# iSpending vs Budget Planner

The clearest difference is monetization model: iSpending at free with in-app purchases against Budget Planner's subscription. Budget Planner's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 6 months). On price, rating, review sentiment and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. iSpending sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month and Budget Planner sells 9 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per 7 days. 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 iSpending against 4.3 for Budget Planner. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 634 and 2.3K respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 69% of iSpending's written reviews are positive against 66% of Budget Planner's.

iSpending ships an update every 6 months, Budget Planner every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 26, 2026 and September 21, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | iSpending | Budget Planner |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.4 (634 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ispending-expense-tracker/id484100875/reviews)** | [4.3 (2.3K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/budget-planner-budget-bills/id1300458193/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | 634 | **2.3K** |
| Positive reviews | **68.9% of reviews** | 66.4% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | Yes | **No** |
| Update frequency | Every 6 months | **Every 3 weeks** |
| Monetization | **Free with in-app purchases** | Subscription |
| Size | 19 MB | 25 MB |
| Requires iOS | **12.0** | 13.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Hana Mobile](https://appshunter.io/developer/306576922) | [Pretty View LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/1258567367) |

## What reviewers say

### iSpending

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ispending-expense-tracker/id484100875)

Track your income and expenses with this free personal finance app. Organize transactions by category, view instant summaries, and analyze spending patterns with detailed graphs. Secure your data with passcode and Face ID.

**Highlights:** Categorize income and expenses, Customizable spending categories, Instant daily, weekly, monthly, yearly summaries, Detailed graph reports, Transaction search, Passcode and Face ID lock, iCloud sync

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

**In-app purchases (2)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| iSpending Premium | $2.99 | per month |
| iSpending Premium | $29.99 | per year |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Easy to use
- 💰 Helps organize finances
- 📊 Provides good visibility into spending
- 🚀 Simple and straightforward

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🔒 Limited functionality without paid upgrade
- 🐛 Crashes and bugs reported
- 🗓️ Lack of customization options (categories, date range)
- 💻 No cross-device sync or backup

**Reported bugs**

- Transactions not displaying properly
- Data loss after app updates
- Inability to access past year's data

**Requested features**

- Recurring transaction options
- Ability to edit/delete past entries
- More detailed reporting and analytics
- Multi-currency support
- Sync across devices


### Budget Planner

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/budget-planner-budget-bills/id1300458193)

Manage your finances with this practical app. Track spending, organize bills, and create budgets to improve your financial health. Reduce stress and gain more free time by taking control of your money.

**Highlights:** Create custom budgets, Add income and expenses easily, Track spending, Organize bills and tips, Learn to save money, Balance personal finances

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (9)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Budget Planner Weekly Pack | $2.99 | per 7 days |
| Weekly Subscription | $2.99 | per 7 days |
| Budget Monthly Subscription | $3.99 | per month |
| Special Monthly Subscription | $8.99 | per month |
| Budget Planner Monthly Pack | $9.99 | per month |
| Budget Mid Year Subscription | $24.99 | per 6 months |
| Yearly Subscription | $49.99 | per year |
| Budget Planner yearly speci | $49.99 | per year |
| Special Yearly Subscriptiom | $49.99 | per year |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Easy to use
- 🚀 Helpful for budgeting
- 💡 Useful for tracking expenses
- 🔒 Secure app
- 🤩 Great user interface

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 App crashes frequently
- 💰 Subscription-based model
- 🔒 Limited functionality without subscription
- 🤖 Annoying pop-ups and ads
- 🤷‍♀️ Unreliable syncing with accounts

**Reported bugs**

- Cannot save changes to expenses
- Login issues and connectivity problems
- Incorrect display of past income data

**Requested features**

- Fortnightly budget option
- Ability to add custom expense categories
- More detailed analytics and reporting
- Horizontal/vertical view options
- Accessibility improvements for blind users


## Frequently asked questions

### Is iSpending free?

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

### Is Budget Planner free?

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

### Which has better reviews, iSpending or Budget Planner?

iSpending is rated higher. iSpending averages 4.4 out of 5 from 634 ratings, while Budget Planner averages 4.3 from 2.3K ratings.

### Do iSpending or Budget Planner have ads?

iSpending shows ads; Budget Planner does not.

### Which is updated more often, iSpending or Budget Planner?

iSpending ships an update every 6 months, and Budget Planner every 3 weeks. Most recently, iSpending was updated on September 26, 2026 and Budget Planner on September 21, 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.*