Comparison

FlowBudget vs Lode

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

Head to head
About

FlowBudget

Manage your personal finances with ease. Track income and expenses, organize transactions by category, and monitor your accounts in real time. Visualize your spending habits with detailed statistics and charts.

Highlights
  • Real-time account monitoring
  • Customizable transaction categories
  • Budget management with spending limits
  • Detailed statistics and charts
  • Recurring transaction tracking
  • Receipt attachment
  • Home screen widget
Features
Read full description

FlowBudget is the simple, intuitive app to track expenses, manage budgets, and take control of your personal finances. Add income and expenses in seconds, organize every transaction by category, and monitor your accounts in real time. Your Monthly Report tells the story of your money, month after month where it went, how much you saved, and what mattered most. KEY FEATURES • Dashboard with total balance and recent transactions • Multiple accounts (checking, cash, cards, savings) • Custom categories with icons and colors • Recurring transactions: subscriptions, rent, salary • Budget management with spending limits per category • Monthly financial report: income, expenses and balance • Detailed statistics and charts by category and period • Upcoming expenses: keep an eye on what's coming • Attach PDF receipts and invoices to transactions • Trash with restore option • Home screen widget FLOWBUDGET PRO • Unlimited accounts, categories and budgets • Unlimited recurring transactions • Full statistics history, including Year and All-time views • In-depth Monthly Report: savings rate, top categories, month-over-month comparison • Push notifications for budget alerts and recurring transactions • iCloud sync across iPhone, iPad and Mac • Backup and CSV export Try FlowBudget Pro free for 7 days. Available as a monthly subscription, annual subscription, or one-time purchase. Terms of Use: https://getflowbudget.com/terms

About

Lode

This AI-powered finance app automatically logs your expenses from bank notifications and Apple Pay. It helps you manage budgets, track bills, and plan for trips without requiring bank logins. Your data is securely stored in your iCloud.

Highlights
  • Automatic expense logging from notifications
  • AI-powered transaction categorization
  • Budget and bill tracking
  • Trip budgeting and expense management
  • Receipt scanning and import
  • iCloud sync for iPhone and iPad
Features
Read full description

Lode is the AI budget and expense tracker for iPhone. It logs payments from your bank’s notifications and Apple Pay, keeps budgets, bills and trips in check, and stores everything in your own iCloud. PAY AS USUAL. LODE WRITES IT DOWN Your bank already sends a notification for every payment. Lode turns each one into a transaction — no typing, no bank login. - You pay: By card, online or with Apple Pay. Your bank sends its usual notification. Bank notifications need iOS 27; Apple Pay works on iOS 18 and later. - Lode logs it: Amount, merchant and category — income too — without you opening the app. - It asks when unsure: Cash from an ATM, or a charge that may be one of your bills? One tap in a notification decides. FAST TO LOG. EASY TO PLAN - AI chat, voice and receipts: Type “coffee 5”, say it out loud or snap a receipt. Lode fills in the category, currency and date. Premium, with 3 free voice entries a month. - Budgets that fit your payday: An overall budget, limits per category and an income plan — with the month starting on the day you get paid. - Bills and subscriptions: Recurring payments are logged on schedule, and a free trial ends with a reminder, not a surprise charge. - Goals and debts: Save toward a trip or a laptop at your own pace, and keep track of who owes whom. - Shared accounts: Share an account with a partner or family through iCloud. Everyone keeps their own accounts private. Sharing needs Premium; joining is free. - Statistics and reports: See where the money goes by category, day and trip, and export the month as a PDF report. - Import a CSV, Excel or PDF bank statement, or an export from another finance app — Lode recognizes the columns and uses Lode AI for unusual layouts and PDFs. EVERY TRIP BUDGETED. EVERY COUNTRY STAMPED Set the country and dates, and every expense on those days goes into the trip — in any currency, against its own budget. - See what a day on the road cost, place by place - A passport stamp for every country, and how much of the world you’ve seen - Your trip on the Lock Screen as a Live Activity - 150+ currencies, booked at the rate of the day you paid WORKS THE WAY YOUR iPhone DOES - Siri & Shortcuts: “Log expense in Lode” — hands-free. - Widgets: Balance, budget and spending on your Home and Lock Screen. - Live Activities: The trip you’re on, right on the Lock Screen. - iCloud sync: Your iPhone and iPad, always in step. - Hide amounts: Tap the balance to cover every figure before you hand the phone over. NO BANK LOGIN. NO ACCOUNT. NO TRACKING - No bank password: Lode never connects to your bank. Payments come from the notifications already on your iPhone. - No account: No sign-up and no email. Open the app and start. - Your iCloud, not our servers: Your data lives on your iPhone and syncs through your own iCloud. - No ads or trackers: Nothing is sold or profiled. AI only sees what you send it, and nothing is stored. START FREE. UPGRADE WHEN YOU'RE READY Core tracking and automatic logging are free forever. Premium unlocks Lode AI, deeper insights and no limits. Know where your money goes. Always. Terms of Use (EULA): https://lodefinance.com/term-of-use Privacy Policy: https://lodefinance.com/privacy-policy

Screenshots

FlowBudget4 screens
Lode4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Lode at every 5 days against FlowBudget's every 3 weeks. Lode also leads on ratings volume (8 vs 1) and iOS requirement (18.0 vs 26.0). On price, rating, review sentiment and ads 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. FlowBudget sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month and Lode 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

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for FlowBudget against 5.0 for Lode. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Lode has 8 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 100% and 100% positive.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

FlowBudget ships an update every 3 weeks, Lode every 5 days. Both last shipped on November 5, 2026.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
FlowBudget versus Lode: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterFlowBudgetLode
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings)5.0 (8 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings18 — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 5 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemiumFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS26.018.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size27 MB112 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperRiccardo NestolaKyrylo Svystun

Customer experience

FlowBudget

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

Lode

All ratings8 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews9 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

3 purchases

FlowBudget

Subscriptions2
  • FlowBudget Pro7 Days trial$3.991 Month
  • FlowBudget Pro7 Days trial$22.991 Year
One-time1
  • Pro Lifetime$49.99
3 purchases

Lode

Subscriptions2
  • Lode Premium$3.991 Month
  • Lode Premium3 Days trial$29.991 Year
One-time1
  • Lifetime Premium$59.99

Questions

Is FlowBudget free?
FlowBudget is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Lode free?
Lode is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, FlowBudget or Lode?
FlowBudget and Lode are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 1 and 8 ratings respectively.
Do FlowBudget or Lode have ads?
Neither FlowBudget nor Lode shows ads.
Which is updated more often, FlowBudget or Lode?
FlowBudget ships an update every 3 weeks, and Lode every 5 days. Most recently, FlowBudget was updated on November 5, 2026 and Lode on November 5, 2026.

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