Pocket Register vs Simple Register
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Pocket Register
Manage your finances without linking bank accounts. Track deposits, withdrawals, and recurring bills to maintain a running balance and plan your spending before payday. Import data from other apps and spreadsheets for a seamless transition.
- Manual transaction logging
- Running balance with pending/cleared entries
- Recurring transaction setup
- Payday spending planner
- Bank statement reconciliation
- Data import (CSV, QIF, OFX/QFX)
- Receipt scanning
- Category budgeting with progress bars
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Keep a running balance, track upcoming bills, and plan what's left before payday, without linking your bank. Pocket Register is a no-frills checkbook register, right in your pocket. Whether you're managing your main account, a cash stash, or a side budget, Pocket Register makes it easy to: - Log deposits, withdrawals, and transfers - See your running balance, with pending and cleared entries kept apart - Set up recurring transactions: weekly, every two weeks, twice a month, or monthly (perfect for paydays) - Plan ahead: see upcoming bills, debts, and what's safe to spend before your next paycheck - Reconcile against your bank statement - Import your history from other checkbook apps, spreadsheets and banks (CSV, QIF and OFX/QFX) - Scan receipts with the built-in document scanner - Set monthly budgets per category, with progress bars - Get smart category suggestions as you type, or add an entry by typing or speaking it - Save Quick Fills for repeat transactions - Stay organized with memo notes, splits, and date selection - Works fully offline by default. iCloud Sync is available as an optional Pro feature. Plan Ahead: The optional Plan tab shows your projected balance, upcoming bills and debts, and what's safe to spend before payday, built from your own recurring transactions. It stays out of the way until you need it, so a simple register stays simple. Switching Apps: Bring your history with you. Pocket Register reads CSV files from other apps and banks, QIF files from Quicken, Money and checkbook apps, and OFX/QFX bank downloads. You review everything before it's added, and likely duplicates are flagged. Beautiful Design: Cleanly designed for iPhone, iPad and Mac computers with Apple silicon, with full light and dark mode support. No Bank Linking: You enter your own transactions, so there are no bank logins to connect. Your transactions stay on your device by default. iCloud Sync is opt-in and uses your private iCloud account. Lightweight: Simple by design, built for speed and clarity. Widgets (Pro): View your balance and recent transactions at a glance. Home Screen widgets in three sizes, plus Lock Screen widgets so your balance is always one tap away. Whether you're tracking a vacation budget, side hustle income, or just keeping tabs on daily spending, Pocket Register gives you full control, offline and clutter-free. Pro (one-time purchase): - Removes all ads - Unlimited accounts and transactions (free includes 2 accounts and 300 transactions per 12 months) - Unlimited recurring transactions (free includes 5) - Unlimited splits (free includes 2 parts per split) and Quick Fills (free includes 3) - Home Screen and Lock Screen widgets - iCloud Sync across all your devices - Ask: questions about your spending in plain English, answered on your device - Custom color themes - Family Sharing for up to 5 family members - Advanced CSV export with profiles, presets, splits, and Excel/YNAB-compatible formats Already using Pocket Register? If you started before version 3.9, your free plan stays the same: 500 transactions per 12 months, unlimited splits and recurring transactions, and widgets included.
Simple Register
This app provides a digital checkbook register for tracking personal finances. It allows users to quickly record transactions, manage bills, and reconcile statements without connecting to bank accounts. Designed for privacy, it offers local-only mode and optional biometric security.
