Comparison

Payment Calendar vs Necessary

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

Head to head
About

Payment Calendar

Track all your bills and subscriptions on a calendar view. Get reminders before payments are due and see your monthly spending at a glance. Easily manage shared expenses with household members.

Highlights
  • Calendar view of all bills
  • Payment reminders
  • Home screen widgets
  • No bank login required
  • Support for variable amounts
  • Shared calendars
  • Statistics and spending breakdown
Features
Read full description

See every bill and subscription at a glance, on a calendar and right on your home screen widget. Rent, phone, streaming, insurance, that one gym membership: every due date in one place, plus a reminder the day before each payment. Payment Calendar is a simple bill tracker and subscription tracker built around a calendar. You add your recurring payments once, and the app shows you what is due, when, and how much is still left to pay this month. YOUR MONTH AT A GLANCE • Every bill and subscription on a calendar by due date • Monthly total plus the remaining amount still to pay • Tap to check off a payment as paid, and it drops out of "remaining" • A reminder the day before each payment is due • Home screen widgets that show what is due next without opening the app (Premium) NO BANK LOGIN NEEDED You enter each bill yourself. No linking cards or bank accounts, nothing to hand over. It takes a few seconds per payment, and your financial accounts stay out of it. BUILT FOR REAL BILLS • Amounts that change every month, like a credit card bill or electricity, can be logged with a different amount each month • Free trial reminders: enter the trial start date and get reminded before billing kicks in • Monthly, yearly and weekly schedules • Groups to keep home, work or personal payments apart • 40 currencies with automatic exchange-rate conversion, handy for services billed in USD or EUR • Statistics: a monthly trend chart of your recurring spending and a breakdown by group • Choose the day your calendar week starts • Sign in to sync across your devices SHARE WITH YOUR HOUSEHOLD Keep rent, utilities and shared subscriptions on one calendar with a partner, family or roommates. Invite them with a code. Invited members can view for free. PREMIUM Payment Calendar is free to use for up to 20 recurring payments and 3 groups. Premium comes with a 3-day free trial and adds: • Unlimited payments and groups • Home screen widgets on your iPhone • Installment tracking (see which payment you are on, like 3 of 12) • More intervals, such as every two weeks • Billing-cycle start day, so your month can start on payday • Create and edit shared calendars • No ads Great for tracking things like Netflix and Spotify, rent, car payments, insurance, loans, phone and internet, utilities and memberships. Stop getting surprised by charges. Add your first bill and see your month clearly. Privacy Policy: https://spice-second-eb3.notion.site/Privacy-Policy-1c7273bd4f5480298425dfb01b4f9508 Terms of Service: https://spice-second-eb3.notion.site/Terms-Conditions-1c7273bd4f54808c9955dd1c7bfcbab1

About

Necessary

Read full description

Necessary helps you understand everyday household spending without forcing every dollar into an envelope. Add the money available for each pay period, record your purchases, and quickly decide whether each transaction was necessary, not necessary, or should be excluded. Necessary keeps the amount you could have saved visible, helping your household reduce impulse spending while leaving planned purchases out of the way.

Screenshots

Payment Calendar4 screens
Necessary4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Necessary at none against Payment Calendar's 3. Necessary also leads on ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (every 2 days vs every 9 days). Payment Calendar's advantage is iOS requirement (16.6 vs 18.0). On price 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. Payment Calendar sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Necessary asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Payment Calendar ships an update every 9 days, Necessary every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on November 5, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Payment Calendar versus Necessary: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPayment CalendarNecessary
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (6 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews80.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings6 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 9 daysEvery 2 days — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPhone
Requires iOS16.6 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size90 MB69 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperZERO CODEAndrew Hildebrand

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Payment Calendar

Subscriptions3
  • Cost Calendar Premium3 Days trial$1.991 Month
  • Premium Monthly3 Days trial$2.991 Month
  • Premium Yearly3 Days trial$23.991 Year
None

Necessary

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Payment Calendar free?
Payment Calendar is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Necessary free?
Necessary is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Payment Calendar or Necessary have ads?
Payment Calendar shows ads; Necessary does not.
Which is updated more often, Payment Calendar or Necessary?
Payment Calendar ships an update every 9 days, and Necessary every 2 days. Most recently, Payment Calendar was updated on November 5, 2026 and Necessary on October 31, 2026.

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