Comparison

Budget0 vs Cacao Ledger

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

Head to head
About

Budget0

Take full control of your finances with zero-based budgeting. Assign every dollar a purpose, track spending with smart categorization, and visualize your financial health with beautiful charts. Secure your data with PIN and biometric authentication.

Highlights
  • Zero-based budgeting method
  • AI-powered auto-categorization
  • Budget groups and comparison
  • Interactive financial charts
  • PDF report generation
  • Cloud backup and restore
  • PIN and biometric security
Features
Read full description

Budget0 puts you in complete control of your money with zero-based budgeting — a proven method where every dollar of income is assigned a purpose, so nothing slips through the cracks. ZERO-BASED BUDGETING Start each budget by entering your income, then allocate every dollar to expenses until you reach zero. This ensures you always know exactly where your money is going and helps you save more intentionally. GOALS Saving up for the next family vacation, or paying off a credit card? Create a goal and set money aside for it in any budget. Budget0 shows how far you've come and, if you keep budgeting at your rhythm, roughly how many budgets are still needed and around when you could get there. Reached it? Plan the vacation itself as a new budget from what you saved. SMART CATEGORIZATION Choose from 31 built-in categories for income and expenses, or create your own. Budget0 features AI-powered auto-categorization that learns from your habits, so adding items gets faster over time. BUDGET GROUPS & COMPARISON Organize budgets into groups and compare them side by side. See how your spending evolves from one budget to the next with detailed comparison tables and stacked bar charts. BEAUTIFUL CHARTS Visualize your finances with interactive donut charts that break down spending by category, and drill down for more detail. Group charts show trends across multiple budgets at a glance. PDF EXPORT Generate professional PDF reports for individual budgets or entire group comparisons and share them with anyone. Budget reports are formatted in portrait, group comparisons in landscape. BACKUP Back up your data to iCloud, or save a backup file wherever you choose. Restore anytime. SECURITY FIRST Protect your financial data with a PIN code and optional biometric authentication (Face ID or Touch ID). Configure auto-lock to secure the app when you step away. WORKS EVERYWHERE • 25 currencies supported with proper formatting • 14 languages: English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Dutch, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Swedish, Turkish, and Chinese • Works offline — no account, and the app never sends anything on its own ONE-TIME PURCHASE Budget0 is a one-time purchase — no subscriptions, no ads, no hidden fees. Pay once and own it forever. Download Budget0 today and give every dollar a job.

About

Cacao Ledger

This personal accounting app uses double-entry bookkeeping to provide a clear financial overview. Track income, expenses, and organize funds across various categories, with robust reporting and multi-currency support. Your financial data remains private and on your device.

Highlights
  • Double-entry bookkeeping
  • Transaction recording
  • Financial reporting (income statement, balance sheet)
  • Multi-currency support
  • Data export (PDF, JSON, CSV, Ledger)
  • On-device privacy
Features
Read full description

Cacao is a personal accounting app built on double-entry bookkeeping; the same system professionals have used for centuries, now simple enough for anyone. Whether you're tracking a salary, managing expenses across currencies, or just trying to understand where your money actually goes, Cacao gives you a complete and accurate picture every time. What you can do: - Record transactions with full debit and credit entries - Organize money across assets, liabilities, equity, income, and expenses - Generate an income statement, balance sheet, and trial balance - Export reports as PDF for your records - Work in multiple currencies with exchange rate support - Export your data to JSON, CSV, or plain-text Ledger format — no lock-in Built for privacy. Everything stays on your device. No account required, no subscriptions, no cloud. New to double-entry accounting? Cacao is a great place to start, the structure guides you naturally without getting in the way.

Screenshots

Budget04 screens
Cacao Ledger4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Cacao Ledger at Free against Budget0's $2.99. Cacao Ledger also leads on iOS requirement (13.0 vs 16.4). On update cadence, ads, in-app purchases 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

Cacao Ledger is free to download; Budget0 costs $2.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Budget0 ships an update every 3 days, Cacao Ledger every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on November 5, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Budget0 versus Cacao Ledger: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBudget0Cacao Ledger
Price$2.99Free — better
Rating—5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews0.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings—1 — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 days — betterEvery 5 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS16.413.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size47 MB24 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSteffen MeyerEduardo Oropeza-Sanchez

In-app purchases

None

Budget0

No in-app purchases

None

Cacao Ledger

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Budget0 free?
Budget0 costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Cacao Ledger free?
Cacao Ledger is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Budget0 or Cacao Ledger have ads?
Neither Budget0 nor Cacao Ledger shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Budget0 or Cacao Ledger?
Budget0 ships an update every 3 days, and Cacao Ledger every 5 days. Most recently, Budget0 was updated on November 5, 2026 and Cacao Ledger on October 31, 2026.

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