Review Insights · App Store
Buddy: Budget Planner App
Buddy Budgeting AB · 8,989 ratings · ★ 4.7
4.7
★★★★★
8,989 ratings
🎯 Build a better version
Top complaints - extracted from 51 negative reviews
Recurring phrases mined from 1-2★ reviews. The bigger the percentage, the more users have the same problem. Fix the top 2-3 in your version and you have product-market fit on day one.
1
"free"
13 negative reviews mention this · 25% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Free trial offer. Free trial offer after you spend all of the time entering your information and creating the account. Seven days to try it for free and then I’m sure they’ll be happy to charge my card creating yet more debt that I don’t need. No thanks." - BruceInBama
2
"budget"
12 negative reviews mention this · 24% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Why does it need location access?!. Why does a budgeting app need to track your precise location across apps? Not sure to feel safe with this app anymore. Recent updates have been collecting more and more data. Edit: every update needs more and more permissions:/. For what’…" - Al272sub
3
"trial"
10 negative reviews mention this · 20% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Free trial offer. Free trial offer after you spend all of the time entering your information and creating the account. Seven days to try it for free and then I’m sure they’ll be happy to charge my card creating yet more debt that I don’t need. No thanks." - BruceInBama
4
"card"
9 negative reviews mention this · 18% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Free trial offer. Free trial offer after you spend all of the time entering your information and creating the account. Seven days to try it for free and then I’m sure they’ll be happy to charge my card creating yet more debt that I don’t need. No thanks." - BruceInBama
5
"free trial"
9 negative reviews mention this · 18% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Free trial offer. Free trial offer after you spend all of the time entering your information and creating the account. Seven days to try it for free and then I’m sure they’ll be happy to charge my card creating yet more debt that I don’t need. No thanks." - BruceInBama
6
"transactions"
9 negative reviews mention this · 18% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Duplicates transactions. This app duplicates many of my transactions. It also cannot figure out how to reconcile when I make a payment from my checking account on my credit card. This all messes up my budget. There should also be a way to make sure it classifies fu…" - Notabotgirl
7
"subscription"
8 negative reviews mention this · 16% of all complaints
★★★★★ "App asking for subscription. My friend that introduces me to this app said it’s free but why are they asking for $50 subscribers before I can be able to set this up, if I have money would I be finding budget app?" - Abbey809
8
"budgeting"
7 negative reviews mention this · 14% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Why does it need location access?!. Why does a budgeting app need to track your precise location across apps? Not sure to feel safe with this app anymore. Recent updates have been collecting more and more data. Edit: every update needs more and more permissions:/. For what’…" - Al272sub
9
"money"
7 negative reviews mention this · 14% of all complaints
★★★★★ "App asking for subscription. My friend that introduces me to this app said it’s free but why are they asking for $50 subscribers before I can be able to set this up, if I have money would I be finding budget app?" - Abbey809
10
"doesn"
7 negative reviews mention this · 14% of all complaints
★★★★★ "I don’t think it’s worth the money, needs improvement. I have the paid version, and I was hopeful. The app is trying to do five different things at the same time, but it doesn’t do any of them right." - User725262&
11
"days"
6 negative reviews mention this · 12% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Free trial offer. Free trial offer after you spend all of the time entering your information and creating the account. Seven days to try it for free and then I’m sure they’ll be happy to charge my card creating yet more debt that I don’t need. No thanks." - BruceInBama
12
"sure"
6 negative reviews mention this · 12% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Free trial offer. Free trial offer after you spend all of the time entering your information and creating the account. Seven days to try it for free and then I’m sure they’ll be happy to charge my card creating yet more debt that I don’t need. No thanks." - BruceInBama
📋 All 51 negative reviews
Every 1-2★ review we fetched. Use the copy button to grab them all for your own analysis (paste into ChatGPT/Claude with a prompt like "summarize core user problems, group by theme, ignore bugs, focus on missing features").
