Buddy vs Checkbook
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Buddy
This app helps you create and manage personal or shared budgets. Track expenses, connect your bank account for automatic transaction import, and gain a clear overview of your spending, income, and savings. It also features tools to split costs and settle up with others.
- Create personal budgets
- Shared budgeting for couples/groups
- Connect bank accounts for transaction import
- Detailed spending and income overview
- Expense splitting and settlement tracking
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Buddy helps you set up a budget and keep track of your expenses, either by yourself or together with your loved ones. Here’s what is waiting for you inside: BUDGETS Buddy will help you not to overspend on your well-earned salary by setting up a budget plan that fits you. Do you want a shared budget with your partner? Or keep the expenses between you and your mates fair on the vacation? No problem, just invite them and get a clear picture of who spent what. CONNECT YOUR BANK Import all transactions from your bank account into Buddy and see how your budget is doing. OVERVIEW We'll give you a beautiful & detailed overview of your spendings, income, and savings. SPLIT Split lets you know who paid what, and how to settle up. And much more for you to find. Take control of your finance today! Buddy offers a $9.99 monthly renewing and a $49.99 yearly renewing subscription to unlock Premium functionality. The purchase will be charged from your iTunes account if you choose to buy the Buddy Premium subscription. You can manage or cancel your subscription through the user settings in iTunes after the purchase. The subscription period ends with the same kind of subscription you already bought to the same price unless you turn off your subscription 24 hours before it renews. It is not possible to cancel your current subscription during the time your subscription is active. Terms & Conditions: http://www.nattkod.tech/privacy_policy_terms_conditions
Checkbook
This app acts as a modern checkbook register to help you organize bills, track spending, and avoid late fees. It shows your true available balance, not just what the bank has cleared, and provides budget tracking and future financial projections.
- Track cleared and pending payments
- Bill reminders and automatic scheduling
- Create and track spending budgets
- Calendar view of financial future
- Multiple account support
- Family sharing
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Late fees and overdrafts can cost more than $30 each — and wreck your credit score. Bills to Budget is the modern checkbook register that helps you stay organized, track every bill, and know exactly what's cleared and what's still pending. If you've ever been surprised by a payment hitting your account at the wrong time, this app is for you. FINALLY KNOW WHAT'S REALLY IN YOUR ACCOUNT The biggest problem with online banking? It only shows what's cleared. Bills to Budget lets you mark payments as "Paid but not Cleared" — so you always know your true available balance, not just what the bank says. No more mental math. No more overdrafts from forgotten pending checks. STAY AHEAD OF EVERY BILL Add your bills once, and Bills to Budget reminds you before they're due. Mark a bill as paid, and it automatically resets for next month, next quarter, or whatever schedule you need. See everything organized by your pay schedule, so you always know what's due before your next paycheck arrives. BUDGET WITHOUT THE SPREADSHEETS Once your bills are under control, take the next step: create simple spending budgets and track purchases as they happen. See exactly where your money goes — whether you pay by check, debit card, or cash. Get alerts when you're close to overspending, so you can adjust before it's too late. SEE YOUR FINANCIAL FUTURE The calendar view shows your complete financial picture: upcoming bills, paydays, and projected balances all in one place. Spot problems days or weeks before they become stress. Know exactly how much you can afford to spend today. BUILT FOR REAL LIFE - Works on iPhone, iPad, and Mac with seamless iCloud sync - Supports multiple accounts — checking, savings, credit cards - Tracks check numbers for your checkbook register - Family sharing lets everyone stay on the same page - Widgets put your bills and budgets front and center - Siri Shortcuts support for quick access Bills to Budget brings the reliability of a traditional checkbook register into the modern age — helping you organize your bills, track your spending, and finally feel in control of your money. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Screenshots
Verdict
Buddy and Checkbook both sit at 4.7 stars, but that hides the real split: 83% of Checkbook's written reviews are positive against 49% of Buddy's. Buddy's advantage is ratings volume (9.5K vs 200) and chart position (#72 vs unranked). On price, rating, update cadence and ads 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
Both are free to download. Buddy sells 11 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month and Checkbook sells 13 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 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 4.6 for Checkbook. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Buddy has 9.5K ratings behind it against 200, 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 83% of Checkbook's.
