fund transfers, and detailed reports with graphs. Easily search and export your financial data.

Highlights
  • Multiple account tracking
  • Recurring transaction saving
  • Fund transfers between accounts
  • Export data in CSV, QIF, HTML
  • Calendar view of transactions
  • Reports and charts for expenses/income
  • Passcode protection
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

An easy & quick way to manage your daily finances, Checkbook keeps track of your credit card charges, cash expenditures...etc. With the Checkbook application, it can totally replace your paper checkbook. You can create multiple accounts, save recurring transactions, transfer funds, view reports & graphs, export data...etc. You can even search the transaction by crossing your finger on the calendar! All details of the Checkbook are well designed to provide an excellent experience. Designed and developed by polycents! FEATURES ※Export in CSV, QIF & HTML Formats -Export your transactions by email for use of desktop applications such as Excel, Quicken...etc. ※Calendar -Show all your monthly transactions as points on the calendar. -Filter transactions by tapping a date or selecting multiple dates on the calendar. ※Recurring Transactions -Save a transaction to be used repeatedly(daily, weekly, 2 weeks, monthly, tire monthly), without retyping all the details. ※Multiple Accounts -Track as many accounts as you need. ※Categories -Supports multiple categories with beautiful icons to choose from. ※Payee & Note -All the details you need to keep track of your transactions are including. ※Search -Quickly search for transactions by dates, name, payee, and category. -Search and edit transactions on the same screen. ※Transfer -Transfer funds from one account to another. ※Reconcile Transactions -Reconcile your transactions by editing cleared/un-cleared status ※Reports & Charts -Review all your expenses & income by category or account with beautiful graphs and reports. -Supports both bar and pie charts. -You can set the time period to daily, weekly, monthly & yearly. ※Passcode -Protects your private information. ※Currency -Supports multiple currencies. ※Elegant, Powerful & User-friendly interface # Subscription Details # - Monthly and annual subscriptions are available. - Payment will be charged to your iTunes account at confirmation of purchase. - Your subscription will automatically renew unless auto-renew is disabled at least 24 hours before the end of the current subscription period. - Automatic renewals will be charged at the same price you were originally charged for the subscription. - Subscriptions can be managed by going to Account Settings on the App Store after purchase. Terms of Use: https://www.iubenda.com/terms-and-conditions/42835851 Privacy Policy: https://www.iubenda.com/privacy-policy/42835851 Developer website:https://www.polycents.com If you have any problems or suggestions please send a mail to checkbook@appxy.com, you will get the response in a short time.

About

Balance Guide Lite

Easily manage your finances and plan your budget. This app helps you track your account balance, upcoming bills, and spending habits. It offers forecasting for future finances and allows for quick correction of your balance without needing to enter every transaction.

Highlights
  • Dark mode
  • Recurring transaction setup
  • Financial forecasting
  • Pie charts and graphs
  • Customizable categories
  • PIN security
Features
Read full description

HOW MUCH MONEY WILL YOU SAVE ? A guide to your account balance, simple to use and not aimed at accountants. Makes it easy to plan a budget and see the status of your account with upcoming bills and see where your money is going. With Balance Guide you can quickly setup your recurring bills and deposits and produce a forecast of your finances for the months ahead. Later, you don't have to worry about entering all your transactions from your bank statement with the added bonus that you can easily correct your balance at any time. FEATURES - Dark mode - NEW - Multiple Accounts, transfer between account (ONLY AVAILABLE ONCE UPGRADED) - Setup recurring transactions for forecasting - Forecast calendar (ONLY AVAILABLE ONCE UPGRADED) - Now includes optimisation for iPhone X, XR and XS Max. - Clear / light colour scheme - All accounts summary information (not available for iPhone 4s / ONLY AVAILABLE ONCE UPGRADED) - Pie charts / graphs to show your financial status - Backup / Restore with Dropbox (ONLY AVAILABLE ONCE UPGRADED) - Simple customisable of categories to group your transactions e.g. "Utility Bills" - Tutorial / walk through showing you how to get started - Help pages, if you need to read about functionality in more depth - Correct balance at any time, so you don't need to enter all your transactions - PIN security, to protect your information from prying eyes REVIEWS This App is so good! ***** Really easy to use, looked at loads of others, but this has all you need. Your income v outgoings and lets you know where you stand on a monthly basis! I will and do recommend! Great App. Excellent tool ! ***** I have been looking for a handy app to organise my finances for ages. This is simple to use & very helpful when planning ahead. Would highly recommend Checkout our Demo video - http://youtu.be/3NrxZE_yFag SUPPORT Balance Guide uses the default currency set on your device, so there’s no complicated setup / installation. If you need help there are several methods available. Firstly, the tutorial, which is a kind of walkthrough. There’s also helps pages, providing in depth information. How to ask questions and contact us - - Use the contact form via my website, I'm happy to help. - Follow the app on twitter http://twitter.com/BalanceGuideApp - Like the app on facebook https://www.facebook.com/balanceguideapp NOTE: I'm unable to respond to bug reports left in reviews. Each new version wipes out all old reviews so please take the time to leave a review for the new version. As it’s not possible to reply to reviews on the app store, please use the new feedback features to tell us what you think. You can also join our beta programme and gain access to new features early.

