Comparison

Spending Tracker vs Buddy

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

Buddy

This app helps you create and manage personal or shared budgets. Track expenses, connect your bank account for automatic transaction import, and gain a clear overview of your spending, income, and savings. It also features tools to split costs and settle up with others.

Highlights
  • Create personal budgets
  • Shared budgeting for couples/groups
  • Connect bank accounts for transaction import
  • Detailed spending and income overview
  • Expense splitting and settlement tracking
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

Buddy helps you set up a budget and keep track of your expenses, either by yourself or together with your loved ones. Here’s what is waiting for you inside: BUDGETS Buddy will help you not to overspend on your well-earned salary by setting up a budget plan that fits you. Do you want a shared budget with your partner? Or keep the expenses between you and your mates fair on the vacation? No problem, just invite them and get a clear picture of who spent what. CONNECT YOUR BANK Import all transactions from your bank account into Buddy and see how your budget is doing. OVERVIEW We'll give you a beautiful & detailed overview of your spendings, income, and savings. SPLIT Split lets you know who paid what, and how to settle up. And much more for you to find. Take control of your finance today! Buddy offers a $9.99 monthly renewing and a $49.99 yearly renewing subscription to unlock Premium functionality. The purchase will be charged from your iTunes account if you choose to buy the Buddy Premium subscription. You can manage or cancel your subscription through the user settings in iTunes after the purchase. The subscription period ends with the same kind of subscription you already bought to the same price unless you turn off your subscription 24 hours before it renews. It is not possible to cancel your current subscription during the time your subscription is active. Privacy Policy: https://buddy.download/privacypolicy/ Terms & Conditions: https://buddy.download/terms-and-conditions/

Screenshots

Spending Tracker4 screens
Buddy4 screens

Verdict

The call

Spending Tracker and Buddy both sit at 4.8 stars, but that hides the real split: 95% of Spending Tracker's written reviews are positive against 49% of Buddy's. Spending Tracker also leads on device support (5 vs 3) and iOS requirement (15.5 vs 18.0). Buddy's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (every 9 days vs every 2 months). On price, rating, ratings volume and in-app purchases 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 Buddy sells 11 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. 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 — 4.8 for Spending Tracker against 4.7 for Buddy. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 19K and 9.6K respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 95% of Spending Tracker's written reviews are positive against 49% of Buddy's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Spending Tracker ships an update every 2 months, Buddy every 9 days. The most recent releases landed on October 18, 2026 and October 17, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
Spending Tracker versus Buddy: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSpending TrackerBuddy
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (19K ratings) — better4.7 (9.6K ratings)
Positive reviews94.5% of reviews — better49.3% of reviews
Number of ratings19K — better9.6K
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 9 days — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank—#59 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPad, Apple Watch
Requires iOS15.5 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size50 MB169 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMH Riley LtdBuddy Budgeting AB

Customer experience

Spending Tracker

All ratings19,361 ratings
Positive96.7%
Neutral1.9%
Negative1.4%
Written reviews2,934 reviews
Positive94.5%
Neutral2.5%
Negative2.9%

Buddy

All ratings9,560 ratings
Positive92.8%
Neutral3.0%
Negative4.2%
Written reviews872 reviews
Positive49.3%
Neutral11.9%
Negative38.8%

User reviews

Spending Tracker

From 19K App Store ratings

What we love

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

Room to improve

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

Buddy

From 9.6K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Easy to use
  • 👍 Visually appealing
  • 💡 Customizable categories
  • 🚀 Intuitive interface
  • 👍 Helps with budgeting

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Recurring transactions not working properly
  • 🐛 Balance not carrying over to next month
  • 🐛 Syncing issues between devices
  • 🐛 Transactions disappearing or resetting
  • 💸 Expensive subscription

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

Buddy

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Recurring transactions not working as expected
  • Balance not carrying over to next month
  • Syncing issues between devices
  • Transactions disappearing or resetting
  • Inability to edit categories without creating new ones

Requested features

8 requests
  • Calendar view for transactions
  • Bill reminders and due date tracking
  • Ability to hide/exclude certain transactions
  • Savings/investment tracking
  • Multi-currency support
Show 3 more
  • Ability to reorder categories
  • Weekly budget view
  • Ability to split transactions

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Spending Tracker

One-time1
  • Pro Upgrade$2.99
11 purchases

Buddy

Subscriptions10
  • Buddy Premium7 Days trial$4.991 Month
  • Buddy Premium$4.991 Month
  • Premium$9.991 Month
Show 7 more
  • Buddy Premium$9.991 Month
  • Buddy Premium7 Days trial$16.991 Year
  • Buddy Premium7 Days trial$24.991 Year
  • Buddy Premium7 Days trial$34.991 Year
  • Buddy Premium1 Year trial$34.991 Year
  • Buddy Premium7 Days trial$39.991 Year
  • Buddy Premium7 Days trial2 variants$49.991 Year
One-time1
  • Unlimited$49.99

Questions

Is Spending Tracker free?
Spending Tracker is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Buddy free?
Buddy is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Spending Tracker or Buddy?
Spending Tracker is rated higher. Spending Tracker averages 4.8 out of 5 from 19K ratings, while Buddy averages 4.7 from 9.6K ratings.
Do Spending Tracker or Buddy have ads?
Spending Tracker shows ads; Buddy does not.
Which is updated more often, Spending Tracker or Buddy?
Spending Tracker ships an update every 2 months, and Buddy every 9 days. Most recently, Spending Tracker was updated on October 18, 2026 and Buddy on October 17, 2026.

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