Simple Self Budget vs Basis

Simple Self Budget is a calm, native budget tracker for people who just want to know where their month stands. No bank logins, no ads, no judgment. Set a monthly budget for each category, log expenses in seconds, and see what's left at a glance. The numbers state the facts. Nothing nags and nothing throws confetti. It stays honest and out of your way. FREE, FOREVER • A monthly budget per category, with a clear spent, remaining, and percentage view • Over budget is shown plainly: a red number and an icon, never shame or alarm • Log an expense in seconds with description autocomplete and the right keyboard • Tap a past expense while typing to reuse its amount and category, and pick in Settings what gets filled • Log hands-free with Siri, Shortcuts, and the Action Button: "Log $12 for lunch in Food" • Recurring subscriptions and bills added automatically each month, on the same day, even if you skip opening the app • Schedule a payment ahead, so next month's rent logged now counts toward next month's budget • This month's category breakdown, plus your recent months of history • CSV import and export, whenever you want GO FURTHER WITH PRO: ONE PURCHASE, YOURS FOR GOOD • Spending analysis in plain words: a recap of any period, an unusually large charge, a subscription you never marked. Ask it a question and it answers from your own numbers. Needs a device that supports Apple Intelligence • Scan receipts to auto-fill the amount, date, and merchant, or attach a photo to any expense • Spending trends across week, month, quarter, or year • Compare any two periods side by side • Your full monthly history, as far back as your data goes • A calm yearly review: totals, category shifts, highest and lowest months • Budget status on your Home and Lock Screen with widgets, plus a quick-log widget • Roll leftover budget into next month • Lock the app with Face ID Pro is a single one-time purchase. No subscription, no recurring charges. YOURS, AND PRIVATE • Your data lives on your devices and syncs through your own private iCloud, not a third-party server • Check your iCloud sync status in Settings, so you know a new device is caught up • Spending analysis runs on your device with Apple Intelligence. Nothing is uploaded, and nothing is sent to an AI company • No bank account linking, no ads, no tracking • Your data is never behind the paywall: logging, budgets, and CSV export stay free MADE FOR iOS • SF Symbols, Dynamic Type, system colors, and full light and dark mode • VoiceOver labels and Reduce Motion support throughout • Choose your own category colors and currency Simple Self Budget does one job, monthly per-category budgeting, and does it well. Privacy Policy: https://simpleselfbudget.w8bs4cpzx2.workers.dev/privacy

Basis is a budgeting app built on one old rule: pay yourself first. Most apps track what you spend and call whatever's left at the end of the month "savings". For most people, that number is zero. Basis flips the order: on payday, your saving rate comes off the top — like a bill. What's left is what you budget, across categories you define. Then, at the end of the period, nothing settles silently. You close the month yourself: every overspent category gets an explicit decision, cover it from savings, or carry it and start next month tighter. Leftovers sweep into savings with one tap. Basis doesn't just track saving. It causes it. THE METHOD • Save first: your saving rate is set aside on payday, before any budgeting happens • Budget the rest across your own categories: rent, groceries, whatever fits your life • Close each period deliberately: settle overspends, sweep the surplus MEASURED AGAINST YOU, NOT A RULEBOOK • Every category charts this period against your own usual pace — "13% under your usual at day 13" • Average per day, projection to period end, and your past periods as bars: drift is visible before it becomes a problem • The capital chart draws the money you've kept across every payday, from your first period to today FAST TO LIVE WITH • Log an expense in two taps with the custom keypad • Or scan the receipt: the text is read on-device and the photo never leaves your phone • Recurring expenses post themselves • Home-screen widgets for quick logging and an at-a-glance balance AND IT'S COMPLETELY PRIVATE No bank link, no account, no cloud. Basis runs entirely on your phone. FREE FOREVER No subscription, no ads, no in-app purchases, no premium tier. Basis has no running costs, so it has no price. That's the whole deal.