Comparison

PhBudget vs CheckbookDash

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

Head to head
About

PhBudget

Easily manage your finances with this budgeting app. Track monthly expenses by category and set custom limits. Visual progress bars indicate if you exceed your budget.

Highlights
  • Expense category management
  • Monthly transaction tracking
  • Custom budget limits
  • Visual progress bars
  • Over-limit alerts
Read full description

PhBudget is a simple app to keep simple budgets. You can add expense categories and then on a monthly basis, track transactions against those categories. You can set custom 'limits' and progress bars will turn red if you go over those limits.

About

CheckbookDash

This privacy-focused app acts as a digital checkbook register for your iPhone. It allows you to log income and expenses, categorize transactions, and visualize spending habits without ever sending your data online. Enjoy a clean, offline experience with customizable features.

Highlights
  • Privacy-first data handling
  • Offline functionality
  • Smart auto-categorization
  • Monthly spending dashboard
  • Customizable categories
  • CSV import/export
  • Accessibility options
Features
Read full description

**CheckbookDash is the modern, privacy-first checkbook register for iPhone.** Whether you're tracking daily expenses, monitoring your monthly budget, or simply keeping an eye on your bottom line, CheckbookDash keeps you in control — without ever sending your data anywhere. **Your Data, Your Device** Every transaction, category, and setting lives entirely on your iPhone. No account required. No cloud uploads. No subscriptions. No tracking of any kind. Just a clean, fast register that works offline, always. **A Smart Transaction Register** Log income and expenses in seconds. Each transaction captures the date, payee, amount, category, and optional notes. CheckbookDash automatically suggests a category based on the payee name using your own custom rules — the more rules you add, the smarter it gets. **Monthly Spending Dashboard** Visualize where your money goes with a beautiful bar chart broken down by category. Navigate forward and backward through months to spot trends, compare spending, and make more informed financial decisions. **Custom Categories & Auto-Categorization** Create categories that match your life. Set up rules so payees like "Whole Foods" or "Netflix" are categorized automatically every time you enter them. The longest-match rule always wins, so your most specific rules take priority. **CSV Import & Export** Bring in transactions from your bank's CSV export or share your register as a spreadsheet. Export by this month, last 3 months, or all time — your data, on your terms. **Designed for Comfort** - Compact or Comfy layout styles — your choice - Light, Dark, or System appearance - 8 accent color choices - Haptic and sound feedback - High contrast mode, reduced animations, and larger buttons for accessibility **No Ads. No Tracking. No Account. Free.** CheckbookDash is completely free. It contains no advertisements, no analytics SDKs, and no data collection of any kind. Your financial life is yours alone.

Screenshots

PhBudget4 screens
CheckbookDash4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is device support: CheckbookDash at 2 against PhBudget's —. PhBudget's advantage is iOS requirement (12.0 vs 26.2). 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for PhBudget against 5.0 for CheckbookDash. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1 and 1 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 7 level
PhBudget versus CheckbookDash: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPhBudgetCheckbookDash
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings)
Number of ratings11
Update frequency—Every 2 months
Ads—No
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
Devices—iPhone, iPad — better
Requires iOS12.0 — better26.2
Further details — not scored
Size27 MB3 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSteven FoskettCALVIN EDWARD,RUSSELL NICHOLSON

In-app purchases

None

PhBudget

No in-app purchases

None

CheckbookDash

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is PhBudget free?
PhBudget is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is CheckbookDash free?
CheckbookDash is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, PhBudget or CheckbookDash?
PhBudget and CheckbookDash are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 1 and 1 ratings respectively.

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