# Buddy vs Emma

The clearest difference is ads: Buddy at none against Emma's shown. Buddy also leads on review sentiment (49% vs 38%) and ratings volume (9.6K vs 1.4K). Emma's advantage is iOS requirement (15.1 vs 18.0). On price, rating, update cadence and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Buddy sells 9 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month and Emma sells 8 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Buddy against 4.7 for Emma. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Buddy has 9.6K ratings behind it against 1.4K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 49% of Buddy's written reviews are positive against 38% of Emma's.

Buddy ships an update every 9 days, Emma every 6 days. The most recent releases landed on November 11, 2026 and November 6, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Buddy | Emma |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.7 (9.6K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/buddy-budget-planner-app/id936422955/reviews)** | [4.7 (1.4K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/emma-budget-planner-tracker/id1270062373/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **9.6K** | 1.4K |
| Positive reviews | **48.8% of reviews** | 38.3% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | **No** | Yes |
| Update frequency | Every 9 days | **Every 6 days** |
| Monetization | Freemium | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | **#61** | #136 |
| Size | 173 MB | 161 MB |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | **15.1** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Buddy Budgeting AB](https://appshunter.io/developer/936422954) | [Emma Technologies LTD.](https://appshunter.io/developer/1202559061) |

## What reviewers say

### Buddy

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/buddy-budget-planner-app/id936422955)

**Currently charting:** #61 Top Grossing · Finance (US App Store)

Manage your finances by creating budgets, tracking expenses, and viewing detailed overviews of your income and savings. Collaborate on shared budgets with friends and family, and easily settle up any shared costs.

**Highlights:** Budget creation and tracking, Expense and income monitoring, Shared budgets for groups, Bank account transaction import, Detailed spending overviews, Transaction splitting and settlement

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Apple Watch app, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (9)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Buddy Premium | $4.99 | per month |
| Buddy Premium | $4.99 | per month |
| Premium | $9.99 | per month |
| Buddy Premium | $9.99 | per month |
| Buddy Premium | $16.99 | per year |
| Buddy Premium | $24.99 | per year |
| Buddy Premium | $34.99 | per year |
| Buddy Premium | $34.99 | per year |
| Buddy Premium | $49.99 | per year |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Easy to use
- 👍 Visually appealing
- 💡 Customizable categories
- 🚀 Intuitive interface
- 👍 Helps with budgeting

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Recurring transactions not working properly
- 🐛 Balance not carrying over to next month
- 🐛 Syncing issues between devices
- 🐛 Transactions disappearing or resetting
- 💸 Expensive subscription

**Reported bugs**

- Recurring transactions not working as expected
- Balance not carrying over to next month
- Syncing issues between devices
- Transactions disappearing or resetting
- Inability to edit categories without creating new ones

**Requested features**

- Calendar view for transactions
- Bill reminders and due date tracking
- Ability to hide/exclude certain transactions
- Savings/investment tracking
- Multi-currency support


### Emma

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/emma-budget-planner-tracker/id1270062373)

**Currently charting:** #136 Top Grossing · Finance (US App Store)

Consolidate all your financial accounts in one place to track spending, manage subscriptions, and set budgets. Receive weekly reports, daily balance notifications, and overdraft alerts. Offers bank-level security with SSL encryption and biometric authentication.

**Highlights:** Consolidate all accounts, Track subscriptions, Set budgets, Weekly spending reports, Overdraft alerts, Bank-level security

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Apple Wallet, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (8)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Emma Plus Monthly | $4.99 | per month |
| Emma Pro Monthly | $9.99 | per month |
| Monthly Pro Subscription | $9.99 | per month |
| Emma Pro | $9.99 | per month |
| Emma Ultimate | $14.99 | per month |
| Emma Plus Yearly | $41.99 | per year |
| Emma Pro | $83.99 | per year |
| Subscription | $83.99 | per year |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Helpful for budgeting and tracking spending
- 🚀 Efficient at categorizing transactions
- 💡 Useful for detecting subscriptions and recurring payments
- 👍 Intuitive and user-friendly interface
- 👍 Provides good financial insights and analytics

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🔒 Concerns about data privacy and security
- 💰 Expensive subscription model, features locked behind paywall
- 🐛 Syncing issues, transactions not always accurately categorized
- 🔍 Difficult to cancel subscription or delete account
- 📢 Aggressive upselling and notifications

**Reported bugs**

- App crashes or freezes frequently
- Transactions not syncing properly or showing incorrect balances
- Issues connecting to certain bank accounts
- Recurring payments not being tracked accurately

**Requested features**

- Add support for more banks and financial institutions
- Improve budgeting features with better categorization and goal-setting
- Provide more customization options for categories and reporting
- Integrate with investment accounts and track net worth
- Offer a more affordable pricing model or free tier with core features


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Buddy free?

Buddy is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Emma free?

Emma is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Buddy or Emma?

Buddy is rated higher. Buddy averages 4.7 out of 5 from 9.6K ratings, while Emma averages 4.7 from 1.4K ratings.

### Do Buddy or Emma have ads?

Emma shows ads; Buddy does not.

### Which is updated more often, Buddy or Emma?

Buddy ships an update every 9 days, and Emma every 6 days. Most recently, Buddy was updated on November 11, 2026 and Emma on November 6, 2026.

### Which is more popular, Buddy or Emma?

Buddy currently peaks at #61 in the App Store charts, and Emma at #136. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*