Comparison

Esme vs Basic Budget

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

Head to head
About

Esme

Features
Read full description

Stop wondering where your money goes. Esme is a smart budgeting app that helps you track spending, manage shared expenses, and build better financial habits, all in one place. Whether you're budgeting for yourself or splitting bills with others, Esme keeps everything simple, clear, and easy to manage. TAKE CONTROL OF YOUR MONEY โ€ข Track daily expenses and see exactly where your money goes โ€ข Create a personalized budget that fits your lifestyle โ€ข Stay on top of spending without spreadsheets or guesswork MANAGE SHARED EXPENSES EASILY โ€ข Split bills with your partner, roommates, or friends โ€ข Track who paid and who owes โ€” instantly โ€ข Settle up without awkward calculations SAVE TIME WITH SMART AUTOMATION โ€ข Scan receipts and log expenses in seconds โ€ข Automatically track recurring transactions โ€ข Get AI-powered insights to improve your spending habits BUILT FOR REAL LIFE โ€ข Add expenses quickly with home screen widgets โ€ข Stay organized with a clean, simple interface โ€ข No complicated setup โ€” start in minutes Esme is designed to make budgeting practical and easy to stick with. Build better habits, reduce stress, and feel confident about your money every day. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Basic Budget

Read full description

Basic Budget is a simple, private expense tracker that helps you stay on top of your spending โ€” without accounts, ads, or your data ever leaving your phone. Everything works completely offline. Open the app, log what you spent, and instantly see how much you have left in each budget. No sign-up, no sync, no tracking. WHY BASIC BUDGET - 100% offline โ€” your financial data stays on your device, always - No account required โ€” start tracking in seconds - No ads, no analytics, no data collection - Fast, clean and easy to use every day TRACK YOUR SPENDING - Log expenses in seconds with amount, category and notes - Organise spending with categories and subcategories - See exactly how much you've spent and what's left BUDGETS THAT MAKE SENSE - Set a budget for each category - Watch your remaining balance update as you spend - Clear at-a-glance status so you always know where you stand SEE YOUR HISTORY - Review spending by day, week or month - Spending-over-time chart across your whole history - Category breakdowns to spot where your money goes OWN YOUR DATA - Export your transactions to CSV any time - Import transactions from CSV โ€” categories are created for you automatically - Your data is yours: no cloud lock-in FREE TO USE Basic Budget is free. An optional one-time lifetime unlock adds premium features โ€” pay once, own it forever. No subscriptions, ever. Made for people who just want a straightforward way to track spending and stick to a budget: private, offline and simple.

Screenshots

Esme4 screens
Basic Budget3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Basic Budget at none against Esme's 2. Esme's advantage is device support (3 vs 1). On price, update cadence, ads and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

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

CostPrice ยท In-app purchases ยท Ads ยท Monetization

Both are free to download. Esme sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Basic Budget asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Esme ships an update every 3 days, Basic Budget every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on October 25, 2026 and October 26, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences ยท 4 level
Esme versus Basic Budget: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterEsmeBasic Budget
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 3 days โ€” betterEvery 4 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo โ€” better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod โ€” betteriPhone
Requires iOS15.1 โ€” better16.4
Further details โ€” not scored
Size48 MB51 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperKenneth OngBorder networks Pte ltd

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Esme

Subscriptions2
  • Esme Premium Monthly$2.991 Month
  • Esme Premium Yearly$24.991 Year
None

Basic Budget

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Esme free?
Esme is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Basic Budget free?
Basic Budget is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Esme or Basic Budget have ads?
Neither Esme nor Basic Budget shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Esme or Basic Budget?
Esme ships an update every 3 days, and Basic Budget every 4 days. Most recently, Esme was updated on October 25, 2026 and Basic Budget on October 26, 2026.

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