Comparison

Envelopes vs Simple Envelope Budgeting

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

Head to head
About

Envelopes

This app helps you manage your finances using the envelope budgeting method virtually. Easily track spending, distribute income, and secure your financial data with passcode or biometric authentication.

Highlights
  • Virtual envelope budgeting
  • Unlimited envelope creation
  • Quick budget setup
  • Track deposits and withdrawals
  • Passcode and biometric security
  • Customizable themes
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

Envelopes is a virtualisation of the envelope budgeting method. It is simple to use and allows you to keep a close eye on where your money is being spent, but without the need to keep paper envelopes filled with cash around. ∙ Create unlimited envelopes and order them to your preference. ∙ Set up a budget with Quick Deposits and distribute your income to all your envelopes at once. ∙ Create withdrawals, deposits, and transfers with custom memos to track your spending. ∙ Secure your data with a passcode, and use Touch ID or Face ID if supported by your device. ∙ Choose from two themes (red or blue) to suit your preferences.

About

Simple Envelope Budgeting

Digitize your financial efforts with this straightforward budgeting app. It uses a color-coded envelope system to help you track spending, set savings goals, and avoid going over budget. Syncs across devices without ads or in-app purchases.

Highlights
  • iCloud Sync
  • Savings Goals
  • Color-Coded Envelopes
  • Budget Overspend Indicator
  • Search Function
  • Ad-Free Experience
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

All The Features You Want: - Syncs Via iCloud to All of Your Devices - Goals for Savings - Color-Coded Envelopes - Supports iPhone and iPad - Search Function to Quickly Find Envelopes - Filters for Viewing Specific Transactions and Expenses - Indicates When You Are Over Budget None of the Features You Don't: - No Ads - No In-App Purchases to Unlock Full Functionality - No Syncing with Your Bank Account (I've never found an app that does this in a useful manner anyways) Creating a budget is a crucial element of financial success. Without tracking your spending, even the fanciest of excel sheets are deemed useless. Simple Envelope is the easiest, quickest, and most efficient way to monitor and execute your budgets. Based on the physical envelope method, Simple Envelope is here to help you digitize your financial efforts so you can easily track your spending habits. Tracking family allowances? Instead of making trips to the bank, leave everyone's allowance in the bank and keep it all in digital envelopes instead! Simple envelope strives to make tracking your budgets as easy as 1,2,3! Simply create new “envelopes” with your budget's desired name and monetary amount. As you spend, add in your expenditures to see where and how you spend your money - Simple in and Simple out.

Screenshots

Envelopes4 screens
Simple Envelope Budgeting4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Envelopes at 88% against Simple Envelope Budgeting's 38%. Envelopes also leads on rating (4.4 vs 3.7) and ratings volume (127 vs 11). Simple Envelope Budgeting's advantage is price ($2.99 vs $6.99) and update cadence (monthly vs every 3 months). On ads, in-app purchases, chart position 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

Envelopes costs $6.99 and Simple Envelope Budgeting $2.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Envelopes holds the better App Store score, 4.4 against 3.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Envelopes has 127 ratings behind it against 11, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 88% of Envelopes's written reviews are positive against 38% of Simple Envelope Budgeting's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Envelopes ships an update every 3 months, Simple Envelope Budgeting monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
Envelopes versus Simple Envelope Budgeting: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterEnvelopesSimple Envelope Budgeting
Price$6.99$2.99 — better
Rating4.4 (127 ratings) — better3.7 (11 ratings)
Positive reviews87.6% of reviews — better37.5% of reviews
Number of ratings127 — better11
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsMonthly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree — betterPaid
Best chart rank#32 — better#46
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS13.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size5 MB4 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developeremdentec ltdFrank Herring

Customer experience

Envelopes

All ratings126 ratings
Positive85.7%
Neutral4.8%
Negative9.5%
Written reviews97 reviews
Positive87.6%
Neutral4.1%
Negative8.2%

Simple Envelope Budgeting

All ratings11 ratings
Positive63.6%
Neutral9.1%
Negative27.3%
Written reviews8 reviews
Positive37.5%
Neutral25.0%
Negative37.5%

Bugs and requests

Envelopes

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • App crashes when transferring money between envelopes
  • Data loss after iOS updates
  • Failed data import from legacy version
  • App not downloading after purchase
  • Compatibility issues with older iOS versions

Requested features

20 requests
  • Cloud sync and cross-device synchronization
  • Multi-user/family sharing capabilities
  • Recurring deposits and automatic monthly resets
  • Spending visualization (pie charts, graphs, reports)
  • Transaction categorization and tagging system
Show 15 more
  • Envelope grouping/folder organization
  • Custom color wheel for envelope customization
  • Export to PDF or Excel functionality
  • Search feature across all transactions
  • Activity/transaction history log
  • Backup and data export options
  • Notes/sticky pad feature for each envelope
  • Goal-setting with target dates and progress tracking
  • Print summary of envelope balances
  • Multiple account support
  • Bank account connection (optional)
  • User guide with search function and FAQ
  • App tutorial for new users
  • Ability to hide total balance display
  • Recurring withdrawal/payment automation

Simple Envelope Budgeting

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Envelopes

No in-app purchases

None

Simple Envelope Budgeting

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Envelopes free?
Envelopes costs $6.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Simple Envelope Budgeting free?
Simple Envelope Budgeting costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Envelopes or Simple Envelope Budgeting?
Envelopes is rated higher. Envelopes averages 4.4 out of 5 from 127 ratings, while Simple Envelope Budgeting averages 3.7 from 11 ratings.
Do Envelopes or Simple Envelope Budgeting have ads?
Neither Envelopes nor Simple Envelope Budgeting shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Envelopes or Simple Envelope Budgeting?
Envelopes ships an update every 3 months, and Simple Envelope Budgeting monthly. Most recently, Envelopes was updated on October 24, 2026 and Simple Envelope Budgeting on October 25, 2026.
Which is more popular, Envelopes or Simple Envelope Budgeting?
Envelopes currently peaks at #32 in the App Store charts, and Simple Envelope Budgeting at #46. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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