Comparison

Budget Tracker vs Penni

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

Head to head
About

Budget Tracker

This app helps you understand your safe-to-spend amount by automatically deducting bills, subscriptions, and savings. It offers no-bank-connection tracking, Siri integration, and detailed financial insights through charts and on-device AI.

Highlights
  • Automatic bill and subscription deduction
  • No bank connection required
  • Siri and Spotlight integration
  • On-device AI for financial insights
  • Home and Lock Screen widgets
  • CSV import/export
  • Supports 180+ currencies
Features
Read full description

What's safe to spend right now? Not your bank balance. What's left after bills, subscriptions, and savings - before the next payday. No bank connection required. Ever. No account. No sign-in. Brim shows you one honest number, and it never leaves your iPhone. SET UP ONCE. KNOW EVERY DAY. Add your bills, subscriptions, and recurring expenses once. Brim deducts them automatically - that number on your home screen is what's actually yours to spend. No mental math. No guessing before you spend. NO BANK CONNECTION. STILL AUTOMATIC. Brim never connects to your bank. Set up an Apple Pay automation once, and every tap to pay logs itself as an expense - no manual entry, ever. BUILT FOR REAL LIFE Salary on the 29th. Freelance month. Two paychecks at different times. Brim plans on what you actually expect to earn, and adjusts as reality unfolds. ASK SIRI AI Ask Siri what's left in your budget, or for any category, like "Ask Brim what I have left for Coffee Shops." Ask Siri to add a transaction, hands free. Search your transactions right from Spotlight. UNDERSTAND YOUR MONEY, AT A GLANCE Six charts, each with one job. • Spending Breakdown - watch your paycheck flow from income to every category • Spending Trend - is this month better or worse than your usual? • Top Spending - which categories are absorbing the most? • Saving Rate - are you on track? Benchmarks included, not a vague thumbs-up Tap any chart. Apple Intelligence tells you what it means, in one sentence, on your device. ONE TAP TO ADD AN EXPENSE Tap once inside the app. Pick a category. Done. Or set up an Apple Pay automation in iOS Shortcuts and let your purchases log themselves. Whichever feels less like work. Brim also suggests the right emoji when you create a new category - small touch, but it makes the app feel like yours. YOUR ACCOUNTS, OVER TIME See your balance for every account or just one, from a week to all time. Touch the chart to read any day, and Apple Intelligence sums up what's on screen in one sentence. Add the Accounts widget, or ask Siri for your balance. WORKS WHILE YOU'RE NOT LOOKING • 9 Home Screen widgets, plus Lock Screen widgets • Browse what's ahead in the new Upcoming calendar • A reminder before a recurring payment goes out • Apple Pay automation via Shortcuts • Recurring bills auto-deducted every month PRIVATE BY DESIGN. NO SIGN-IN, EVER. Open Brim and start. No account to create, no email, no password. Your financial data lives on your device. iCloud sync goes through your personal account - we never see it. The AI features run on-device too - your transactions never leave your iPhone. BUILT TO BE FAST Opens instantly. No loading screen. Just your number, right there. Logging an expense on the go takes three seconds. That's the whole point. DATA YOU OWN • CSV import from other budget apps • CSV export anytime • 180+ currencies supported BUILT WITH YOU Made by one indie developer who uses Brim every day. Vote on the roadmap, email feedback, help shape what comes next. - Lazare Privacy: https://getbrim.app/privacy Terms: https://getbrim.app/terms

About

Penni

Manage your finances with a calm, beautifully simple approach. Track spending, set gentle budgets, and grow savings without spreadsheets or account creation. Your data stays private on your device and synced via iCloud.