- Digital checkbook register
- Record payments, deposits, checks, transfers
- Bill planning and reminders
- Statement reconciliation
- Multiple register support
- Data export to CSV/PDF
- Optional biometric security
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Your checkbook register, exactly as you remember it. Simple Register brings the familiar paper checkbook register to your Apple devices. Open it, enter a transaction, see your balance, and close it. No bank connections, no complicated budgeting system, and no subscription. TRY IT FREE FOR 7 DAYS New customers can start a seven-day free trial with every feature. After the trial, unlock permanently with one purchase: US $9.99, with local pricing shown in the app. There is no subscription or automatic charge. Your existing records stay available to read and export after the trial. Customers who already own the paid app keep full access at no additional charge. FAST, FAMILIAR ENTRY • Record payments, deposits, checks, and transfers • Type 1254 and Simple Register enters $12.54 • A type-ahead payee list as you type, built from your own history • Save an entry and immediately add another • See your running and cleared balances at a glance • Move an entry to a different register when it landed in the wrong one RECONCILE WITH CONFIDENCE Enter your statement balance, check off cleared transactions, and watch the difference reach zero. Simple Register never changes your transaction amounts just from checking them off. Found something you forgot to enter, or a mistyped amount, while matching your statement? Add or fix it without losing your place — and if you need to step away, your checked items and statement amount are still there when you come back. SCHEDULED, ON ONE CALENDAR Set up anything that repeats — a paycheck, the mortgage, a bill whose exact amount isn't known yet — and see every register's upcoming entries on one monthly calendar. An entry that should post itself does; one you'd rather confirm yourself shows as a reminder until you say it's handled, or until a matching payment checks it off on its own. BIG ORDERS, HANDLED Enter a large order once at its full total — even if the bank bills it as several separate charges. List each charge under the entry as it posts, check them off one by one, and reconcile against your statement exactly the way the bank sees it. MADE FOR HOUSEHOLDS Keep as many registers as your household needs — checking, savings, a credit card, vacation fund, gift money — each with its own column labels so a savings register and a card balance never look like a checkbook. Transfers record both sides automatically and stay linked, and every entry shows who added it. YOUR REGISTER, YOUR STYLE Choose from familiar checkbook-inspired covers and ledger styles while keeping every number clear and readable. PRIVATE BY DESIGN • No bank logins • No Plaid or financial account linking • No ads • No analytics • No Simple Register account • Optional local-only mode • Optional Face ID, Touch ID, or passcode protection YOUR DATA STAYS USEFUL Export your register to CSV or PDF whenever you need it. Edit history and Recently Deleted help protect you from mistakes. BUILT FOR APPLE DEVICES Use Simple Register on iPhone, iPad, and Mac, with your private iCloud keeping your registers in step across your devices. Simple Register is for people who want to track their money themselves — without handing their financial history to another service. If you'd like to support development, an entirely optional one-time tip is available from Settings & Privacy — it never changes what the app unlocks.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Simple Register at 5.0 against Pocket Register's 4.4. Simple Register also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 69%). Pocket Register's advantage is monetization model (free with in-app purchases vs paid) and update cadence (every 6 days vs every 2 weeks). On price, ratings volume, ads 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
Both are free to download. Pocket Register sells 4 one-off in-app purchases and Simple Register sells 5 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Simple Register holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.4. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 25 and 13 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 69% of Pocket Register's written reviews are positive against 100% of Simple Register's.
Pocket Register ships an update every 6 days, Simple Register every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 8, 2026 and November 5, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Pocket Register | Simple Register |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.4 (25 ratings) | 5.0 (13 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 69.2% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 25 — better | 13 |
| Update frequency | Every 6 days — better | Every 2 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases — better | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, Mac — better |
| Requires iOS | 18.5 — better | 26.5 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 18 MB | 14 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Chad Pickard | Jennifer Hendrickson |
Customer experience
Pocket Register
Simple Register
In-app purchases
Pocket Register
- Small Thanks Tip$0.99
- Medium Thanks Tip$2.99
- Big Thanks Tip$4.99
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- Pocket Register Pro$9.99
Simple Register
- 7-day TrialFree
- Small Tip$1.99
- Medium Tip$4.99
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- Full Unlock$9.99
- Generous Tip$9.99
Questions
Is Pocket Register free?
Is Simple Register free?
Which has better reviews, Pocket Register or Simple Register?
Do Pocket Register or Simple Register have ads?
Which is updated more often, Pocket Register or Simple Register?
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