Comparison

Buddy vs Checkbook

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

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • Create personal budgets
  • Shared budgeting for couples/groups
  • Connect bank accounts for transaction import
  • Detailed spending and income overview
  • Expense splitting and settlement tracking
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

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

About

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.

Highlights
  • 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
Features
Read full description

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

Buddy4 screens
Checkbook4 screens

Verdict

The call

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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

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.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

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.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

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.

Scorecard4 real differences · 7 level
Buddy versus Checkbook: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBuddyCheckbook
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (9.5K ratings) — better4.6 (200 ratings)
Positive reviews48.9% of reviews82.9% of reviews — better
Number of ratings9.5K — better200
Update frequencyEvery 9 days — betterEvery 10 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#72 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple WatchiPhone, iPad, Vision Pro
Requires iOS18.0 — better26.1
Further details — not scored
Size152 MB198 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperBuddy Budgeting ABCoreBits LLC

Customer experience

Buddy

All ratings9,455 ratings
Positive92.8%
Neutral3.0%
Negative4.2%
Written reviews857 reviews
Positive48.9%
Neutral12.0%
Negative39.1%

Checkbook

All ratings200 ratings
Positive89.5%
Neutral5.0%
Negative5.5%
Written reviews41 reviews
Positive82.9%
Neutral2.4%
Negative14.6%

User reviews

Buddy

From 9.5K App Store ratings

What 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 ratings

What 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 more
  • 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 more
  • Allow entering pay amount to see remainder

In-app purchases

11 purchases

Buddy

Subscriptions10
  • Buddy Premium7 Days trial$4.991 Month
  • Buddy Premium$4.991 Month
  • Premium$9.991 Month
Show 7 more
  • 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
One-time1
  • Unlimited$49.99
13 purchases

Checkbook

Subscriptions10
  • 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
Show 7 more
  • 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
One-time3
  • Family Upgrade$19.99
  • Bills to Budget Plus Lifetime$39.99
  • Family Plus Lifetime$59.99

Questions

Is Buddy free?
Buddy is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Checkbook free?
Checkbook is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Buddy or Checkbook?
Buddy is rated higher. Buddy averages 4.7 out of 5 from 9.5K ratings, while Checkbook averages 4.6 from 200 ratings.
Do Buddy or Checkbook have ads?
Neither Buddy nor Checkbook shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Buddy or Checkbook?
Buddy ships an update every 9 days, and Checkbook every 10 days. Most recently, Buddy was updated on September 24, 2026 and Checkbook on September 18, 2026.

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