Comparison

Budget Bestie vs Spending Tracker

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

Head to head
About

Budget Bestie

This app helps you manage your money using the cash stuffing method, digitally. It guides you through creating expense envelopes, allocating funds, and tracking spending to meet savings goals. Get reminders for bills and budget according to your pay schedule.

Highlights
  • Digital cash stuffing method
  • Customizable expense envelopes
  • Automated spending tracking
  • Bill payment reminders
  • Savings goal management
  • Budgeting by pay schedule
Currently charting
Read full description

hey bestie, ready to make budgeting effortless? with budget bestie, you can take full control of your money on your own terms—whether you get paid weekly, biweekly, twice a month, or monthly, we’ve got you covered. using the cash stuffing method, you’ll say goodbye to stress and hello to a budgeting approach that fits your life perfectly. okay but what’s cash stuffing? 1. create envelopes – create an envelope for each expense category like food, eating out, rent 2. stuff your envelopes – put all of your cash into envelopes based on how much you’ll spend before you get paid again 3. spend your money – this is the fun part - don’t feel guilty for spending your hard earned money. when you buy something, use the cash from the corresponding envelope 4. get paid, repeat - record your income (cha-ching) and go back to step 2, stuff your envelopes how budget bestie works - no need to carry cash - we’ve taken this 100+ year old proven technique and put it in your iPhone - say bye to math and spreadsheets - we’ll recommend how much to stuff into each envelope based on previous spending habits and upcoming bills - avoid late fees by getting reminded - we’ll send you a notification when you haven’t recorded paying a recurring expense - hit your savings goals - create savings envelopes and we’ll make sure you’re on track to hit your goals - budget on your schedule - whether it’s weekly, biweekly, twice a month, or monthly, you can budget based on what works for you what our besties are saying: “First full month of the app and it's so simple. I've not had to dip into my emergency fund or sinking fund or use overdraft. I've even managed to put some money towards debt and not reuse it” - @Nicola Disney Pomeranian Mummy "Been using budget bestie for a month!The monthly recap made me realize I spend so much on little things (like buying to go lunch everyday) since it's in budget, but never seen how much it adds up" – @Julia "This app is great I have been searching for a budgeting app that lets me budget per check and this is it” - @Chy6699 “Definitely helped me the last two weeks. Can't wait to see how much money I can save.” - @Erin Backes subscription details: before your free trial begins, you’ll choose between a monthly or annual subscription. subscriptions are billed and managed directly by Apple. you can manage or cancel your subscription anytime within your iPhone settings app. terms of use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Spending Tracker

Track your spending, bills, and subscriptions in one place without needing bank logins. Set budgets, savings goals, and manage debts with quick logging and insightful views. Get reminders for upcoming charges and help with cancellations.

Highlights
  • Log expenses and income quickly
  • Track subscriptions and bills with reminders
  • Create and manage budgets
  • Set and monitor savings goals
  • Manage debts and payments
  • View spending by category and day
  • Receipt scanning for totals
Features
Read full description

