Comparison

Spending Tracker vs Simple Budget

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

Head to head
About

Spending Tracker

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
Read full description

Spending Tracker is the easiest and most user friendly Personal Finance App in the store. And best of all, it's free! The simple fact is, by tracking your spending you will be able to stick to a budget and therefore SAVE MONEY. So give it a try and have instant control over your spending! *** Features *** ------------------ √ Simple and intuitive user interface - helps you track your spending quickly and easily √ Flexible Time Periods - choose to track Weekly, Monthly or Yearly √ Budget Mode - optionally set a fixed budget amount to help you meet your spending targets - carry over any remaining budget to the next period √ Summary View - overview of your current spending progress - time travel backwards and forwards in time - see your main areas of spending √ Log Expense and Income - easy and quick transaction entry - sort by date, name or amount - repeat transactions daily, weekly or monthly (Pro Upgrade required) - export transactions (Pro Upgrade required) √ Categories - editable spending and income categories - choose a quality icon for each category √ Reports - easy visualisation of where your money goes - beautiful and interactive charts - view spending grouped by category - see the history of your spending

About

Simple Budget

Manage your finances around your actual pay cycle, not a calendar. This tool simplifies budgeting by letting you allocate income into spending buckets and track expenses quickly, providing clear visibility of your available funds until your next payday.

Highlights
  • Pay cycle-based budgeting
  • Income allocation
  • Simple spending buckets
  • Fast expense logging
  • Clear remaining balance
  • Reduced mental load
Features
Read full description

Money feels harder than it should. Not because you spend too much, but because most tools force you to think too much. If you get paid weekly, fortnightly, or irregularly, traditional monthly budgeting just doesn’t fit real life. This app is built around your pay cycle, not a calendar. You plan one cycle at a time. You allocate your income clearly. You spend without constantly doing mental math. How it works Set your pay cycle and income Create simple spending buckets Allocate money in percentages or fixed amounts Log expenses in seconds See exactly what’s left until your next pay No spreadsheets No complicated categories No guilt-driven charts Why it feels different Designed for real pay cycles Built to reduce mental load Fast flows with minimal screens Clear limits without constant recalculation Works even if your expenses repeat monthly You always know: What you can spend Where your money is going What’s coming next Made for people who want clarity If monthly budgets never worked for you If you want a calmer way to manage money If you prefer planning once and adjusting gently This app is for you. # Privacy & Terms Privacy Policy: https://grow-stash-privacy-policy.vercel.app/ Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula

Screenshots

Spending Tracker4 screens
Simple Budget4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Simple Budget at none against Spending Tracker's shown. Simple Budget also leads on update cadence (every 4 days vs every 2 months) and rating (5.0 vs 4.8). Spending Tracker's advantage is ratings volume (20K vs 4) and device support (5 vs 1). On price, review sentiment, in-app purchases and monetization model 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. Spending Tracker sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Simple Budget sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Simple Budget 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 4, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 95% of Spending Tracker's written reviews are positive against 100% of Simple Budget's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Spending Tracker ships an update every 2 months, Simple Budget every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on November 9, 2026 and November 5, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Spending Tracker versus Simple Budget: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSpending TrackerSimple Budget
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (20K ratings)5.0 (4 ratings) — better
Positive reviews94.5% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings20K — better4
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 4 days — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac, Apple Watch — betteriPhone
Requires iOS15.5 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size50 MB12 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMH Riley LtdShivam Rishi

Customer experience

Spending Tracker

All ratings19,361 ratings
Positive96.7%
Neutral1.9%
Negative1.4%
Written reviews2,969 reviews
Positive94.5%
Neutral2.6%
Negative2.9%

Simple Budget

All ratings4 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Spending Tracker

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Transactions sometimes entered in wrong order
  • Backup and restore functionality not always reliable

Requested features

5 requests
  • 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

Simple Budget

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Spending Tracker

One-time1
  • Pro Upgrade$2.99
5 purchases

Simple Budget

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly Subscription$1.991 Month
  • Yearly Subscription3 Days trial$12.991 Year
One-time3
  • Lifetime Access$0.99
  • Lifetime Access$4.99
  • Lifetime Access$19.99

Questions

Is Spending Tracker free?
Spending Tracker is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Simple Budget free?
Simple Budget is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Spending Tracker or Simple Budget?
Simple Budget is rated higher. Spending Tracker averages 4.8 out of 5 from 20K ratings, while Simple Budget averages 5.0 from 4 ratings.
Do Spending Tracker or Simple Budget have ads?
Spending Tracker shows ads; Simple Budget does not.
Which is updated more often, Spending Tracker or Simple Budget?
Spending Tracker ships an update every 2 months, and Simple Budget every 4 days. Most recently, Spending Tracker was updated on November 9, 2026 and Simple Budget on November 5, 2026.

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