Comparison

SinkFund vs Payday Buckets

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

Head to head
About

SinkFund

Features
Read full description

Tired of surprise expenses destroying your budget? You're not alone. Car repairs, holiday gifts, annual insurance premiums, and vet bills are the #1 cause of Americans falling back into debt. These aren't truly "unexpected" expenses – they're irregular but predictable costs that catch us off guard because we forget to save for them ahead of time. SinkFund solves this problem with a beautifully simple approach inspired by Dave Ramsey and YNAB methodologies. Create dedicated savings "buckets" for every irregular expense you know is coming, set your target amount and deadline, and let SinkFund automatically calculate exactly how much to set aside from each paycheck. No more financial stress when your car registration is due or the holidays arrive. Key features include smart paycheck calculations that work with weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly pay schedules, visual progress tracking with beautiful rings and charts, and a dedicated "Payday Mode" that shows you exactly how much to allocate right now. Set custom notification reminders before deadlines, track your contribution history, and see your total monthly savings goal at a glance. Export your data anytime with CSV functionality. Whether you're saving $300 for Christmas gifts, $150 monthly for car maintenance, $800 annually for insurance, or $50 weekly for pet expenses, SinkFund makes it effortless. Join thousands of Americans who've broken the cycle of surprise expenses and finally gained control over their irregular costs. Start building your financial security one paycheck at a time. Download SinkFund today and never be caught off guard again. Get started with 3 free sinking funds, then upgrade to unlimited funds for just $2.99 – no subscription required. Your future self will thank you when that next "surprise" bill arrives and you're completely prepared.

About

Payday Buckets

This app helps you manage your finances by calculating exactly how much to set aside from each paycheck for bills, savings, and irregular expenses. It simplifies budgeting by focusing on 'buckets' rather than detailed transaction tracking, ensuring you know your financial plan each payday.

Highlights
  • Paycheck-based financial planning
  • Bucket and sinking fund management
  • Customizable pay schedules
  • Bill and savings goal tracking
  • Local data storage
  • iCloud sync for iPhone and iPad
  • CSV export and JSON backup
Read full description

Tired of spreadsheets, sticky notes and paycheck guesswork? Payday Buckets answers one simple question: “What do I move this payday?” Set up the bills, savings goals and irregular expenses you want to plan for. Tell Payday Buckets when you get paid, and it calculates what to set aside in each bucket every payday. Use it for sinking funds, envelope budgeting, sub-savings accounts, bill planning, subscriptions, yearly expenses, savings goals and everyday categories. WHY PAYDAY BUCKETS • Plan around your real pay cycle — weekly, biweekly, monthly, twice monthly, or a custom interval. • Built for buckets and sinking funds, not endless transaction tracking. • Know what to move each payday before the money disappears. • No bank login required. • Your data is stored locally on your device. • iCloud sync keeps your iPhone and iPad up to date using your private iCloud account. • Designed for people who already use separate accounts, buckets or savings spaces and want a simple way to manage them. HOW IT WORKS 1. Create the buckets that matter — bills, savings goals, subscriptions, irregular expenses and everyday categories. 2. Choose how each bucket should be funded — by due date, fixed amount, top-up to target, or manual. 3. On payday, run your payday plan. 4. Payday Buckets shows exactly what to move into each bucket. 5. Mark bills as paid and keep your bucket balances up to date. FEATURES • Guided Simple Mode for quick bucket setup • Advanced editor for detailed bucket planning • Weekly, biweekly, monthly, twice-monthly and custom pay schedules • Smart payday plans for bills, savings goals, subscriptions and irregular expenses • Scheduled transactions for recurring bills, income and transfers • Upcoming bills view with overdue, 7-day, 30-day and later sections • Insights for bucket forecasts, monthly outlook and budget balancing • Payday plan history • Local reminders for payday, bills, transfers and underfunded buckets • Rename, recolor and organize categories • iCloud sync across iPhone and iPad • Light, Dark and System themes • Dynamic Type and VoiceOver support • CSV export and JSON backup PREMIUM Payday Buckets is free to try with up to 5 active buckets. Upgrade to Premium for: • Unlimited active buckets • Unlimited scheduled transactions PRIVACY Payday Buckets does not require bank access. Your budgeting data is stored locally on your device. If you turn on iCloud sync, your data syncs through your private iCloud account, not through a Payday Buckets budgeting server. SUPPORT Questions or feedback? Get in touch from Settings → About inside the app. Stop guessing what to set aside. Start every payday with a clear plan. What’s New 1.0 First release of Payday Buckets! Plan each payday around your bills, savings goals, subscriptions and sinking funds. • Create buckets for the things you need to fund • Set your pay schedule • Run a payday plan to see what to move into each bucket • Track scheduled bills and recurring transactions • View upcoming bills and bucket forecasts • Sync across iPhone and iPad with iCloud sync • Export your data with CSV and JSON backup Thanks for trying Payday Buckets — your feedback will help shape what comes next.

Screenshots

SinkFund4 screens
Payday Buckets4 screens

Verdict

The call

SinkFund and Payday Buckets are too close to call on the numbers: across 6 compared parameters — price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases among them — neither pulls far enough ahead to decide it. What separates them is feature set and interface, not measurable difference.

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. SinkFund sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Payday Buckets sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

SinkFund ships an update every 10 days, Payday Buckets fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 14, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

ScorecardNo meaningful differences
SinkFund versus Payday Buckets: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSinkFundPayday Buckets
PriceFreeFree
Rating—4.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings—1 — better
Update frequencyEvery 10 days — betterFortnightly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
Monetization—Freemium
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.0 — better18.6
Further details — not scored
Size4 MB12 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMarlon DrameNathan Booth

In-app purchases

1 purchases

SinkFund

One-time1
  • Premium Unlock$2.99
1 purchases

Payday Buckets

One-time1
  • Payday Buckets Pro$12.99

Questions

Is SinkFund free?
SinkFund is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Payday Buckets free?
Payday Buckets is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do SinkFund or Payday Buckets have ads?
Neither SinkFund nor Payday Buckets shows ads.
Which is updated more often, SinkFund or Payday Buckets?
SinkFund ships an update every 10 days, and Payday Buckets fortnightly. Most recently, SinkFund was updated on October 14, 2026 and Payday Buckets on October 24, 2026.

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