Comparison

Substract vs Steward

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

Head to head
About

Substract

Features
Read full description

The average American wastes $32/month on subscriptions they forgot about or stopped using. Substract shows you exactly which ones — and helps you cancel before the next charge. Connect your Gmail to automatically find all your subscriptions — no manual entry needed. Substract scans your inbox and imports everything in seconds. Track all your subscriptions in one place, see how much you spend every month and year, and get reminders before subscriptions renew. Substract also provides smart insights to help you identify subscriptions you may have forgotten and discover ways to save money by switching to better plans. Key Features • Scan your inbox: Automatically find subscriptions from your Gmail • Portfolio Health Score: See how well you're managing your subscriptions • Free trial tracking: Never miss a trial-to-paid conversion • Smart check-ins: Know which subscriptions you're not actually using • Track unlimited subscriptions • Renewal reminders before subscriptions renew • Monthly and yearly spending insights • Discover cheaper alternatives and save money • Clear overview of your recurring expenses Whether you're managing streaming services, productivity apps, or memberships, Substract gives you clarity and control over your subscription spending. Privacy Policy: https://getsubstract.com/privacy Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Steward

Features
Read full description

Steward is your private, no-nonsense subscription companion. Track what you pay. Reflect on what it's worth. Make intentional choices — without handing your bank credentials to anyone. THE PROBLEM WITH OTHER APPS Rocket Money charges you monthly to save you money. That's ironic. Other apps want your bank login. That's a privacy problem wrapped in a security risk. Most just show you a list and call it insight. That's not enough. We Steward your relationship with your subscriptions. WHAT STEWARD DOES Track your subscriptions with a clean, fast entry flow. Search our database of 150+ services — Netflix, Spotify, Microsoft 365, Apple One, and more — or add anything custom. Your yoga studio, that podcaster newsletter you keep meaning to cancel, the cloud backup you forgot about. Then, at your pace, reflect. Rate each subscription 1–5. Was it worth it this month or this quarter? Add an optional note to provide context. Over time, you'll see patterns: what you actually value, what you're paying out of habit, and what deserves to stay in your life. THE INTENTIONAL SPENDING DIFFERENCE Most subscription apps want to cancel everything and call it victory. Steward asks a better question: is this subscription worth it to you, right now? Act on it now, or later. That's not an algorithm's call. It's yours. YOUR DATA, YOUR DEVICE Everything lives on your iPhone. No account required. No bank linking. No cloud sync unless you want it. No analytics SDKs phoning home. No crash reporters. Nothing. Your subscription data is yours. Export it to CSV anytime and take it anywhere. BUILT FOR THE LONG HAUL One-time purchase. No subscription to manage your subscriptions. All 1.x updates included. Support the developer with an optional tip if Steward earns it — but there's nothing locked behind that. Try the full experience for 30 days before committing. After that, you can still use the app all you want, but you won't be able to add, edit or remove any subscription settings. FEATURES • Subscription database with 150+ popular services — search, tap, done • You can add your own custom subscriptions for anything not in the database • Weekly/Monthly/Annual spend summary with budget tracking • Payment calendar — see what's coming up this week and this month • Value check-ins — rate each subscription 1–5 with optional notes • Reflection history — see how your ratings change over time • Flexible payment reminders — days before, day-of, or not at all — fully configurable • Insights — spending by category, top costs, trends over time • CSV export — your data in a format you can actually use • Full dark mode support • Accessible — VoiceOver, Dynamic Type, WCAG AA contrast ONE-TIME PRICING • Free for 30 days: unlimited subscriptions, core features. After 30-day trial, application becomes read-only. • US$9.99 purchase price restores full features after trial period ends. Made for people who care about where their money goes.

Screenshots

Substract4 screens
Steward4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Steward at none against Substract's shown. Substract's advantage is update cadence (every 2 days vs every 2 months) and iOS requirement (15.1 vs 26.0). On price, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price Ā· Rating Ā· Positive reviews Ā· Number of ratings Ā· Update frequency Ā· Ads Ā· In-app purchases Ā· Monetization Ā· Best chart rank Ā· Devices Ā· Requires iOS

CostPrice Ā· In-app purchases Ā· Ads Ā· Monetization

Both are free to download. Substract sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month and Steward sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Substract ships an update every 2 days, Steward every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 10, 2026 and October 5, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences Ā· 3 level
Substract versus Steward: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSubstractSteward
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 2 days — betterEvery 2 months
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.1 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size52 MB10 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperGOKHAN DEMIRERGeorge Pechtol

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Substract

Subscriptions2
  • Premium Monthly14 Days trial$4.991 Month
  • Premium Yearly14 Days trial$29.991 Year
4 purchases

Steward

One-time4
  • Coffee Support$0.99
  • Development Support$2.99
  • Steward Premium$9.99
Show 1 more
  • Patron Support$9.99

Questions

Is Substract free?
Substract is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Steward free?
Steward is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Substract or Steward have ads?
Substract shows ads; Steward does not.
Which is updated more often, Substract or Steward?
Substract ships an update every 2 days, and Steward every 2 months. Most recently, Substract was updated on October 10, 2026 and Steward on October 5, 2026.

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