Comparison

Buddy vs Pocket

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

Head to head
About

Buddy

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
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. Privacy Policy: https://buddy.download/privacypolicy/ Terms & Conditions: https://buddy.download/terms-and-conditions/

About

Pocket

Easily log expenses and income with a minimalist interface. Gain clear insights into your financial habits through weekly, monthly, or annual spending trend reports. Plan smarter, budget better, and build lasting financial habits with a one-time purchase.

Highlights
  • Log expenses and income
  • Minimalist interface
  • Financial habit insights
  • Weekly, monthly, annual reports
  • Budget planning
  • One-time purchase
Features
Read full description

Take charge of your finances with Pocket — a straightforward tool to log expenses and income with ease. Designed with a minimalist interface, Pocket keeps distractions to a minimum so you can focus on what matters: recording transactions and gaining clear insights into your financial habits. The most effective way to manage personal finances is by staying hands-on. Each time you enter an expense — whether it’s a coffee, a streaming service, or your utility bill — you become more aware of your spending patterns. This simple habit encourages smarter decisions and helps reduce unnecessary purchases over time. Insightful reports without the clutter. View your spending trends weekly, monthly, or annually. With intuitive visual summaries, Pocket makes it easy to spot when you're overspending or staying on track with your budget goals. Your money, your rules. Plan smarter, budget better, and build lasting habits. Use Pocket daily and start seeing the difference in how you handle your finances. One-time purchase, lifetime access. Pocket offers a premium upgrade for power users including some extra features — no subscriptions, no hidden fees. We believe in a fair, one-time payment model: pay once, and it’s yours to keep. Privacy Policy: https://www.thespendingtracker.app/privacy Terms of Use: https://www.thespendingtracker.app/terms

Screenshots

Buddy4 screens
Pocket4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ratings volume: Buddy at 9.6K against Pocket's 1. Buddy also leads on chart position (#90 vs unranked) and device support (3 vs 1). Pocket's advantage is rating (5.0 vs 4.7). On price, update cadence, 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 9 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month and Pocket sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Pocket holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Buddy has 9.6K ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Buddy ships an update every 9 days, Pocket every 6 days. The most recent releases landed on November 4, 2026 and October 30, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
Buddy versus Pocket: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBuddyPocket
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (9.6K ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews48.7% of reviews—
Number of ratings9.6K — better1
Update frequencyEvery 9 daysEvery 6 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemiumFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#90 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — betteriPhone
Requires iOS18.0 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size173 MB10 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperBuddy Budgeting ABSmudgebit

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

Pocket

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

9 purchases

Buddy

Subscriptions9
  • Buddy Premium7 Days trial$4.991 Month
  • Buddy Premium$4.991 Month
  • Premium$9.991 Month
Show 6 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 trial2 variants$49.991 Year
1 purchases

Pocket

One-time1
  • Pocket Premium$19.99

Questions

Is Buddy free?
Buddy is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Pocket free?
Pocket is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Buddy or Pocket?
Pocket is rated higher. Buddy averages 4.7 out of 5 from 9.6K ratings, while Pocket averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Buddy or Pocket have ads?
Neither Buddy nor Pocket shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Buddy or Pocket?
Buddy ships an update every 9 days, and Pocket every 6 days. Most recently, Buddy was updated on November 4, 2026 and Pocket on October 30, 2026.

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