# Buddy vs Simple Budget

The clearest difference is update cadence: Buddy at every 9 days against Simple Budget's every 3 months. Buddy also leads on ratings volume (9.6K vs 56) and rating (4.7 vs 4.5). Simple Budget's advantage is review sentiment (67% vs 49%) and iOS requirement (15.6 vs 18.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Buddy sells 9 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month and Simple Budget sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Buddy holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Buddy has 9.6K ratings behind it against 56, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 49% of Buddy's written reviews are positive against 67% of Simple Budget's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

Buddy ships an update every 9 days, Simple Budget every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on November 7, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Buddy | Simple Budget |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.7 (9.6K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/buddy-budget-planner-app/id936422955/reviews)** | [4.5 (56 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/simple-budget-expense-tracker/id1560574926/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **9.6K** | 56 |
| Positive reviews | 48.7% of reviews | **66.7% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 9 days** | Every 3 months |
| Monetization | Freemium | Freemium |
| Best chart rank | **#79** | — |
| Size | 173 MB | 59 MB |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | **15.6** |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch** | iPhone, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Buddy Budgeting AB](https://appshunter.io/developer/936422954) | [Luke Brady](https://appshunter.io/developer/1560574928) |

## What reviewers say

### Buddy

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

**Currently charting:** #79 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


### Simple Budget

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/simple-budget-expense-tracker/id1560574926)

This financial tool simplifies budgeting using the envelope system with digital enhancements. Manually track expenses, gain powerful insights into spending habits, and forecast future financial scenarios to grow your savings. Access your budget across devices with phone number sign-up.

**Highlights:** Envelope budgeting system, Manual transaction entry, Spending insights and analysis, Budget calculator, Cross-device access, Transaction export

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

**In-app purchases (2)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Monthly Premium Subscription | $0.99 | per month |
| Annual Premium Subscription | $9.99 | per year |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Buddy free?

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

### Is Simple Budget free?

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

### Which has better reviews, Buddy or Simple Budget?

Buddy is rated higher. Buddy averages 4.7 out of 5 from 9.6K ratings, while Simple Budget averages 4.5 from 56 ratings.

### Do Buddy or Simple Budget have ads?

Neither Buddy nor Simple Budget shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Buddy or Simple Budget?

Buddy ships an update every 9 days, and Simple Budget every 3 months. Most recently, Buddy was updated on November 7, 2026 and Simple Budget on November 3, 2026.

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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.*