Budget Envelope vs Truly Simple Envelopes
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Budget Envelope
This app simplifies personal finance using the cash envelope budgeting method. Create virtual envelopes for spending categories and track your expenses by subtracting from each envelope. When an envelope is empty, you stop spending in that category for the period.
- Envelope budgeting method
- No bank logins required
- No subscriptions
- Data stays on device
- Simple setup
- Privacy-focused
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Take control of your money — one envelope at a time. Envelope Budget brings back the simplicity of the classic cash envelope method, rebuilt for your phone. No spreadsheets. No bank logins. No subscriptions. Just you, your budget, and a few taps. The idea is simple: decide how much you want to spend in each area of your life — groceries, dining out, gas, entertainment — and create an envelope for each one. Every time you spend, subtract it from that envelope. When the envelope is empty, you're done spending in that category for the month. That's it. No complexity. No learning curve. You'll have your first envelope set up in under a minute. Why Envelope Budget? -Most budgeting apps are overwhelming. They want to connect to your bank, sync across devices, send you notifications, and show you charts you'll never look at. Envelope Budget does none of that. It respects your time, your attention, and your privacy. -Everything you enter stays on your device. Always. There are no accounts to create, no passwords to remember, and no data ever leaving your phone. Your financial life is your business.
Truly Simple Envelopes
This app offers a digital approach to the cash stuffing budgeting method. It allows users to manually allocate funds into custom digital envelopes for different spending categories, promoting mindful spending and financial peace of mind without bank linking.
- Digital cash stuffing method
- Manual transaction entry
- Customizable digital envelopes
- Main wallet for unallocated income
- iCloud syncing across Apple devices
- WCAG AA accessibility standards
- Subscription-free with optional one-time purchase
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Managing money is stressful, and modern budgeting apps usually make it worse. They connect to your bank, download hundreds of transactions you don't recognize, bombard you with confusing pie charts, and charge you a hefty monthly subscription for the privilege. Truly Simple Envelopes is the opposite. It’s a digital version of the classic "cash stuffing" envelope method, built to be visually calm, completely manual, and intentionally friction-free. It never links to your bank accounts or automatically pulls in data. Instead, it asks you to mindfully put money into digital envelopes, and manually subtract it when you spend. By stripping away the bloat and focusing entirely on how much money you have left for different priorities, it brings peace of mind back to your finances while helping you develop healthy and sustainable financial habits. The core app, including iCloud syncing between your devices, is entirely free. If you find it useful, a one-time, lifetime $4.99 fee unlocks unlimited envelopes. Features: • The Main Wallet: A central holding bucket for all unallocated income. Add your paycheck here, then distribute the cash to your categories. • Custom Envelopes: Create dedicated folders for Groceries, Rent, Vacation, etc. Customize them with tactile, earthy colors and native Apple icons. • iCloud Sync: Built natively for Apple devices. Your balances and transactions sync instantly and privately across your Mac, iPhone, and iPad. • Accessible: Designed strictly to WCAG AA accessibility standards. Enjoy high-contrast text, large touch targets, and full support for Apple's Dynamic Type text scaling. • Complete Control: Swipe to delete a mistaken transaction, use the built-in Reconcile tool to clean up duplicate sync records, or hit the "Reset App Data" button to completely wipe your slate clean at any time. • Proudly Subscription-Free: We hate recurring billing as much as you do. Stick with the free version, or pay once and use the software forever. No ads, no trackers, no hidden fees.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Truly Simple Envelopes at 5.0 against Budget Envelope's 4.5. Budget Envelope's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and iOS requirement (15.1 vs 17.0). On price, ratings volume, ads 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
Both are free to download. Truly Simple Envelopes sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Budget Envelope asks for nothing beyond the download.
Truly Simple Envelopes holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.5. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2 and 1 respectively.
| Parameter | Budget Envelope | Truly Simple Envelopes |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.5 (2 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Number of ratings | 2 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | — | Every 2 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Freemium |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad, Mac — better |
| Requires iOS | 15.1 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 24 MB | 1 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | TANNER HUNT FRANCIS | Colin Wright |
In-app purchases
Budget Envelope
No in-app purchases
Truly Simple Envelopes
- Unlock Pro$4.99
Questions
Is Budget Envelope free?
Is Truly Simple Envelopes free?
Which has better reviews, Budget Envelope or Truly Simple Envelopes?
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