Free trial offer
Free trial offer after you spend all of the time entering your information and creating the account. Seven days to try it for free and then I’m sure they’ll be happy to charge my card creating yet more debt that I don’t need. No thanks.
Not free
7 days free and then you have to pay.
Why does it need location access?!
Why does a budgeting app need to track your precise location across apps? Not sure to feel safe with this app anymore. Recent updates have been collecting more and more data.
Edit: every update needs more and more permissions:/. For what’s essentially a spreadsheet (as most trackers are) very disappointing, as I originally tried this bc it had minimal tracking.
Edit: every update needs more and more permissions:/. For what’s essentially a spreadsheet (as most trackers are) very disappointing, as I originally tried this bc it had minimal tracking.
App asking for subscription
My friend that introduces me to this app said it’s free but why are they asking for $50 subscribers before I can be able to set this up, if I have money would I be finding budget app?
Duplicates transactions
This app duplicates many of my transactions. It also cannot figure out how to reconcile when I make a payment from my checking account on my credit card. This all messes up my budget. There should also be a way to make sure it classifies future transactions of the same type under the category you want them to be in. For example, I have one that it thinks a shopping, but it is healthcare.
I don’t think it’s worth the money, needs improvement
I have the paid version, and I was hopeful. The app is trying to do five different things at the same time, but it doesn’t do any of them right.
Paid for it and freezes, so can’t use it
Do t download has bugs, and owner does not respond. Find another app.
Stole money
Signed up to do a free trial and still got charged the day I signed up. Scam I want my money back. Also the app doesn’t work how it should
The app is poorly maintained.
I have severe sync issues with this app. The records are not fully synced, sometimes good but sometimes not, which is a huge issue for a budget app. You can NEVER rely on this. I submitted several issues to the developer and their solutions are not helpful at all.
Can’t enter loans
It won’t accept my bank. It has the icon for my auto loan but it won’t connect & it won’t connect to my mortgage loan. Not much use for me.
$50 bucks a year
To actually USE the app you have to subscribe for $50 a year. How about that for budgeting.
They will charge your card during “free” trial
I cancelled my free trial after an hour and they charged me anyways.
THE WORST APP
You literally have to pay for EVERYTHING
Horrible
I was charged without even using the app and they refused to issue a refund. The interface was confusing and not user-friendly at all. I tried to give it a chance, but it just made budgeting harder, not easier. Customer support was completely unhelpful. I do not recommend this app to anyone.
Freezes and lost my data
Have tried reaching out to support several times and they said they would try to help recover my data but then I was ghosted? Haven’t heard back for months.
Useless
Have to pay to add more than 4 categories. Plus, the UI is trash and hard to use
Lags too much and is slow
This app worked well but in the last couple months l, it’s horrible to use. Lags all the time and is extremely slow. Can’t even use it anymore because of this. It shouldn’t take 2 mins just to scroll.
Need to pay to connect financial accounts
Don’t bother downloading it if you want to connect your bank/credit card accounts but don’t want to pay for it.
No longer works well
I used this app for years, but then recurring transactions started duplicating, and my husband’s balances and my own did not match. I’m over trying to fix it.
This the worst budget app
First the developer never answer questions. Never considers my feedback.
Passcode lacks Touch ID and Face ID
Recurring transactions doesn’t visualize in the upcoming month, it doesn’t even have the start and finish date for recurring transactions
And OVERVIEW IS THE WORST it has a wheel that always shakes or moves when you scroll to the next month this is horribly distracting
OF COURSE THE DEVELOPER DOESN’T CARE AT ALL AND CONTINUOUSLY IGNORES NOR ANSWER MY EMAILS AND IF HE DOES HE NEVER IMPLEMENTS ANY THING , HE IS JUST PURE BLA BLA
Passcode lacks Touch ID and Face ID
Recurring transactions doesn’t visualize in the upcoming month, it doesn’t even have the start and finish date for recurring transactions
And OVERVIEW IS THE WORST it has a wheel that always shakes or moves when you scroll to the next month this is horribly distracting
OF COURSE THE DEVELOPER DOESN’T CARE AT ALL AND CONTINUOUSLY IGNORES NOR ANSWER MY EMAILS AND IF HE DOES HE NEVER IMPLEMENTS ANY THING , HE IS JUST PURE BLA BLA
Not free - don’t waste your time
As many other apps, this one requires payment just to keep track of your expenses.. no thanks.
i have to put a title
no longer works with typewise keyboard after update. please fix this its a massive downside.
