# Spending Tracker vs Balance My Checkbook

The clearest difference is price: Spending Tracker at Free against Balance My Checkbook's $119.99. Spending Tracker also leads on ratings volume (20K vs 29) and review sentiment (95% vs 79%). Balance My Checkbook's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 2 months). On rating, in-app purchases, monetization model and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Spending Tracker is free to download; Balance My Checkbook costs $119.99 up front. Spending Tracker sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Balance My Checkbook sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $4.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for Spending Tracker against 4.8 for Balance My Checkbook. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Spending Tracker has 20K ratings behind it against 29, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 95% of Spending Tracker's written reviews are positive against 79% of Balance My Checkbook's.

Spending Tracker ships an update every 2 months, Balance My Checkbook every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 8, 2026 and November 6, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Spending Tracker | Balance My Checkbook |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | **Free** | $119.99 |
| Rating | **[4.8 (20K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/spending-tracker/id548615579/reviews)** | [4.8 (29 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/balance-my-checkbook-legacy/id652858705/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **20K** | 29 |
| Positive reviews | **94.5% of reviews** | 79.4% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | Yes | **No** |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | **Every 3 weeks** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | — | **#135** |
| Size | 50 MB | 23 MB |
| Requires iOS | 15.5 | **15.0** |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac, Apple Watch** | iPhone, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [MH Riley Ltd](https://appshunter.io/developer/409695800) | [LingsDesigns](https://appshunter.io/developer/516942489) |

## 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


### Balance My Checkbook

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/balance-my-checkbook-legacy/id652858705)

**Currently charting:** #135 Top Paid · Finance (US App Store)

Easily track your checks and balance your checkbook digitally. This app replaces your paper register with a simple interface, eliminating the need for manual calculations and ensuring you never forget your records.

**Highlights:** Digital checkbook register, Fast transaction entry, Auto-complete transactions, Schedule recurring transactions, Track cleared transactions, Transaction search and filtering, Data export with balance

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Sync for 4 Users | $4.99 | per month |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Spending Tracker free?

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

### Is Balance My Checkbook free?

Balance My Checkbook costs $119.99, and also offers in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Spending Tracker or Balance My Checkbook?

Spending Tracker is rated higher. Spending Tracker averages 4.8 out of 5 from 20K ratings, while Balance My Checkbook averages 4.8 from 29 ratings.

### Do Spending Tracker or Balance My Checkbook have ads?

Spending Tracker shows ads; Balance My Checkbook does not.

### Which is updated more often, Spending Tracker or Balance My Checkbook?

Spending Tracker ships an update every 2 months, and Balance My Checkbook every 3 weeks. Most recently, Spending Tracker was updated on November 8, 2026 and Balance My Checkbook on November 6, 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.*