Know where your money goes, and never get caught out by a forgotten subscription again. SpendKit keeps your spending, bills and subscriptions, budget, savings goals and debts in one simple app. No bank login and no account needed. LOG IT IN SECONDS • Add an expense, income or transfer in a few taps: amount, category, account, done • Say it: "12 lunch" and SpendKit fills it in • Scan a receipt to read the total • Transfers between your accounts, with fees • Copy a transaction, or save and keep adding with Continue SEE YOUR MONTH • Income, expenses and balance always in view • Daily, calendar, monthly and stats views • Charts by category and by day • Search, and filter by account or category SUBSCRIPTIONS AND BILLS • Streaming, music, rent, phone: see what you pay each month and each year • A reminder before every charge, and free trials tracked before they bill you • Mark a bill as paid, or let SpendKit log it on its due date • Cancelling one? Get help to do it and see how much you save • Subscriptions in another currency or shared with others: only your part counts A BUDGET THAT WORKS • Plan your income and spending by category • See what's left to spend this month • Carry over what's left, or what's over, to the next month SAVINGS GOALS AND DEBTS • Goals with ideas to start, a target date and how much to put aside each month • Track what you owe and what you're owed, payment by payment YOUR ACCOUNTS • Cash, cards, bank and savings accounts with their running balance • Assets, liabilities and your total at a glance ALWAYS AT HAND • Home Screen and Lock Screen widgets • Siri and Shortcuts: "Log an expense in SpendKit" • Control Center and the Action button • Face ID lock, dark mode, your currency, 10 languages SPENDKIT PREMIUM Logging expenses and income is always free. Premium removes the limits on subscriptions, budgets, goals, accounts, receipt scans and voice entries, and adds iCloud backup and sync, budget alerts, insights, your own categories and CSV export. Payment is charged to your Apple Account at confirmation, or at the end of the free trial if there is one. The subscription renews automatically unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel it in your App Store account settings. The lifetime plan is a one-time purchase. Terms of Use: https://privacy.owltaps.com/terms Privacy Policy: https://privacy.owltaps.com

Screenshots

Budget Bestie4 screens
Spending Tracker4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Spending Tracker at none against Budget Bestie's shown. Spending Tracker also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.7). Budget Bestie's advantage is update cadence (fortnightly vs every 5 months) and ratings volume (3.2K vs 1). On price, in-app purchases, monetization model 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Budget Bestie sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month and Spending Tracker sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $7.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Spending Tracker holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Budget Bestie has 3.2K ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Budget Bestie ships an update fortnightly, Spending Tracker every 5 months. The most recent releases landed on November 12, 2026 and November 8, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
Budget Bestie versus Spending Tracker: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBudget BestieSpending Tracker
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (3.2K ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews30.7% of reviews—
Number of ratings3.2K — better1
Update frequencyFortnightly — betterEvery 5 months
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFreemium
Best chart rank#58 — better—
DevicesiPhoneiPhone
Requires iOS16.0 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size125 MB17 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperBudget Bestie Corp.Jose Sapon

Customer experience

Budget Bestie

All ratings3,169 ratings
Positive91.4%
Neutral1.4%
Negative7.2%
Written reviews313 reviews
Positive30.7%
Neutral9.9%
Negative59.4%

Spending Tracker

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Budget Bestie

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Freezing/crashing on certain screens
  • Inability to type zeros
  • Transactions not updating in real-time
  • Difficulty navigating/accessing certain features

Requested features

5 requests
  • Debt tracking section
  • Ability to edit/delete past transactions
  • Flexible pay schedule options
  • Sharing/collaboration features
  • Free basic version

Spending Tracker

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

6 purchases

Budget Bestie

Subscriptions6
  • Monthly Subscription3 Days trial$4.991 Month
  • Monthly Subscription3 Days trial2 variants$7.991 Month
  • Monthly Subscription3 Days trial$8.991 Month
Show 3 more
  • Annual Subscription3 Days trial2 variants$49.991 Year
  • Annual Subscription3 Days trial$59.991 Year
  • Annual Subscription3 Days trial$69.991 Year
3 purchases

Spending Tracker

Subscriptions2
  • Premium Monthly$7.991 Month
  • Premium Yearly3 Days trial$39.991 Year
One-time1
  • SpendKit Premium Lifetime$59.99

Questions

Is Budget Bestie free?
Budget Bestie is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Spending Tracker free?
Spending Tracker is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Budget Bestie or Spending Tracker?
Spending Tracker is rated higher. Budget Bestie averages 4.7 out of 5 from 3.2K ratings, while Spending Tracker averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Budget Bestie or Spending Tracker have ads?
Budget Bestie shows ads; Spending Tracker does not.
Which is updated more often, Budget Bestie or Spending Tracker?
Budget Bestie ships an update fortnightly, and Spending Tracker every 5 months. Most recently, Budget Bestie was updated on November 12, 2026 and Spending Tracker on November 8, 2026.

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