Screenshots

Checkbook4 screens
Balance Guide Lite4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is monetization model: Balance Guide Lite at free with in-app purchases against Checkbook's subscription. Balance Guide Lite also leads on ads (none vs shown) and review sentiment (88% vs 56%). Checkbook's advantage is ratings volume (14K vs 12) and update cadence (every 6 weeks vs every 5 months). On price, rating, in-app purchases and device support 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. Checkbook sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month and Balance Guide Lite sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.3 for Checkbook against 4.2 for Balance Guide Lite. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Checkbook has 14K ratings behind it against 12, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 56% of Checkbook's written reviews are positive against 88% of Balance Guide Lite's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Checkbook ships an update every 6 weeks, Balance Guide Lite every 5 months. The most recent releases landed on October 19, 2026 and October 1, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
Checkbook versus Balance Guide Lite: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCheckbookBalance Guide Lite
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.3 (14K ratings) — better4.2 (12 ratings)
Positive reviews55.7% of reviews88.2% of reviews — better
Number of ratings14K — better12
Update frequencyEvery 6 weeks — betterEvery 5 months
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationSubscriptionFree with in-app purchases — better
Best chart rank#129 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS13.012.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size122 MB70 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperBeesoft AppsMindwarp Consultancy Ltd

Customer experience

Checkbook

All ratings14,252 ratings
Positive82.0%
Neutral6.3%
Negative11.7%
Written reviews776 reviews
Positive55.7%
Neutral9.4%
Negative34.9%

Balance Guide Lite

All ratings12 ratings
Positive66.7%
Neutral25.0%
Negative8.3%
Written reviews34 reviews
Positive88.2%
Neutral11.8%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Checkbook

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Account balances not updating correctly
  • Transactions disappearing or duplicating
  • Sync issues between devices
  • App crashes or freezes after updates

Requested features

5 requests
  • Custom categories and icons
  • Budgeting and forecasting tools
  • Ability to attach receipts/photos
  • Improved account organization options
  • Automatic balance reconciliation

Balance Guide Lite

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

5 purchases

Checkbook

Subscriptions4
  • Premium - 1 Month$0.991 Month
  • Premium - 1 Year7 Days trial$7.991 Year
  • Premium - 1 Year7 Days trial$8.991 Year
Show 1 more
  • Premium - 1 Year7 Days trial$9.991 Year
One-time1
  • Upgrade to Checkbook Pro$9.99
1 purchases

Balance Guide Lite

One-time1
  • No Ads, Multiple Accounts + Dropbox backup$2.99

Questions

Is Checkbook free?
Checkbook is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Balance Guide Lite free?
Balance Guide Lite is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Checkbook or Balance Guide Lite?
Checkbook is rated higher. Checkbook averages 4.3 out of 5 from 14K ratings, while Balance Guide Lite averages 4.2 from 12 ratings.
Do Checkbook or Balance Guide Lite have ads?
Checkbook shows ads; Balance Guide Lite does not.
Which is updated more often, Checkbook or Balance Guide Lite?
Checkbook ships an update every 6 weeks, and Balance Guide Lite every 5 months. Most recently, Checkbook was updated on October 19, 2026 and Balance Guide Lite on October 1, 2026.

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