Comparison

BillSmooth vs Payday Buckets

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

Head to head
About

BillSmooth

Features
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BillSmooth helps you plan for upcoming bills by setting aside small amounts regularly, so the money is already there when the bill arrives. No more scrambling, no more surprises. **How it works** Divide your money into virtual buckets β€” one for rent, one for insurance, one for the holiday fund, whatever you need. Set up recurring transfers that top each bucket up at whatever rhythm suits you: weekly, fortnightly, monthly. When a bill comes in, you already have the money set aside. **Built for your real life** - Handles fortnightly pay cycles, not just monthly. - Tracking accounts roll up child balances into a single total. - Projections show fortnightly, monthly and annual impact at a glance. - Works with whichever currency you use β€” AUD, USD, GBP, EUR, and more. **Your data stays with you** BillSmooth is fully local. Every account, balance and transaction lives on your device β€” we don't run servers and there's nothing to sign up for. Your data is automatically included in your iPhone's iCloud Backup, and you can export or import a JSON copy from Settings at any time. **Free, no sign-up, no tracking** No ads. No account required. No analytics pinging home. Just a tool to help you get ahead of your bills.

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
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Tired of spreadsheets, sticky notes and paycheck guesswork? Payday Buckets answers one simple question: β€œWhat 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 β€’ Plan around your real pay cycle β€” weekly, biweekly, monthly, twice monthly, or a custom interval. β€’ Built for buckets and sinking funds, not endless transaction tracking. β€’ Know what to move each payday before the money disappears. β€’ No bank login required. β€’ Your data is stored locally on your device. β€’ iCloud sync keeps your iPhone and iPad up to date using your private iCloud account. β€’ 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 β€” bills, savings goals, subscriptions, irregular expenses and everyday categories. 2. Choose how each bucket should be funded β€” 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 β€’ Guided Simple Mode for quick bucket setup β€’ Advanced editor for detailed bucket planning β€’ Weekly, biweekly, monthly, twice-monthly and custom pay schedules β€’ Smart payday plans for bills, savings goals, subscriptions and irregular expenses β€’ Scheduled transactions for recurring bills, income and transfers β€’ Upcoming bills view with overdue, 7-day, 30-day and later sections β€’ Insights for bucket forecasts, monthly outlook and budget balancing β€’ Payday plan history β€’ Local reminders for payday, bills, transfers and underfunded buckets β€’ Rename, recolor and organize categories β€’ iCloud sync across iPhone and iPad β€’ Light, Dark and System themes β€’ Dynamic Type and VoiceOver support β€’ CSV export and JSON backup PREMIUM Payday Buckets is free to try with up to 5 active buckets. Upgrade to Premium for: β€’ Unlimited active buckets β€’ 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 β†’ 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. β€’ Create buckets for the things you need to fund β€’ Set your pay schedule β€’ Run a payday plan to see what to move into each bucket β€’ Track scheduled bills and recurring transactions β€’ View upcoming bills and bucket forecasts β€’ Sync across iPhone and iPad with iCloud sync β€’ Export your data with CSV and JSON backup Thanks for trying Payday Buckets β€” your feedback will help shape what comes next.

Screenshots

BillSmooth4 screens
Payday Buckets4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: BillSmooth at none against Payday Buckets's 1. BillSmooth also leads on iOS requirement (15.1 vs 18.6). On price, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

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

CostPrice Β· In-app purchases Β· Ads Β· Monetization

Both are free to download. Payday Buckets sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. BillSmooth asks for nothing beyond the download.

Scorecard2 real differences Β· 6 level
BillSmooth versus Payday Buckets: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBillSmoothPayday Buckets
PriceFreeFree
Positive reviewsβ€”100.0% of reviews
Update frequencyβ€”Fortnightly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo β€” betterYes
Monetizationβ€”Freemium
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.1 β€” better18.6
Further details β€” not scored
Size30 MB12 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperDavid BarrNathan Booth

In-app purchases

None

BillSmooth

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Payday Buckets

One-time1
  • Payday Buckets Pro$12.99

Questions

Is BillSmooth free?
BillSmooth is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Payday Buckets free?
Payday Buckets is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do BillSmooth or Payday Buckets have ads?
Neither BillSmooth nor Payday Buckets shows ads.

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