# Buddy vs Budget Flow | Expense Tracker

Buddy and Budget Flow | Expense Tracker both sit at 4.7 stars, but that hides the real split: 90% of Budget Flow | Expense Tracker's written reviews are positive against 49% of Buddy's. Budget Flow | Expense Tracker also leads on iOS requirement (16.0 vs 18.0). Buddy's advantage is ratings volume (9.6K vs 341) and chart position (#82 vs unranked). On price, rating, update cadence and ads there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Buddy sells 9 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month and Budget Flow | Expense Tracker sells 4 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 4.8 for Budget Flow | Expense Tracker. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Buddy has 9.6K ratings behind it against 341, 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 90% of Budget Flow | Expense Tracker's.

Buddy ships an update every 9 days, Budget Flow | Expense Tracker every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 4, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Buddy | Budget Flow | Expense Tracker |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.7 (9.6K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/buddy-budget-planner-app/id936422955/reviews) | **[4.8 (341 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/budget-flow-expense-tracker/id1640091876/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **9.6K** | 341 |
| Positive reviews | 48.7% of reviews | **90.3% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 9 days** | Every 2 weeks |
| Monetization | Freemium | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | **#82** | — |
| Size | 173 MB | 215 MB |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | **16.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch | **iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Buddy Budgeting AB](https://appshunter.io/developer/936422954) | [Fabian Hasse](https://appshunter.io/developer/1529861729) |

## What reviewers say

### Buddy

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

**Currently charting:** #82 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


### Budget Flow | Expense Tracker

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/budget-flow-expense-tracker/id1640091876)

Effortlessly track income and expenses with this modern, user-friendly expense tracker. It offers secure offline use, customizable dashboards, and robust budget planning tools to help you achieve your financial goals.

**Highlights:** Track income and expenses, Customizable dashboard, Multiple accounts and categories, Budget planning, Shared budgeting, Secure data storage, Offline use

**Features:** Family Sharing, Apple Watch app, Vision Pro support, iPhone Duo support

**In-app purchases (4)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Full Version (1 Month) | $4.99 | per month |
| Full Version (1 Year) | $29.99 | per year |
| Full Version (Discounted) | $49.99 | one-time |
| Full Version (Lifetime) | $69.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Excellent app features
- 👍 Easy to use and intuitive
- 💰 Helpful for tracking expenses
- 🔍 Customizable and flexible
- 🌟 Great user interface

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Some bugs and glitches
- 💱 Lack of currency conversion options
- 📊 Limited reporting and analytics
- 🔒 No bank account integration

**Reported bugs**

- Transactions disappearing from accounts
- Inconsistent data display in reports
- Rounding issues with decimal amounts

**Requested features**

- Add monthly recurring reminders
- Improve search functionality
- Provide more detailed budgeting options
- Integrate receipt scanning and OCR
- Allow custom currency support


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Buddy free?

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

### Is Budget Flow | Expense Tracker free?

Budget Flow | Expense Tracker is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Buddy or Budget Flow | Expense Tracker?

Budget Flow | Expense Tracker is rated higher. Buddy averages 4.7 out of 5 from 9.6K ratings, while Budget Flow | Expense Tracker averages 4.8 from 341 ratings.

### Do Buddy or Budget Flow | Expense Tracker have ads?

Neither Buddy nor Budget Flow | Expense Tracker shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Buddy or Budget Flow | Expense Tracker?

Buddy ships an update every 9 days, and Budget Flow | Expense Tracker every 2 weeks. Most recently, Buddy was updated on November 4, 2026 and Budget Flow | Expense Tracker on November 3, 2026.

---

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