Comparison

TSP TIPS vs BondVault

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

Head to head
About

TSP TIPS

This app provides data-driven market analysis and recommendations to help you manage your TSP investments. It offers personalized strategies based on your risk tolerance and sends timely notifications to guide fund movements for growth and safety.

Highlights
  • Data-driven market analysis
  • Personalized risk tolerance settings
  • Investment recommendations
  • Weekly market summaries
  • Push notifications
  • Mutual Fund Window TIPS
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

*** Now available: Mutual Fund Window TIPS. Take advantage of the TSP Mutual Fund Window by utilizing our new TIPS service, and diversify your investment for more aggressive growth opportunities. Our new backtested strategy has gained 22% every year from December 2018 to January 2025. *** TSP TIPS uses analysis to help you avoid market downturns and try to keep your retirement safe. We notify you when our analysis you should move your funds, and where to move it to; it's that simple. • Market analysis to maximize growth and minimize risk • Accommodating for your own preferences for risk tolerance (conservative, aggressive or moderate) • We had positive gains during the 2008 financial crisis, and a 25% gain in 2013 • Backed by professional licensing and 25+ years of PhD research, experience, and proven results We'll send you weekly market summaries with a recommendation on whether or not to move your funds (and where to move them to). Notifications are pushed right to your phone and your inbox, and to additional email addresses if you like. Start getting TIPS today with a free 30-day trial, and about $8 a month after that. • $79.99 annually (less than $7 a month), or • $7.99 monthly All subscriptions are paid through iTunes at the time of purchase, and renew automatically within 24 hours prior to the end of the current subscription period. Auto-renewal will charge $79.99 for annual and $7.99 for monthly subscriptions. If you'd like to disable automatic renewal, you can do so at any time prior to the 24 hour period before the end of the subscription. This can be done by going to Settings -> iTunes and App Store, viewing your Apple ID and then tapping "Manage subscriptions". It is not possible to cancel an active subscription period. We believe everyone should be able to make informed, data-driven decisions about their TSP, and it shouldn't require a finance degree or deep pockets. Making it to retirement is harder than ever, and we'd love to help you get there. View our privacy policy and terms of use at https://www.tsptips.com/privacy.html.

About

BondVault

Features
Read full description

BondVault is a simple, on-device tracker for U.S. Treasury I Bonds and EE Bonds bought through TreasuryDirect. TreasuryDirect has no mobile app and is hard to use on a phone. BondVault gives you a clean portfolio view of the savings bonds you already own. Enter each bond once — series, amount, and issue date — and BondVault estimates what it's worth today, how much interest it has earned, and when it crosses key milestones. WHAT IT DOES • Estimates current redemption value using the official Treasury composite-rate formula for I Bonds and the fixed-rate method for EE Bonds • Shows accrued interest and your total portfolio value at a glance • Flags the 3-month interest penalty that applies before 5 years, and shows each bond's penalty-free date • Tracks the May and November rate-reset schedule and 30-year final maturity • Projects future value so you can plan ahead • Keeps your bond list on your device — no account or sign-up required BONDVAULT PREMIUM (optional one-time unlock) • Track unlimited bonds (free tracks up to 3) • Full future-value projections • Remove ads IMPORTANT: BondVault is an independent, unofficial tool. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to the U.S. Department of the Treasury, TreasuryDirect, or any government agency. Values shown are estimates calculated from published rate data and may differ from official figures. Always confirm balances and redemption values at TreasuryDirect.gov. BondVault is free and supported by ads. Premium is a single purchase that unlocks everything forever — no subscription.

Screenshots

TSP TIPS4 screens
BondVault4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: TSP TIPS at none against BondVault's shown. TSP TIPS also leads on chart position (#83 vs unranked) and device support (3 vs 1). On price and in-app purchases 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. TSP TIPS sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $7.99 per month and BondVault sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Scorecard4 real differences · 7 level
TSP TIPS versus BondVault: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTSP TIPSBondVault
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.3 (144 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews44.3% of reviews—
Number of ratings144 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 2 months—
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
Best chart rank#83 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS15.6 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size14 MB4 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperInvestry Analytics LLCChristian Pedersen

Bugs and requests

TSP TIPS

Reported bugs

10 issues
  • App crashes frequently
  • Login issues
  • Feedback function not working
  • Data input not saving
  • Graphs not displaying correctly
Show 5 more
  • App does not open
  • Google sign-in not working
  • Bug with updating account balance on smaller screens
  • Reset password function not working
  • App keeps crashing and cannot login

Requested features

9 requests
  • App to reflect new TSP website terms
  • More robust future planning calculators
  • Push notifications for new recommendations
  • Strategies for learning investors
  • iPad version of the app
Show 4 more
  • Past annual performance data
  • Graph smoothing for missing data
  • Option to specify traditional or Roth contributions
  • More frequent advice updates

BondVault

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

6 purchases

TSP TIPS

Subscriptions6
  • TSP TIPS Core - Monthly1 Month trial$7.991 Month
  • TSP TIPS Premium - Monthly1 Month trial$9.991 Month
  • Mutual Fund Window TIPS 1month1 Month trial$9.991 Month
Show 3 more
  • TSP TIPS Core - Annual3 Months trial$79.991 Year
  • TSP TIPS Premium - Annual1 Month trial$99.991 Year
  • Mutual Fund Window TIPS 1 Year1 Month trial$99.991 Year
1 purchases

BondVault

One-time1
  • BondVault: I Bond Tracker Life$4.99

Questions

Is TSP TIPS free?
TSP TIPS is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is BondVault free?
BondVault is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do TSP TIPS or BondVault have ads?
BondVault shows ads; TSP TIPS does not.

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