# Buddy vs Basis

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Basis at 100% against Buddy's 49%. Basis also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 10) and rating (5.0 vs 4.7). Buddy's advantage is ratings volume (9.6K vs 1) and chart position (#84 vs unranked). On price, 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. Basis asks for nothing beyond the download.

Basis 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. Written reviews point the same way: 49% of Buddy's written reviews are positive against 100% of Basis's.

Buddy ships an update every 9 days, Basis every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 5, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Buddy | Basis |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.7 (9.6K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/buddy-budget-planner-app/id936422955/reviews) | **[5.0 (1 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/basis-simple-budgeting/id6790152431/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **9.6K** | 1 |
| Positive reviews | 48.7% of reviews | **100.0% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 9 days** | Every 2 weeks |
| Monetization | Freemium | **Free** |
| Best chart rank | **#84** | — |
| Size | 173 MB | 3 MB |
| Requires iOS | **18.0** | 26.0 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch** | iPhone |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Buddy Budgeting AB](https://appshunter.io/developer/936422954) | [Silvia Stocchi](https://appshunter.io/developer/6781853309) |

## What reviewers say

### Buddy

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

**Currently charting:** #84 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


### Basis

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/basis-simple-budgeting/id6790152431)

This app helps you save money by prioritizing savings before budgeting. It allows you to define spending categories, make conscious decisions about overspending, and track your savings growth over time. It offers quick expense logging and receipt scanning for a streamlined financial management experience.

**Highlights:** Save first budgeting method, Customizable spending categories, Deliberate period closing, On-device receipt scanning, Home-screen widgets, Complete privacy (no cloud/account)

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

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Buddy free?

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

### Is Basis free?

Basis is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

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

Basis is rated higher. Buddy averages 4.7 out of 5 from 9.6K ratings, while Basis averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.

### Do Buddy or Basis have ads?

Neither Buddy nor Basis shows ads.

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

Buddy ships an update every 9 days, and Basis every 2 weeks. Most recently, Buddy was updated on November 5, 2026 and Basis on October 31, 2026.

---

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