# Spending Tracker vs Budgeter

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Budgeter at none against Spending Tracker's 1. Budgeter also leads on ads (none vs shown) and rating (5.0 vs 4.8). Spending Tracker's advantage is ratings volume (20K vs 1) and device support (5 vs 3). On price, update cadence and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Spending Tracker sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Budgeter asks for nothing beyond the download.

Budgeter holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Spending Tracker has 20K ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

Spending Tracker ships an update every 2 months, Budgeter every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 4, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Spending Tracker | Budgeter |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.8 (20K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/spending-tracker/id548615579/reviews) | **[5.0 (1 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/budgeter-simple-and-smart/id1586203929/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **20K** | 1 |
| Positive reviews | 94.5% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | Yes | **No** |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | **Every 6 weeks** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | **Free** |
| Size | 50 MB | 6 MB |
| Requires iOS | 15.5 | **15.0** |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac, Apple Watch** | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [MH Riley Ltd](https://appshunter.io/developer/409695800) | [Ethan Andersen](https://appshunter.io/developer/1573271034) |

## What reviewers say

### Spending Tracker

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/spending-tracker/id548615579)

Easily track your expenses and income to gain control over your finances. Set budgets, view spending summaries, and generate reports with interactive charts. Take the first step towards saving money by understanding where your money goes.

**Highlights:** Simple and intuitive interface, Flexible time period tracking (Weekly, Monthly, Yearly), Budget mode with carry-over, Summary view of spending progress, Log expenses and income, Editable spending and income categories, Interactive charts and reports

**Features:** Family Sharing, Apple Watch app

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Pro Upgrade | $2.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Easy to use
- 📊 Helpful reports and charts
- 💰 One-time fee for premium features
- 🔁 Recurring transactions
- 🗂️ Multiple accounts and categories

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Occasional syncing issues
- 🔢 Lack of fortnightly budget option
- 🗂️ Difficulty deleting unused categories
- 💰 Paid upgrade required for some features
- 📈 Limited budget tracking within categories

**Reported bugs**

- Transactions sometimes entered in wrong order
- Backup and restore functionality not always reliable

**Requested features**

- Add ability to split transactions into multiple categories
- Incorporate currency conversion and exchange rates
- Allow family/shared account access and updates
- Implement a 'Debt' category to track loan payments
- Add option to take photos of receipts and attach to transactions


### Budgeter

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/budgeter-simple-and-smart/id1586203929)

This app simplifies financial tracking by consolidating multiple spreadsheets into one intuitive interface. It helps users monitor income, savings goals, recurring expenses, and daily purchases to generate personalized daily, weekly, and monthly spending budgets.

**Highlights:** Consolidates multiple spreadsheets, Tracks income and savings goals, Manages recurring expenses, Monitors daily purchases, Generates daily/weekly/monthly budgets, Promotes stress-free financial management

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Spending Tracker free?

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

### Is Budgeter free?

Budgeter is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Spending Tracker or Budgeter?

Budgeter is rated higher. Spending Tracker averages 4.8 out of 5 from 20K ratings, while Budgeter averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.

### Do Spending Tracker or Budgeter have ads?

Spending Tracker shows ads; Budgeter does not.

### Which is updated more often, Spending Tracker or Budgeter?

Spending Tracker ships an update every 2 months, and Budgeter every 6 weeks. Most recently, Spending Tracker was updated on November 4, 2026 and Budgeter on November 3, 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.*