# Buddy vs Cashew

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Cashew at 98% against Buddy's 49%. Cashew also leads on rating (4.9 vs 4.7). Buddy's advantage is ratings volume (9.6K vs 542) and chart position (#64 vs unranked). 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 Cashew sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.49 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Cashew holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Buddy has 9.6K ratings behind it against 542, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 49% of Buddy's written reviews are positive against 98% of Cashew's.

Buddy ships an update every 9 days, Cashew every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 11, 2026 and November 7, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Buddy | Cashew |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.7 (9.6K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/buddy-budget-planner-app/id936422955/reviews) | **[4.9 (542 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/cashewexpense-budget-tracker/id6463662930/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **9.6K** | 542 |
| Positive reviews | 48.8% of reviews | **97.6% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 9 days** | Every 3 weeks |
| Monetization | Freemium | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | **#64** | — |
| Size | 173 MB | 103 MB |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | 18.0 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch** | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Buddy Budgeting AB](https://appshunter.io/developer/936422954) | [James Kokoska](https://appshunter.io/developer/1704737685) |

## What reviewers say

### Buddy

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

**Currently charting:** #64 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


### Cashew

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/cashewexpense-budget-tracker/id6463662930)

This app helps you understand your spending habits by allowing you to set flexible budgets and visualize your financial progress with charts. Track subscriptions, recurring transactions, and manage finances across different currencies with a personalized interface.

**Highlights:** Flexible budgeting (monthly, weekly, custom), Visual spending reports (pie charts, bar graphs), Subscription and recurring transaction tracking, Personalized interface (dark mode, accent colors), Multi-currency support with conversion rates, Timely reminders for transactions

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Cashew Pro Monthly | $1.49 | per month |
| Cashew Pro Yearly | $11.99 | per year |
| Cashew Pro Lifetime | $19.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Easy to use
- 👍 Sleek and intuitive interface
- 💡 Customizable budgets and categories
- 🚀 Smooth performance
- 👍 Helpful visualizations and analytics

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Occasional sync issues between devices
- 💡 Lack of bank/account integration
- 💡 Missing calendar view
- 🐛 Laggy animations when adding transactions

**Reported bugs**

- Recurring transactions not generating properly
- Inconsistent behavior when configuring past installments

**Requested features**

- Add widgets for quick access
- Implement shared budgets and family access
- Improve recurring transaction management
- Export data to Excel/CSV


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Buddy free?

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

### Is Cashew free?

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

### Which has better reviews, Buddy or Cashew?

Cashew is rated higher. Buddy averages 4.7 out of 5 from 9.6K ratings, while Cashew averages 4.9 from 542 ratings.

### Do Buddy or Cashew have ads?

Neither Buddy nor Cashew shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Buddy or Cashew?

Buddy ships an update every 9 days, and Cashew every 3 weeks. Most recently, Buddy was updated on November 11, 2026 and Cashew on November 7, 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.*