Comparison

MoneyTurtle vs Basis

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

Head to head
About

MoneyTurtle

Features
Read full description

The private way to know exactly where your money goes. MoneyTurtle is a simple, beautiful expense tracker and net-worth companion built around one principle: your financial data belongs to you — and only you. PRIVACY FIRST — YOUR DATA NEVER LEAVES YOUR SPACE Unlike most finance apps, MoneyTurtle has no servers, no accounts on our side, and no data collection. Everything you enter stays on your iPhone. If you turn on sync, it goes through your own personal iCloud account — encrypted, in your private space, invisible to us and to anyone else. We couldn't see your data even if we wanted to. There is nothing to sell, leak, or analyze. TRACK YOUR SPENDING, EFFORTLESSLY Add an expense in seconds. See what you spent this month, what came in, and what's left — at a glance. Browse your history by day or on a monthly calendar, and organize everything with fully customizable categories and subcategories. WATCH YOUR WEALTH GROW Log your savings, investments, crypto, and loans month by month, and MoneyTurtle turns them into a clear net-worth picture over time. Charts show your progress, not just your spending. UNDERSTAND YOUR HABITS Analytics break down where your money goes by category and over time, so patterns show up before they become problems. MADE FOR IPHONE • Home Screen widgets keep your month at a glance • Lock the app behind Face ID • Light and dark appearance • Multiple currencies • Export your data anytime — it's yours, take it anywhere • Optional iCloud sync across your devices, using your account, your space No subscriptions to your data. No tracking. No ads. Just you and your money.

About

Basis

This app helps you save money by prioritizing savings before budgeting. It allows you to define spending categories, make conscious decisions about overspending, and track your savings growth over time. It offers quick expense logging and receipt scanning for a streamlined financial management experience.

Highlights
  • Save first budgeting method
  • Customizable spending categories
  • Deliberate period closing
  • On-device receipt scanning
  • Home-screen widgets
  • Complete privacy (no cloud/account)
Features
Read full description

Basis is a budgeting app built on one old rule: pay yourself first. Most apps track what you spend and call whatever's left at the end of the month "savings". For most people, that number is zero. Basis flips the order: on payday, your saving rate comes off the top — like a bill. What's left is what you budget, across categories you define. Then, at the end of the period, nothing settles silently. You close the month yourself: every overspent category gets an explicit decision, cover it from savings, or carry it and start next month tighter. Leftovers sweep into savings with one tap. Basis doesn't just track saving. It causes it. THE METHOD • Save first: your saving rate is set aside on payday, before any budgeting happens • Budget the rest across your own categories: rent, groceries, whatever fits your life • Close each period deliberately: settle overspends, sweep the surplus MEASURED AGAINST YOU, NOT A RULEBOOK • Every category charts this period against your own usual pace — "13% under your usual at day 13" • Average per day, projection to period end, and your past periods as bars: drift is visible before it becomes a problem • The capital chart draws the money you've kept across every payday, from your first period to today FAST TO LIVE WITH • Log an expense in two taps with the custom keypad • Or scan the receipt: the text is read on-device and the photo never leaves your phone • Recurring expenses post themselves • Home-screen widgets for quick logging and an at-a-glance balance AND IT'S COMPLETELY PRIVATE No bank link, no account, no cloud. Basis runs entirely on your phone. FREE FOREVER No subscription, no ads, no in-app purchases, no premium tier. Basis has no running costs, so it has no price. That's the whole deal.

Screenshots

MoneyTurtle4 screens
Basis4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: MoneyTurtle at every 4 days against Basis's every 2 weeks. On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

MoneyTurtle ships an update every 4 days, Basis every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 11, 2026 and October 14, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 9 level
MoneyTurtle versus Basis: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMoneyTurtleBasis
PriceFreeFree
Rating—5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings—1 — better
Update frequencyEvery 4 days — betterEvery 2 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
Monetization—Free
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPhone
Requires iOS26.526.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size4 MB3 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperGerasimos AlexiouSilvia Stocchi

In-app purchases

None

MoneyTurtle

No in-app purchases

None

Basis

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is MoneyTurtle free?
MoneyTurtle is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Basis free?
Basis is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do MoneyTurtle or Basis have ads?
Neither MoneyTurtle nor Basis shows ads.
Which is updated more often, MoneyTurtle or Basis?
MoneyTurtle ships an update every 4 days, and Basis every 2 weeks. Most recently, MoneyTurtle was updated on October 11, 2026 and Basis on October 14, 2026.

Other comparisons