Scan with your iPhone camera
Opens the App Store page. On a phone, just tap the button.
How to choose a budgeting app: 12 questions
Check four things on the App Store listing before you install (the price, “In-App Purchases”, App Privacy and Compatibility), then ask how the app gets your transactions, where it keeps them and how you’d leave. The 12 questions below cover all of it, with how My Money answers each, including where it isn’t a fit.
Where these questions come from
In October 2026 we read and coded 1,737 one- to three-star App Store reviews of budgeting apps from six App Store storefronts. The same problems kept coming up, and the questions below target them. The shares show how often a complaint appears in negative reviews, not how many users have it.
| Complaint | Share of reviews |
|---|---|
| Bank, card, wallet or e-invoice connections failing | 21% |
| Paywalls, prices or billing | 20% |
| Too complicated, or too much work per entry | 9% |
| Lost data, no export or import, missing devices | 10% |
Most answers are on the App Store listing, which shows compatibility and privacy information; if an app offers in-app purchases, Apple says “In-App Purchases” appears near its price or Get button.
Money
1. How does the app make money?
A one-time price, a subscription, ads, or a mix. A Get button only means the download is free. Open the “In-App Purchases” list: subscriptions renew automatically unless you cancel, and an item such as “remove ads” usually means the free version shows ads. Of the 37 budgeting apps we checked on the App Store in October 2026, 36 listed in-app purchases.
2. What’s free, and what’s locked?
Find out what needs paying for before you build a habit on it: sync, export, extra accounts, older history, or shortcuts for quick logging. Apple-billed subscriptions are cancelled in Settings › [your name] › Subscriptions. If you paid outside Apple’s in-app purchase system, Apple says to contact the developer for billing help or refunds.
3. Will it show you ads or sell you something?
Free apps earn money somehow. Check the screenshots and description for ads, and be wary when the main screen promotes cards, loans or insurance.
Your bank and your data
4. Does it link your bank, and what happens when the link breaks?
Linking imports transactions for you, but broken connections were the largest single complaint in our sample. Ask whether linking is free, whether your bank is supported, and whether you can keep logging by hand when it drops. See what to do when bank sync keeps failing.
5. Do you need an account?
An account usually means a copy of your data on the developer’s servers: sync and recovery become possible, and your data lives in one more place.
6. Where is your data stored, and does it sync?
Usually one of three: on the phone only, on the phone plus your own iCloud, or on the developer’s servers through an account. Sync suits several devices; on-device storage keeps data on one phone.
7. Can you export your data, and import it elsewhere?
Look for an export you can open, such as CSV or JSON, and try it once. Then check the other side: can a new app import it? Export without import keeps a copy; it doesn’t move your history.
8. What does the App Privacy label say?
| Label section | Meaning (per Apple) |
|---|---|
| Data Used to Track You | Linked with data from other companies’ apps or websites for ads, or shared with a data broker |
| Data Linked to You | Tied to your identity, such as your account, device or phone number |
| Data Not Linked to You | Collected with direct identifiers stripped, and not linked back to you |
| Data Not Collected | The developer declares no data collected |
Three caveats: developers report the label themselves; the label should cover both free and paid versions; and apps that facilitate regulated financial services may leave some data off it under specific conditions. For finance apps, read the privacy policy as well.
Devices and people
9. Which devices does it run on?
Compatibility on the listing shows which Apple devices it runs on. Need Android, the web or the same data on an iPad? Confirm it before you start logging.
10. Can you share it with a partner?
A shared ledger needs accounts and sync. If you budget as a couple, check how invites work and whether sharing costs extra.
Method and effort
11. Which budgeting method does it use?
| Method | How it works | Suits you if |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly categories | A limit per category, reviewed at month end | You like seeing where money went |
| Envelopes or zero-based | Every dollar gets a job before you spend | You enjoy planning and want tight control |
| Daily allowance | Monthly spending money ÷ days, one number for today | You want quick feedback with little setup |
Also ask: does it reset each month, can it follow your payday, and what happens to unspent and overspent money?
12. How long does one entry take?
Log three real purchases on day one and count the taps. If an entry takes longer than paying did, treat that as a warning.
A 10-minute test before you commit
- Read the listing: price, In-App Purchases, App Privacy, Compatibility.
- Set up a budget and log three real purchases.
- Export your data once and open the file.
- Find out how to cancel and how to erase your data.
How My Money answers the 12 questions
| Question | My Money (checked Oct 27, 2026) |
|---|---|
| 1. Making money | Free, with no in-app purchases, subscriptions or ads |
| 2. What’s locked | Nothing; there’s no paid tier |
| 3. Ads and selling | No ads, nothing to upgrade to; it does show Apple’s standard rating request |
| 4. Bank linking | Never links a bank or card; every entry is yours to log |
| 5. Account | None, no sign-in |
| 6. Storage and sync | The ledger stays on your iPhone; no iCloud or cross-device sync |
| 7. Export and import | JSON export of entries; no import, so no restoring history on a new iPhone |
| 8. Privacy label | Data Not Linked to You only (Purchases, Financial Info, User Content); nothing used to track you or linked to you |
| 9. Devices | iPhone only, iOS 17 or later |
| 10. Sharing | No shared ledger |
| 11. Method | Daily allowance (monthly amount ÷ 30); carry-over up to five days’ allowance (can be turned off); overspending comes out of the next days; no monthly reset or pay period |
| 12. Logging | Type a line, speak, pick up to five screenshots, or double-tap the back of the iPhone after a one-time shortcut setup |
Sources
- Apple Support: Get apps in the App Store on iPhone · accessed Oct 27, 2026
- Apple Support: Buy additional app features with in-app purchases and subscriptions (102383) · accessed Oct 27, 2026
- Apple Support: Cancel a subscription from Apple (118428) · accessed Oct 27, 2026
- Apple Support: About purchases not billed through the App Store or Apple In-App Purchase (118126) · accessed Oct 27, 2026
- Apple Support: About privacy information on the App Store (102399) · accessed Oct 27, 2026
- Apple Developer: App privacy details on the App Store · accessed Oct 27, 2026
- App Store: My Money (US store) · accessed Oct 27, 2026