# Buddy vs Tael

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Tael at 100% against Buddy's 49%. Tael also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.7) and update cadence (every 4 days vs every 9 days). Buddy's advantage is ratings volume (9.6K vs 6) and chart position (#63 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 Tael sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Tael 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 6, 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 Tael's.

Buddy ships an update every 9 days, Tael every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on November 8, 2026 and November 6, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Buddy | Tael |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.7 (9.6K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/buddy-budget-planner-app/id936422955/reviews) | **[5.0 (6 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/tael-expense-tracker/id6800013881/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **9.6K** | 6 |
| Positive reviews | 48.7% of reviews | **100.0% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 9 days | **Every 4 days** |
| Monetization | Freemium | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | **#63** | — |
| Size | 173 MB | 43 MB |
| Requires iOS | **18.0** | 18.4 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch** | iPhone |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Buddy Budgeting AB](https://appshunter.io/developer/936422954) | [Tael Technology, LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/6800013883) |

## What reviewers say

### Buddy

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

**Currently charting:** #63 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


### Tael

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/tael-expense-tracker/id6800013881)

Effortlessly track expenses as they happen, with automatic logging from Apple Pay and local payment systems. Organize spending by custom categories like trips or projects, and gain insights into where your money truly goes without manual data entry.

**Highlights:** Automatic logging from Apple Pay, Customizable project and trip tracking, Smart rules for recurring merchants, Multi-currency support, Export to Excel, CSV, or Markdown, Offline functionality

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, iPhone Duo support

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Tael Pro Monthly | $2.99 | per month |
| Tael Pro Annual | $29.99 | per year |
| Tael Pro | $14.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Buddy free?

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

### Is Tael free?

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

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

Tael is rated higher. Buddy averages 4.7 out of 5 from 9.6K ratings, while Tael averages 5.0 from 6 ratings.

### Do Buddy or Tael have ads?

Neither Buddy nor Tael shows ads.

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

Buddy ships an update every 9 days, and Tael every 4 days. Most recently, Buddy was updated on November 8, 2026 and Tael on November 6, 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.*