Spend.Control vs Budget Envelope
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Spend.Control
This app helps you determine how much discretionary income you can safely spend daily without jeopardizing your financial goals. It allows you to budget your allowance into virtual envelopes and track your spending.
- Calculate safe daily spending
- Budget allowance into virtual envelopes
- Track spending by category
- Prioritize spending between categories
- Future balances calculator
- Generate financial reports
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'Spend Control' answers the following most basic of financial questions: "How much can I safely spend today such that I can still meet my upcoming obligations and ultimately reach my desired goals?" Or to put it more succinctly: "How much can I spend today without harming my future?" And here's how it works: First you tell 'Spend Control' (in a user-friendly way) about your upcoming financial situation (your expected income over the next 12 months and how much of that income is already dedicated to such things as rent, utilities, car payments, savings, etc.) Given that information 'Spend Control' tells you how much is available for your “allowance” (i.e., discretionary spending money.) You then create a budget for that leftover allowance money at which point 'Spend Control' generates a virtual envelope for each category and seeds it with one week's allowance (an amount you can easily change.) Thereafter, the app will automatically, every day, feed each envelope with one day's allowance such that if you don't spend anything in that category your spendable amount will continue to grow. If you do spend something, you need only tap on the category, enter the amount spent and 'Spend Control' will subtract the amount from the appropriate envelope. The process described above is the app's main function but there are other tools that further help you track and prioritize. For example, if you see an outfit you really want but don't yet have enough in your 'Clothing' envelope, you can choose (prioritize) to transfer money from another envelope, say, 'Entertainment' (as opposed to, say, 'Rent'.) Or you can use the tool called the 'Future Balances Calculator' to answer the question "If I hold off buying now, when will I have the necessary funds in that envelope?" or perhaps the question "How much will I have in my 'Paris Vacation' envelope when that date arrives?" 'Spend Control' also generates a number of reports, such as 'Current Budget' and 'Current Balances' which you can then email to yourself or to someone else.
Budget Envelope
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Take control of your money — one envelope at a time. Envelope Budget brings back the simplicity of the classic cash envelope method, rebuilt for your phone. No spreadsheets. No bank logins. No subscriptions. Just you, your budget, and a few taps. The idea is simple: decide how much you want to spend in each area of your life — groceries, dining out, gas, entertainment — and create an envelope for each one. Every time you spend, subtract it from that envelope. When the envelope is empty, you're done spending in that category for the month. That's it. No complexity. No learning curve. You'll have your first envelope set up in under a minute. Why Envelope Budget? -Most budgeting apps are overwhelming. They want to connect to your bank, sync across devices, send you notifications, and show you charts you'll never look at. Envelope Budget does none of that. It respects your time, your attention, and your privacy. -Everything you enter stays on your device. Always. There are no accounts to create, no passwords to remember, and no data ever leaving your phone. Your financial life is your business.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is iOS requirement: Spend.Control at 8.0 against Budget Envelope's 15.1. On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
| Parameter | Spend.Control | Budget Envelope |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (7 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 7 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 5 weeks | — |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 8.0 — better | 15.1 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 11 MB | 24 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Renee Borsari | TANNER HUNT FRANCIS |
In-app purchases
Spend.Control
No in-app purchases
Budget Envelope
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Spend.Control free?
Is Budget Envelope free?
Do Spend.Control or Budget Envelope have ads?
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