# Buddy vs Expense Tracker

Buddy and Expense Tracker both sit at 4.7 stars, but that hides the real split: 83% of Expense Tracker's written reviews are positive against 48% of Buddy's. Buddy's advantage is ratings volume (9.6K vs 888) and chart position (#88 vs unranked). On price, rating, update cadence and ads there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Buddy sells 11 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month and Expense Tracker sells 17 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 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 Expense Tracker. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Buddy has 9.6K ratings behind it against 888, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 48% of Buddy's written reviews are positive against 83% of Expense Tracker's.

Buddy ships an update every 9 days, Expense Tracker every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 28, 2026 and October 27, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Buddy | Expense Tracker |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.7 (9.6K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/buddy-budget-planner-app/id936422955/reviews) | **[4.8 (888 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/expense-tracker-monai/id6447112647/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **9.6K** | 888 |
| Positive reviews | 48.5% of reviews | **82.6% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 9 days** | Every 2 weeks |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | **#88** | — |
| Size | 169 MB | 53 MB |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | 18.0 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch** | iPhone |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Buddy Budgeting AB](https://appshunter.io/developer/936422954) | [Florian Vates](https://appshunter.io/developer/1544416478) |

## What reviewers say

### Buddy

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

**Currently charting:** #88 Top Grossing · Finance (US App Store)

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

**In-app purchases (11)**

| 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 | $39.99 | per year |
| Buddy Premium | $49.99 | per year |
| Unlimited | $49.99 | one-time |

**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


### Expense Tracker

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/expense-tracker-monai/id6447112647)

Effortlessly track your daily expenses using AI-powered voice input or manual entry. The app automatically categorizes and splits your spending with a beautiful, clutter-free interface. Your data is securely stored in your personal iCloud, with no login required.

**Highlights:** AI-powered voice expense entry, Automatic expense categorization, Manual expense entry, Custom category creation, Beautiful and simple UI/UX, Privacy-friendly iCloud storage, No login required

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

**In-app purchases (17)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Student Monthly | $2.99 | per month |
| Basic monthly intro | $2.99 | per month |
| Advanced | $2.99 | per month |
| Family month intro | $3.99 | per month |
| Basic monthly | $3.99 | per month |
| Family | $3.99 | per month |
| Student Monthly | $4.49 | per month |
| Family month | $5.49 | per month |
| Monthly | $7.99 | per month |
| Student Yearly | $24.99 | per year |
| Basic yearly intro | $24.99 | per year |
| Advanced | $24.99 | per year |
| Basic yearly | $29.99 | per year |
| Family yearly intro | $34.99 | per year |
| Family | $34.99 | per year |
| Family yearly | $39.99 | per year |
| Yearly | $71.99 | per year |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Dictate transactions, no need to enter individually
- 🚀 Simple and easy to use
- 👍 Shared account for couples
- 👍 Practical, solves the problem of writing down expenses
- 👍 Intuitive and effective

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Doesn't register all transactions, especially Apple Pay
- 🔒 Requires payment to use, no free trial
- 🔒 Stops working on alternative devices after paying
- 🔒 Limited features in free version
- 🐛 Voice input sometimes gets stuck or has errors

**Reported bugs**

- Doesn't register all bank transactions
- Incompatible with some devices or iOS versions
- Sharing large lists doesn't work

**Requested features**

- Weekly/daily expense view
- Separate savings category
- Ability to add past expenses
- Multi-currency support
- Improved reporting and analytics


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Buddy free?

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

### Is Expense Tracker free?

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

### Which has better reviews, Buddy or Expense Tracker?

Expense Tracker is rated higher. Buddy averages 4.7 out of 5 from 9.6K ratings, while Expense Tracker averages 4.8 from 888 ratings.

### Do Buddy or Expense Tracker have ads?

Neither Buddy nor Expense Tracker shows ads.

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

Buddy ships an update every 9 days, and Expense Tracker every 2 weeks. Most recently, Buddy was updated on October 28, 2026 and Expense Tracker on October 27, 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.*