Comparison

TipStation vs Budget

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

Head to head
About

TipStation

This app helps service industry workers track tips, manage expenses, and gain insights into their earnings. It offers AI-powered coaching, job listings, and community features to maximize income and plan for taxes. All features require a Pro subscription after a free trial.

Highlights
  • Shift and tip logging
  • AI earnings coach (SAM)
  • Expense tracking for taxes
  • Earnings insights and analytics
  • Service industry job board
  • Community forums
  • Goal setting and tracking
Features
Read full description

Track your tips, maximize your earnings, and take control of your income — all in one app built for service industry workers. TipStation is the complete earnings toolkit for servers, bartenders, baristas, delivery drivers, valets, and everyone who earns tips. Log shifts in seconds, track expenses for tax time, and get AI-powered insights to help you earn more. All features require a TipStation Pro subscription. Start with a free 3-day trial. SHIFT & TIP TRACKING • Log cash tips, card tips, tip-outs, and hourly wages • Quick-log a shift in under 10 seconds • Track hours worked across multiple workplaces AI ASSISTANT (SAM) • Talk to SAM — your AI-powered earnings coach • Real-time voice conversations with instant responses • Log shifts, expenses, and goals using natural language • Get personalized tips to increase your earnings • Snap a receipt photo and SAM extracts the data INSIGHTS & ANALYTICS • See your hourly rate, earnings trends, and best shifts • Compare performance across workplaces and time periods • Monthly and yearly breakdowns for tax planning DOCUMENTS • Generate tax reports and income verification letters • Professional PDF documents from your shift data • Expense summaries organized by category CAREERS • Browse service industry job listings near you • Filter by role, location, and pay range • Save jobs and track applications COMMUNITY • Connect with other service industry workers • Join groups based on your role or location • Share tips, ask questions, and support each other GOALS • Set earnings, hours, and savings targets • Weekly, monthly, and yearly goal periods • Track progress with visual dashboards SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION TipStation Pro is required to use the app. Start with a free 3-day trial, then choose a plan: • Monthly: $5.99/month • Yearly: $59.99/year Payment is charged to your Apple ID account at confirmation of purchase. Subscription automatically renews unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel anytime in Settings > Apple ID > Subscriptions. Terms of Use: https://tipstation.app/terms Privacy Policy: https://tipstation.app/privacy-policy Questions? Contact support@tipstation.app

About

Budget

Track your spending and income to understand where your money goes. Set budgets, schedule bills, and save for goals. All your financial data stays private on your device.

Highlights
  • Log expenses, income, and transfers
  • Set monthly budgets per category
  • Schedule recurring bills and paychecks
  • Save toward financial goals
  • Track net worth
  • View spending breakdown by category
  • Offline functionality
Features
Read full description

Where does your money actually go each month? Budget shows you. No ads, no account needed. Log every expense, income, transfer, charge, or payment. Pick the account, pick the category, add an optional note. Set monthly limits per category, schedule recurring bills and paychecks, and save toward goals like vacation or an emergency fund. Everything you log lives on your phone, with no sign-in and no cloud sync. Answers to your money questions • Where did all my money go this month? • How much can I still spend on groceries before I'm over budget? • What's my current net worth? • When is my next bill due? • How much have I saved for vacation so far? • Did this account move up or down this month? Transactions • Expense, income, and transfer entries • Charge and payment entries for credit cards and loans • Required fields: amount, account, category, date • Optional note on every transaction • Edit or delete with a tap Accounts • Asset accounts: cash, checking, savings, investment • Liability accounts: credit cards, loans, lines of credit • Per-account name, color, and a toggle to include or exclude from your total • Balances roll up to a Net Worth total • Bars showing each account's share of the total • Archive retired accounts and restore them later Budgets • One-off budgets per expense category, per month • Recurring budget templates that renew every month • Progress bar with remaining or over-by amount • Tap a category to see the month's transactions • End a recurring budget on any month Recurring transactions • Daily, weekly, biweekly, semimonthly, monthly, or yearly cadence • Optional end date on every series • Upcoming entries appear on the home screen • Calendar shows projected and recorded entries with different markers Saving goals • Name, optional target, optional deadline • Presets: Vacation, Car, House, Wedding, Emergency Fund • Progress ring with percent complete and a Reached state • Deposits and withdrawals create linked transactions • See remaining amount, percent complete, and days to deadline Calendar • Month grid with markers on transaction days • Different markers for recorded and projected (recurring) entries • Tap a day to see that day's transactions and projections • Projected end-of-month balance at the top Stats • Expense breakdown by category for the active range • This Month or Last 6 Months toggle • 6-month income and expense bar chart • Income, Expense, and Net columns at the bottom • Tap any category in the legend to see its transactions Net Worth • Assets minus liabilities at the top • Month-to-date change since the start of the month • Line chart of net worth over time • Per-account asset and liability breakdowns More to explore • 28 hand-built themes • Daily reminder with quiet days • Cent-accurate math, no rounding errors • Translated into 39 languages Ad-free & private • No ads • All data stays on your device • No account required. Works completely offline Your money, your phone. Disclaimer This app is for personal money tracking and is not financial advice. All figures reflect what you log. Always verify against your bank or card statements.

Screenshots

TipStation4 screens
Budget4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is monetization model: Budget at free with in-app purchases against TipStation's subscription. TipStation's advantage is ads (none vs shown). On price, rating, ratings volume and update cadence 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. TipStation sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month and Budget sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for TipStation against 5.0 for Budget. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 8 and 3 respectively.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

TipStation ships an update every 5 weeks, Budget every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 13, 2026 and October 11, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
TipStation versus Budget: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTipStationBudget
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (8 ratings)5.0 (3 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings8 — better3
Update frequencyEvery 5 weeks — betterEvery 2 months
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationSubscriptionFree with in-app purchases — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.115.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size54 MB54 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperTipStation LLCEHM TECH LLC

Customer experience

TipStation

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews7 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Budget

All ratings3 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

2 purchases

TipStation

Subscriptions2
  • TipStation Pro3 Days trial$5.991 Month
  • TipStation Pro3 Days trial$59.991 Year
2 purchases

Budget

Subscriptions2
  • Pro - Weekly7 Days trial$2.997 Days
  • Pro - Weekly7 Days trial$29.991 Year

Questions

Is TipStation free?
TipStation is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Budget free?
Budget is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, TipStation or Budget?
TipStation and Budget are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 8 and 3 ratings respectively.
Do TipStation or Budget have ads?
Budget shows ads; TipStation does not.
Which is updated more often, TipStation or Budget?
TipStation ships an update every 5 weeks, and Budget every 2 months. Most recently, TipStation was updated on October 13, 2026 and Budget on October 11, 2026.

Other comparisons