simplsaver vs Stow
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
simplsaver
Easily build budgets, track expenses across categories, and gain insights into your spending habits. Understand mortgage stress, 50/30/20 budgets, and potential cost increases with a unique CPI score. Supports joint budgeting and offers day/night modes.
- Easy budget building
- Expense tracking
- Budget insights
- Mortgage stress indicator
- 50/30/20 budget analysis
- Preset service pricing
- Joint budgeting support
- Privacy-focused data storage
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**Easy Budget Building** Creating a budget has never been this easy. Enter your income and expenses quickly to gain insights into your financial health in as little as 30 seconds. **Expense Tracking Made Simple** Track every budget category, from streaming services to utility bills, all in one place. Simplsaver even pre-fills popular subscription costs for your convenience. **Budget Insights** Check out Expense Insights to help you understand your costs, and learn how the 30 percent "wants" can apply to your budget with our Extra Weight (EW) metric. **Are You In Mortgage Stress?** Mortgage stress is typically defined as when 30 percent of your income goes to paying off your home. Find out whether you're in mortgage stress with an indicator on your budget list. **What's Your 50/30/20?** Are you spending more than 30 percent on your wants? Are you saving 20 percent? Find out where your spending sits on a 50/30/20 budget, and how to start saving money from the amount you have left over. **Preset Service Pricing** We've pre-filled the costs for a bunch of services across music, video, and games to make life easier and budgets faster. Available in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, UK, and the US. **Budget Goals Achieved** Set and conquer your budget goals effortlessly, making financial success a reality. **Couples-Friendly** Simplsaver supports joint budgeting, helping couples manage their finances together seamlessly. **Stay Informed** Keep an eye on your financial stability with our unique Risk of Recession CPI score (RoR), helping you identify potential cost increases before they happen. **Day & Night Mode** Simplsaver looks great in any lighting, providing a user-friendly experience day or night. **Privacy First** Rest easy knowing that all your financial data stays securely on your device, prioritising your privacy. **Export Spreadsheet** Share your budget with someone else, such as an accountant. Paid subscribers will see an export button at the top with a CSV export. Import it directly into Numbers on the iPhone, or send the file to someone else. As seen on Nine's Today Show, Sky News, Ticker News, Mozo, Tech Guide, Savings, Pickr, GadgetGuy, and more. Join savvy iPhone budgeters who have embraced financial control with Simplsaver. Download now and simplify your financial life! --- Support: https://www.simplsaver.com/support/ Privacy Policy: https://www.simplsaver.com/privacy/ Terms of use (licence agreement): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ **With the exception of spreadsheet exporting, all users will have access to the same tools right now. Paying for a subscription unlocks more than five line items for bigger budgets, export to spreadsheet, and helps support the maintenance as well as developing new features! We also donate a portion of the proceeds to charity. Find out more at simplsaver.com** Disclaimer: Data supplied for pre-populated items and CPI in the app is current as of January 12, 2025. Monthly and yearly amounts are calculated based off entered data, and are not intended to be financial advice. In fact, nothing in this app is intended to be financial advice. All information is stored only on your device and your device alone.
Stow
This privacy-focused app helps you manage your money using the envelope budgeting method. Easily divide your income into virtual envelopes, track spending in real-time, and always know your available balance. It operates entirely offline, keeping your financial data secure on your device.
- Envelope budgeting
- Offline operation
- Privacy-focused
- Quick transaction logging
- Customizable envelopes
- Multi-currency support
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Take control of every dollar — before it disappears. Stow is a privacy-first envelope budgeting app for iPhone. Divide your paycheck into envelopes, log spending in seconds, and always know exactly what's left. No bank connections. No account to create. No ads. No tracking. Your budget lives on your iPhone, where it belongs. WHY ENVELOPE BUDGETING WORKS The envelope method is nearly a century old, and it still works because it's simple: you decide what each dollar is for, and you stop when the envelope is empty. Groceries, rent, coffee, savings — whatever matters to you. Stow takes that system and makes it fit the way you actually live: in your pocket, at the register, five seconds at a time. WHAT YOU CAN DO ON THE FREE TIER - Create up to 5 envelopes with custom icons and colors - Log unlimited transactions, in seconds, with a large number pad - Choose a monthly budget period that matches how you get paid - Automatic period rollover so you start fresh every month - Full spending history for your current and previous period - Multi-currency support — auto-detected from your region - Dark mode, Dynamic Type, and full VoiceOver support - Works 100% offline — no internet required, ever STOW PREMIUM (optional) Upgrade when you're ready for more power: - Unlimited envelopes - Weekly and biweekly budget periods for paycheck-to-paycheck budgeting - Full transaction history across every past period - Spending reports, trends, and charts - CSV and PDF export for spreadsheets or tax season - Additional budget templates to jumpstart setup - Custom themes and icon packs BUILT FOR REAL PEOPLE, REAL MONEY Whether you're living paycheck to paycheck, saving for a house, paying down a credit card, or just tired of hitting Friday and wondering where it all went — Stow is the shortest path to a working budget. Log your morning coffee in two taps. See your grocery budget at a glance. Know before you swipe. PRIVACY IS NOT A FEATURE — IT'S THE FOUNDATION Most budgeting apps monetize your financial data, sell it to aggregators, or use it to train ads. Stow can't, because your data never leaves your device. There is no server. There is no analytics pipeline. We never see a cent of your spending — and we never will. The only thing that touches our systems is your App Store purchase, handled through Apple's payment infrastructure and our subscription provider (RevenueCat). Budget data stays on-device. ACCESSIBILITY Stow is designed from the ground up for everyone. Every screen supports VoiceOver, scales with Dynamic Type, works in light and dark mode, and meets WCAG AA contrast. Color is never the only way something is communicated. QUESTIONS OR FEEDBACK? Email stow.contactus@gmail.com — a real human reads every message. Privacy policy: https://maxk-37.github.io/stow-legal/#privacy Terms of service: https://maxk-37.github.io/stow-legal/#terms Stow is an independent app, built by a small team who believe personal finance software shouldn't require handing over your bank login.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Stow at 100% against simplsaver's 25%. Stow also leads on update cadence (every 4 days vs every 2 weeks). On price, ads, 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
Both are free to download. simplsaver sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $6.99 per year and Stow sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
simplsaver ships an update every 2 weeks, Stow every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on October 25, 2026 and October 21, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | simplsaver | Stow |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.0 (2 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 25.0% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 2 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks | Every 4 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Freemium | Freemium |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 16.6 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 128 MB | 13 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Leigh Stark | Max Koumarelas |
Customer experience
simplsaver
Stow
In-app purchases
simplsaver
- Annual access$6.991 Year
Stow
- Stow Premium — Monthly$4.991 Month
- Stow Premium — Annual7 Days trial$39.991 Year
- Stow Premium — Lifetime$59.99