Highlights
  • Private by design, no sign-up required
  • Track expenses and income
  • Set gentle budgets
  • Manage savings goals
  • Financial health score
  • Home and Lock Screen widgets
  • iCloud sync and backup
Features
Read full description

Penni is a calmer way to manage your money. Track what you spend, set gentle budgets, and watch your savings grow — in an app that feels warm, unhurried, and beautifully simple. No spreadsheets, no clutter, and no account to create. Just open Penni and start. PRIVATE BY DESIGN • No sign-up, no login, no account. Ever. • Your data is stored on your device and synced privately through your own iCloud — it never touches our servers, because we don't have any. • Lock the app behind Face ID or Touch ID for an extra layer of privacy. SEE YOUR MONEY AT A GLANCE • A clean home dashboard with your total balance, income, and spending for the month. • Beautiful wallet cards for cash, bank accounts, cards, savings, and more. • A simple financial-health score that tells you how you're doing. TRACK EVERY TRANSACTION • Log expenses and income in seconds. • Organize with tidy, colorful categories and per-day grouping. • Search and filter by date range to find anything fast. BUDGETS THAT GUIDE YOU • Set gentle limits for the categories you care about. • Always know exactly where you stand — without the guilt. REACH YOUR GOALS • Save for an emergency fund, a new phone, or a dream trip. • Watch each goal fill up as you set money aside. INSIGHTS • Spending trends and category breakdowns that actually make sense. WORKS WHERE YOU DO • Home Screen and Lock Screen widgets keep your balance and budgets a glance away. • A Live Activity keeps an eye on your budget while you spend. ICLOUD SYNC & BACKUP • Turn on iCloud Sync and your wallets, transactions, budgets, and goals stay up to date across your iPhone and iPad automatically — and are safely backed up to your iCloud account. Penni is a personal bookkeeping tool to help you understand your own money. It does not connect to your bank, move money, or give financial advice. — PENNI PRO Penni is free to use. Penni Pro unlocks everything: unlimited wallets, unlimited budgets and goals, unlimited transactions, iCloud sync, dark mode, advanced insights, and custom categories. • Penni Pro Monthly — $3.99 / month • Penni Pro (3 Months) — $9.99 / 3 months • Penni Pro Yearly — $29.99 / year Payment is charged to your Apple Account at confirmation of purchase. Your subscription renews automatically for the same price and duration unless it is cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. You can manage or cancel your subscription anytime in your Apple Account settings. Any unused portion of a free trial, if offered, is forfeited when you purchase a subscription. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://penni.cc/privacy

Screenshots

Budget Tracker4 screens
Penni4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Penni at 5.0 against Budget Tracker's 3.4. Penni also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 63%) and update cadence (every 4 days vs every 11 days). Budget Tracker's advantage is ratings volume (5 vs 1). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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 Tracker sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month and Penni sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Penni holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Budget Tracker has 5 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 63% of Budget Tracker's written reviews are positive against 100% of Penni's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Budget Tracker ships an update every 11 days, Penni every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on November 5, 2026 and November 7, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Budget Tracker versus Penni: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBudget TrackerPenni
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.4 (5 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews62.5% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings5 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 11 daysEvery 4 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemiumFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPhone
Requires iOS18.618.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size150 MB59 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperLazare KolebkaOTHMANE MDIDET

Customer experience

Budget Tracker

All ratings5 ratings
Positive60.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative40.0%
Written reviews16 reviews
Positive62.5%
Neutral12.5%
Negative25.0%

Penni

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

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Budget Tracker

Subscriptions2
  • Brim Pro$4.991 Month
  • Brim Pro7 Days trial$39.991 Year
One-time1
  • Brim Pro Lifetime$59.99
3 purchases

Penni

Subscriptions3
  • Monthly$3.991 Month
  • 3 Months$9.993 Months
  • Yearly$29.991 Year

Questions

Is Budget Tracker free?
Budget Tracker is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Penni free?
Penni is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Budget Tracker or Penni?
Penni is rated higher. Budget Tracker averages 3.4 out of 5 from 5 ratings, while Penni averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Budget Tracker or Penni have ads?
Neither Budget Tracker nor Penni shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Budget Tracker or Penni?
Budget Tracker ships an update every 11 days, and Penni every 4 days. Most recently, Budget Tracker was updated on November 5, 2026 and Penni on November 7, 2026.

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