Buddy ships an update every 9 days, Checkbook every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 18, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Buddy | Checkbook |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (9.5K ratings) — better | 4.6 (200 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 48.9% of reviews | 82.9% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 9.5K — better | 200 |
| Update frequency | Every 9 days — better | Every 10 days |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | #72 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch | iPhone, iPad, Vision Pro |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 — better | 26.1 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 152 MB | 198 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Buddy Budgeting AB | CoreBits LLC |
Customer experience
Buddy
Checkbook
User reviews
Buddy
From 9.5K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Easy to use
- 👍 Visually appealing
- 💡 Customizable categories
- 🚀 Intuitive interface
- 👍 Helps with budgeting
Room to improve
- 🐛 Recurring transactions not working properly
- 🐛 Balance not carrying over to next month
- 🐛 Syncing issues between devices
- 🐛 Transactions disappearing or resetting
- 💸 Expensive subscription
Checkbook
From 200 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Replaces Mint budgeting effectively
- 💡 Groups bills by pay period
- 🗓️ Calendar view for due dates
- ✨ Customer service is impressive
- 🚀 Quick response to support requests
Room to improve
- 🐛 Doesn't work for 1099 contractors (irregular income)
- 🐛 Doesn't work with partial payments
- 🐛 Doesn't work with variable due amounts
- 🐛 Ledger disappeared on new phone
- ❓ No clear path to refund from Apple
Bugs and requests
Buddy
Reported bugs
5 issues- 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
8 requests- Calendar view for transactions
- Bill reminders and due date tracking
- Ability to hide/exclude certain transactions
- Savings/investment tracking
- Multi-currency support
Show 3 moreShow fewer
- Ability to reorder categories
- Weekly budget view
- Ability to split transactions
Checkbook
Reported bugs
4 issues- Charged for something not billed
- Ledger disappeared on new phone
- Automated refund system by Apple
- Lifetime purchase not honored
Requested features
6 requests- Manual way to add income for irregular pay
- Tutorial on how to use the app
- Support for Portuguese language
- Enhance Chinese localization
- Add employment paycheck amounts for check and balancing
Show 1 moreShow fewer
- Allow entering pay amount to see remainder
In-app purchases
Buddy
- Buddy Premium7 Days trial$4.991 Month
- Buddy Premium$4.991 Month
- Premium$9.991 Month
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- Buddy Premium$9.991 Month
- Buddy Premium7 Days trial$16.991 Year
- Buddy Premium7 Days trial$24.991 Year
- Buddy Premium7 Days trial$34.991 Year
- Buddy Premium1 Year trial$34.991 Year
- Buddy Premium7 Days trial$39.991 Year
- Buddy Premium7 Days trial2 variants$49.991 Year
- Unlimited$49.99
Checkbook
- Bills to Budget Plus3 Days trial$1.991 Month
- Bills to Budget Plus$1.991 Month
- Bills to Budget Premium3 Days trial$3.991 Month
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- Bills to Budget Family Plus3 Days trial$4.991 Month
- Bills to Budget Family Plus$4.991 Month
- Bills to Budget Plus7 Days trial$19.991 Year
- Bills to Budget Plus$19.991 Year
- Bills to Budget Family Plus1 Year trial$29.991 Year
- Bills to Budget Premium Annual7 Days trial$29.991 Year
- Bills to Budget Family Plus7 Days trial$29.991 Year
- Family Upgrade$19.99
- Bills to Budget Plus Lifetime$39.99
- Family Plus Lifetime$59.99









