Comparison

Buddy vs Envelope Budget

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

Envelope Budget

Effortlessly manage your finances with an envelope budgeting system. Link accounts, track spending, and fund categories with ease. Gain clarity on your financial standing with insightful reports and a user-friendly interface.

Highlights
  • Envelope budgeting system
  • Unlimited spending categories
  • Track expenses, income, debt, and bills
  • Automatic bank syncing via Plaid
  • Net worth tracking
  • Spending trend reports
Features
Read full description

Kualia makes envelope budgeting effortless. Whether you're just getting started or switching from another app, you can set up your budget, link your accounts, and start tracking spending in minutes. Every dollar gets a purpose. Fund your categories with a single tap, review imported transactions with a swipe, and always know exactly where you stand financially. =============== What Users Are Saying "For those familiar with an envelope budget, or zero-based budget, this app really nails it. For a fraction of the price of competitors, it offers pretty much the same functionality, it's being actively developed, and the developers are super friendly and really prioritize user feedback." "I've spent a long time and numerous app downloads to find a budget app that meets all my needs and this is the one! This app is so easy to use and covers every single aspect that I am looking for." =============== Why Kualia? Budget With Confidence Built around the envelope method, Kualia turns budgeting from a chore into a daily habit you can actually keep up with. Create unlimited categories to organize your spending Set weekly, monthly, or yearly targets for each category Track expenses, income, debt, and recurring bills in one place Fund your entire budget with a single tap Bank Syncing Through Plaid Link your accounts and let transactions flow in automatically. Connect to thousands of financial institutions Review and categorize imported transactions one by one Enter transactions manually whenever you prefer Reports That Actually Help See the full picture of your finances without digging through spreadsheets. Track your net worth over time View monthly spending trends and top categories Reports classify transactions as inflows or outflows based on their net effect Spending breakdowns across savings, checking, and credit accounts Designed to Be Fast Kualia is built for speed. Budgeting a full list of categories, reviewing transactions, swiping through your day -- it all feels snappy and responsive. No lag, no waiting. Built by an Indie Developer Kualia is built and maintained by a solo developer who reads every piece of feedback. This isn't a faceless corporation. If you have a question, you'll hear back from the person who actually builds the app. =============== Subscription Kualia runs on a simple subscription with no ads, ever. 7-day free trial to explore everything No free tier with locked features. Everyone gets the full app. Subscriptions renew automatically unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the billing cycle. Any unused portion of the free trial is forfeited upon subscribing. Take control of your money with Kualia. Terms of Use: https://kualia.com/terms-of-service Privacy Policy: https://kualia.com/privacy

Screenshots

Buddy4 screens
Envelope Budget4 screens

Verdict

The call

Buddy and Envelope Budget both sit at 4.7 stars, but that hides the real split: 89% of Envelope Budget's written reviews are positive against 49% of Buddy's. Envelope Budget also leads on update cadence (every 4 days vs every 9 days). Buddy's advantage is monetization model (free with in-app purchases vs subscription) and ratings volume (9.5K vs 47). On price, rating, ads and in-app purchases 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 Envelope Budget sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 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 Envelope Budget. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Buddy has 9.5K ratings behind it against 47, 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 89% of Envelope Budget's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Buddy ships an update every 9 days, Envelope Budget every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 21, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
Buddy versus Envelope Budget: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBuddyEnvelope Budget
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (9.5K ratings) — better4.6 (47 ratings)
Positive reviews48.9% of reviews88.9% of reviews — better
Number of ratings9.5K — better47
Update frequencyEvery 9 daysEvery 4 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases — betterSubscription
Best chart rank#72 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — betteriPhone
Requires iOS18.018.0
Further details — not scored
Size152 MB44 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperBuddy Budgeting ABKualia, Inc.

Customer experience

Buddy

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

Envelope Budget

All ratings47 ratings
Positive89.4%
Neutral0.0%
Negative10.6%
Written reviews27 reviews
Positive88.9%
Neutral0.0%
Negative11.1%

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

Envelope Budget

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

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
5 purchases

Envelope Budget

Subscriptions4
  • Kualia Pro Month7 Days trial$9.991 Month
  • Kualia Pro Monthly$9.991 Month
  • Kualia Pro Year7 Days trial$79.991 Year
Show 1 more
  • Kualia Pro Year$79.991 Year
One-time1
  • Kualia Pro Lifetime$199.99

Questions

Is Buddy free?
Buddy is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Envelope Budget free?
Envelope Budget is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Buddy or Envelope Budget?
Buddy is rated higher. Buddy averages 4.7 out of 5 from 9.5K ratings, while Envelope Budget averages 4.6 from 47 ratings.
Do Buddy or Envelope Budget have ads?
Neither Buddy nor Envelope Budget shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Buddy or Envelope Budget?
Buddy ships an update every 9 days, and Envelope Budget every 4 days. Most recently, Buddy was updated on September 24, 2026 and Envelope Budget on September 21, 2026.

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