Can’t share
My husband bought this year subscription for the sole fact that we could both contribute the budget. However, when he invited me to it. I can’t even see anything without having to also pay for the subscription.
Credit card balance is wrong and crashes often
Credit card balance is wrong its posting balance of credit issued by bank not the credit a user needs to pay to bank. One of the biggest features is missing but no way to report or get help from them
Not free
You can’t even add your bank without paying
Not free
Do not say it is free when the first thing you see is 7 day free trial then $49 a year billed on the 8th day I am sure. How many would be looking for an app like this for 7 days. No thanks
Doesn’t work anymore
My wife and I used this for years but it has stopped working. I have tried several times to contact them but haven’t gotten a response. We are using a different app now.
Do not recommend!!!
I used to love this app but it has been so buggy lately. I purchased the premium version just for the app to be buggy and I was unable to use it correctly. Tried to get a refund on my subscription but Apple denied it! Why pay for a subscription when I can’t even use it??
Incredibly buggy
Not sure what is happening with this app lately. Lots of bugs have been rolling out. Today my biweekly budget shifted by a week on its own. Daily totals that don’t add up started showing about seemingly random days in the week. I use it for the most basic budgeting approach, and its still frustrating. I wouldn’t recommend getting yourself in it.
Many bugs and poor customer survice
I have reached out to the customer service 5 days ago about some recurring transactions being randomly completely deleted from history (almost 2 years of monthly transactions) and haven’t heard back. I haven’t even received an automated email confirming they’ve received my inquiry
Never worked more than 12 hours
I had high hopes for this app. Took a good 30 min to set up everything the way I wanted and review past transactions for my personal category’s.
And when I tried to check it after work that day it wouldn’t connect to any accounts. Wouldn’t let me reconnect them or anything Just get an internal error. Tried contacting support no response I ended my trail so I wouldn’t get charged but I never even got a free trial clearly this app dose not have a good it team. Behind it
And when I tried to check it after work that day it wouldn’t connect to any accounts. Wouldn’t let me reconnect them or anything Just get an internal error. Tried contacting support no response I ended my trail so I wouldn’t get charged but I never even got a free trial clearly this app dose not have a good it team. Behind it
Don’t recommend
Tried to use it but it didn’t work as expected! The annual subscription is a ripoff. Requested a refund and they denied it. I wouldn’t recommend anyone wasting their money on this. $49.99/yr is a lot of money.
Ok for basic budgeting.
I downloaded this app because of the shared budget feature, my partner and I are starting to merge our finances. I want the ability to track household and personal expenses separately. I opted for the year subscription because I thought I was getting a free trial. Come to find out that wasn't the case since I got a free trial in 2022, didn't recall. I decided to play around and set everything up. As of now, I recommend for basic budgets. If you want robust features, this probably is not the app for you.
1. linking accounts worked well. I haven't experienced unlinking.
2. Created 2 households. My hope was to see all household items and my personal bills separate. I'd have to manually move them versus saying which of my accounts is associated with spending versus bills vs savings.
3. Wallet feature complicated. Seems like there are too many touch points for a transaction. Maybe have an option for users to label their own accounts as such versus creating the wallet not connected to any account.
4. No logic for same expense types. I have to manually add the category and move to my right budget for a few expenses.
5. I'm unable to edit recurring expenses. A few of my recurring expenses dropped off or I no longer want to track them. Didn't find a way to do it.
1. linking accounts worked well. I haven't experienced unlinking.
2. Created 2 households. My hope was to see all household items and my personal bills separate. I'd have to manually move them versus saying which of my accounts is associated with spending versus bills vs savings.
