Comparison

TipStream vs TipBud

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

Head to head
About

TipStream

Effortlessly track your tips, shifts, and income with this simple, offline app. Visualize your earnings, set financial goals, and gain insights into your income sources. Optional Pro features offer advanced analytics and customization for multiple jobs.

Highlights
  • Log shifts in seconds
  • Visual earnings calendar
  • Detailed income analytics
  • Home-screen widget
  • Income goal setting
  • Dark mode
  • Offline functionality
Features
Read full description

TipStream — Tip & Shift Tracker Know exactly what you make. Log a shift in seconds, see your week at a glance, and hit your income goals in a clean, simple app. No ads. No account. 100% offline — your income data never leaves your phone. WHY TIPSTREAM - Log a full shift in under ten seconds with a keypad built for speed - A calendar that colors your week or month by how much you made, so your biggest days stand out instantly - Clean analytics: hourly average, daily average, and where your money actually comes from - A home-screen widget with your week's total and elegant tip cards - Set income goals and watch them fill in, shift by shift - A gorgeous dark mode, made for closing time BUILT FOR TIPPED WORKERS Servers, bartenders, baristas, casino dealers, stylists, barbers, valets, nail techs, delivery drivers — if you earn tips, TipStream is built for you. TRACK WHAT MATTERS - Cash tips, credit tips, and tip-outs: see what you actually keep - Hours worked and hourly rate, every shift - Day, Swing, and Graveyard shift types - Sections per job (Main Floor, High Limit, VIP, however your room is split) - Notes on any shift YOUR DATA IS YOURS - Works fully offline, no internet required - No account, no email, no login - Free CSV backup: export and import your data anytime - Nothing is collected. Nothing is shared. Ever. TIPSTREAM PRO (optional) Go further with Pro: - Track up to 5 jobs and roles, each with its own colors, sections, and goals - Daily goals that adapt: set different targets for different sections and days of the week - Monthly goals, plus custom savings targets for the big stuff - Advanced analytics that compare your earnings across dates, jobs, and sections - Instant note search: type "holiday" or "slow" and find that shift from months ago - Income reports: export a clean PDF summary of your earnings to share, print, or back up Monthly, annual, or a one-time lifetime purchase. The core tracker is free forever — and there are never any ads. Stop guessing what you made. Know your numbers — and keep them to yourself. Made by one person who's worked these shifts, not a company that sees you as a user. No ads, no investors, nobody buying your data — just an app I wanted to exist. Privacy Policy: https://tip-stream.com/privacy Terms of Use: https://tip-stream.com/terms

About

TipBud

Easily track your hourly earnings by logging tips, wages, and tip-outs. This app calculates your true hourly rate and provides historical data for multiple jobs. Securely back up your data with private iCloud sync and export it anytime.

Highlights
  • Ten-second shift entry
  • True hourly rate calculation
  • Customizable tip-out rules
  • Monthly calendar breakdown
  • Home screen widget
  • CSV export
  • Private iCloud sync
Read full description

You took home $240 last night — but what did you really make an hour? TipBud logs a shift in about ten seconds and shows your true hourly rate: wages + tips − tip-outs. And your history survives anything — private iCloud backup, CSV export, no account, no ads. Built for servers, bartenders, baristas, and anyone who works for tips. WHY TIPPED WORKERS SWITCH TO TIPBUD • Ten-second shift entry that learns your patterns — it fills in your usual Saturday, you just fix the numbers • True hourly rate on every shift and every week (wage + tips − tip-outs ÷ hours) • Tip-out rules per job — busser 2%, bar 1.5%? Set it once, it's computed every shift • Your month on a calendar, night by night, with a tap-any-day breakdown • Home screen that knows you: last night's take-home, week trend, month pace, and what your best weekday actually pays • Weekly recap on YOUR pay week, not the calendar's • Home-screen widget — last shift and your week, at a glance • Cash vs card split, day-of-week averages, personal bests • Multiple jobs with separate wages — all included, nothing extra to buy • New U.S. federal tip deduction (2025–2028): keep the daily tip log the IRS expects, export it any time • CSV export, always — your tips are your data • Switching apps? Import your history from a CSV in minutes • Private iCloud sync + backup files — no account, no login, nothing to lose • Face ID app lock — your money stays your business • Share a night as a clean card — with a $-hidden mode that shows the shape, never the dollars • Optional reminders computed from your own history, off by default • Light, dark, or system appearance — and built to respect your text-size settings ONE PURCHASE, YOURS FOREVER Your first 14 shifts include every feature, nothing held back. After that, a single one-time unlock keeps TipBud yours for good — no subscription, no ads, ever. And your history stays viewable and exportable even if you never buy. No account. No tracking. Just your tips, added up honestly.

Screenshots

TipStream4 screens
TipBud4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: TipBud at weekly against TipStream's monthly. On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. TipStream sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month and TipBud sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

TipStream ships an update monthly, TipBud weekly. The most recent releases landed on September 14, 2026 and August 29, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 9 level
TipStream versus TipBud: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTipStreamTipBud
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (2 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings2 — better—
Update frequencyMonthlyWeekly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemiumFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhoneiPhone
Requires iOS17.0 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size7 MB3 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperZHANCHI DAIShakti Thakran

Customer experience

TipStream

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

TipBud

Written reviews2 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

3 purchases

TipStream

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly membership$1.991 Month
  • Annual membership$14.991 Year
One-time1
  • Lifetime Membership$29.99
1 purchases

TipBud

One-time1
  • TipBud Lifetime$14.99

Questions

Is TipStream free?
TipStream is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is TipBud free?
TipBud is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do TipStream or TipBud have ads?
Neither TipStream nor TipBud shows ads.
Which is updated more often, TipStream or TipBud?
TipStream ships an update monthly, and TipBud weekly. Most recently, TipStream was updated on September 14, 2026 and TipBud on August 29, 2026.

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