Truly Simple Envelopes vs CustomBudget

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.

Every other budget app wants your bank password. This one just wants five seconds a day. CustomBudget is envelope budgeting with no bank linking, no account, and no cloud. You give each category an amount at the start of the month, record what you spend as you go, and always know what is left. Everything stays on your phone. WHY CUSTOMBUDGET Most budget apps start by asking for read access to your bank. CustomBudget never asks, because it never needs to. There is no sign-up, no password, no sync, and no server. Open it, budget, close it. ENVELOPES THAT MATCH YOUR REAL MONTH * Give every category an amount and watch it draw down as you spend * Money left in an envelope rolls into next month; overspending does not follow you * Set your month to start on any day from the 1st to the 28th, so your budget matches your payday instead of the calendar * Starts with 16 spending envelopes and an income category, or build your own from 29 icons and 12 colours * Retire an envelope without losing its history FAST ENTRY, HONEST MATH * A big keypad built for one-handed entry in a checkout queue * Payee, note, account and date when you want them, none of them required * Cash, checking, savings and credit accounts * Transfers between your own accounts are tracked but never counted as spending * Every amount is exact to the cent, with no floating point drift REMINDERS THAT ARRIVE * Bill reminders 1, 3 or 7 days ahead of a recurring payment, at 9am * An alert when an envelope reaches 80% and again at 100%, while you can still do something about it * A month-end nudge the day before your budget month rolls over * Every reminder is scheduled by your phone. Nothing is sent anywhere RECURRING BILLS ON AUTOPILOT * Weekly, every two weeks, monthly, quarterly or yearly * Post automatically on the due date, or hold it for you to confirm * Catches up correctly after you have been away from the app SEE WHERE IT WENT * A spending ring that adds up to exactly what you spent, including retired envelopes * Budgeted against actual, worst overspend first * Uncategorised spending is shown, never quietly hidden PRIVACY FIRST BY DESIGN * No account and no login * No bank linking and no email scanning * No cloud, no sync, no server * No ads, no trackers, no analytics * Works completely offline, always YOUR DATA STAYS YOURS * Export a full backup to Files, iCloud Drive, email or AirDrop * Restore in one tap, with a seven-day undo if you change your mind * Delete everything permanently whenever you want * Backup and export are free forever, because it is your data BUILT TO READ WELL * Light and dark themes * 30 currencies * Money columns that line up properly instead of jittering PERFECT FOR * Anyone who wants a budget without handing over bank credentials * People paid on the 15th, or the last Friday, whose month is not the calendar month * Envelope and zero-based budgeters * Anyone who has tried a budgeting app and quit because it took too long YOUR MONEY. YOUR PHONE. NOBODY ELSE'S BUSINESS. Download it and set up your first envelope in under a minute.