Comparison

Keystone vs Shared Budget

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

Head to head
About

Keystone

This app streamlines group finances by simplifying expense tracking, budget planning, and payment management. It offers features like AI-powered receipt scanning, customizable approval workflows, and role-based permissions to bring clarity and control to shared financial activities.

Highlights
  • Hierarchical budgets
  • Role-based permissions
  • Customizable approval workflows
  • Guest expense submissions
  • Audit trail
  • AI receipt scanning
Features
Read full description

Tired of chasing receipts and managing reimbursement requests through messy spreadsheets and chat threads? Keystone brings clarity and control to your group's finances. Perfect for student clubs, project teams, small businesses, and even roommates, Keystone simplifies everything from budget planning to final payment. Stop managing finances and start leading. With Keystone, you can spend less time on paperwork and more time on what matters. Key Features: FLEXIBLE HIERARCHICAL BUDGETS: Create main budgets for your organization and allow leaders to create nested sub-categories for their specific committees or events. Track spending in real-time at every level to ensure you never go over budget. PRECISE, ROLE-BASED PERMISSIONS: Delegate with confidence by inviting members as Admins (full control), Reviewers (manage specific budgets), or Submitters (submit expenses). You can grant a Reviewer control over a single category, and they will automatically have the same permissions for all of its sub-categories. CUSTOMIZABLE APPROVAL WORKFLOWS: Design a clear approval chain that fits your team's structure. Automatically route an expense from a team member to their manager for a first look, then to the treasurer for final sign-off. Admins always retain the power to override decisions for ultimate control. FRICTIONLESS GUEST SUBMISSIONS: Need a reimbursement from a guest speaker or a one-time contractor? Send them a secure, shareable link to submit their expenses and receipts. No app download or account creation is required on their part. COMPLETE AUDIT TRAIL: Never wonder about the status of a payment again. A crucial, immutable history shows every approval, note, and status change for each expense, providing a vital tool for accountability. AI-POWERED RECEIPT SCANNING: Snap a photo of a receipt, and let Keystone's AI automatically extract line-item details and totals. This minimizes manual data entry and saves everyone time. Download Keystone today and bring sanity to your shared expenses!

About

Shared Budget

Manage household finances with a group. Track income, expenses, budgets, and debts with clear charts and recurring transaction features. Ideal for couples, roommates, or families.

Highlights
  • Shared group creation and member invitation
  • Quick income and expense logging
  • Category spending visualization
  • Monthly budget envelopes
  • Debt tracking
  • Recurring transaction setup
  • Shared task management
Features
Read full description

Shared Budget is a simple money management app for people living together. Whether you are a couple, roommates, or a family, Shared Budget helps everyone stay aligned on income, spending, and monthly goals. What you can do: Create a shared group and invite members with a code Add income and expenses in seconds See category spending with clear charts Set monthly budget envelopes and track overspending Track who owes whom with debt records Create recurring transactions for bills and routine payments Manage shared tasks and monthly to-dos View group activity history for full transparency Why Shared Budget: Clean, mobile-first experience (no complex spreadsheets) Built for shared household finances Fast daily tracking with clear monthly visibility Premium unlocks unlimited transactions, envelopes, and members Start today and always know where your money goes. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Keystone4 screens
Shared Budget4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Keystone at none against Shared Budget's 2. Keystone also leads on ratings volume (5 vs 1). Shared Budget's advantage is update cadence (every 2 days vs every 9 days). On price, rating, review sentiment and ads 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. Shared Budget sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Keystone asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Keystone against 5.0 for Shared Budget. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Keystone has 5 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 100% and 100% positive.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Keystone ships an update every 9 days, Shared Budget every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on October 7, 2026 and September 23, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Keystone versus Shared Budget: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterKeystoneShared Budget
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (5 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings5 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 9 daysEvery 2 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.115.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size30 MB19 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAlexander Jacob FrutkinRuby Game Studio LLC

Customer experience

Keystone

All ratings5 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Shared Budget

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Keystone

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

Shared Budget

Subscriptions2
  • Shared Budget Premium Monthly$4.991 Month
  • Shared Budget Premium$39.991 Year

Questions

Is Keystone free?
Keystone is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Shared Budget free?
Shared Budget is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Keystone or Shared Budget?
Keystone and Shared Budget are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 5 and 1 ratings respectively.
Do Keystone or Shared Budget have ads?
Neither Keystone nor Shared Budget shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Keystone or Shared Budget?
Keystone ships an update every 9 days, and Shared Budget every 2 days. Most recently, Keystone was updated on October 7, 2026 and Shared Budget on September 23, 2026.

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