3. Wallet feature complicated. Seems like there are too many touch points for a transaction. Maybe have an option for users to label their own accounts as such versus creating the wallet not connected to any account.
4. No logic for same expense types. I have to manually add the category and move to my right budget for a few expenses.
5. I'm unable to edit recurring expenses. A few of my recurring expenses dropped off or I no longer want to track them. Didn't find a way to do it.
If everything worked it would be great.
I've found that setting a budget and keeping my wallet organized has been really useful. However, I've been having some issues with the app's transaction syncing feature. When I try to sync, there's a big delay before the transactions load. I often have to close and reopen the app multiple times. And even when the transactions finally do load, they sometimes disappear when I go to a different page within the app.
Crashes
I love the app and have been using it for years, but after the latest update I can’t open the app, it crashes
App Crashing after 10/01/2024 update
App is not opening and crashing everytime it is opened after faceid authentication post 10/01/2024 updat
Run!
It feels like an abandoned building.
It said it’d give you a week free trial but the prompts kept pulling me to subscribe - the reviews were so good I thought, okay. I’ll bite. Like a dumb fish on a hook!
I so want my 50 bucks back! Knew it sucked in seconds.
First it links with major banks only. (Or so it claims) Figured it’d at least link with my Apple Card? Nope. Exact same list of banks in both checking and credit cards.
Floats my Apps above which was cool but gives no renewal data on those. So I see what I have but no idea when the renewal dates are and no way to scrape that info. I mean I can go into each App I own to see if I want to renew on my own but then what’s be the point of this App?
I think it’s a dead App. The interface is garish. Purple? It feels like a beta version that in no way is ready for prime time? Kids’ thesis product I wonder?
It said it’d give you a week free trial but the prompts kept pulling me to subscribe - the reviews were so good I thought, okay. I’ll bite. Like a dumb fish on a hook!
I so want my 50 bucks back! Knew it sucked in seconds.
First it links with major banks only. (Or so it claims) Figured it’d at least link with my Apple Card? Nope. Exact same list of banks in both checking and credit cards.
Floats my Apps above which was cool but gives no renewal data on those. So I see what I have but no idea when the renewal dates are and no way to scrape that info. I mean I can go into each App I own to see if I want to renew on my own but then what’s be the point of this App?
I think it’s a dead App. The interface is garish. Purple? It feels like a beta version that in no way is ready for prime time? Kids’ thesis product I wonder?
Do not recommend.
I downloaded this app and started the free trial. I did not like how this app was laid out. I canceled the subscription. I didn’t open the app again.
Come to find out, it didn’t take the cancellation. So it charged me for an entire year.
I tried to contact Apple for a refund immediately after getting the charge alert. They would not refund it.
I went ahead and synced my accounts because I’m not going to pay for an app and just not use it. It is the worst budgeting app I’ve ever used. I really do not understand the good reviews.
It has categories, but it never puts charges into the correct category, and you have to manually adjust every single one. Nearly every single time.
Forbid you have a credit card. It doesn’t seem to understand how it works. It’ll say you’re going “over budget” for ANYTHING to do with a credit card. Whether making a payment or using the card for a purchase.
We just paid off our cc debt this past month and it says we are way over budget because of this, even though we are not, it was planned and set.
I have had to re enter my card information 2 or 3 different times at this point because it keeps saying they’re not synced.
Learn from me. If you just WANT to try the trial, do it, but make sure it actually cancels before the first payment day. Because they auto set it to annual payments.
Whether it was my internet that day, or whatever else it may be for the reason it didn’t cancel. But if Apple gives me the confirmation of the app being canceled, I expect them to stand by that. 😒
Come to find out, it didn’t take the cancellation. So it charged me for an entire year.
I tried to contact Apple for a refund immediately after getting the charge alert. They would not refund it.
I went ahead and synced my accounts because I’m not going to pay for an app and just not use it. It is the worst budgeting app I’ve ever used. I really do not understand the good reviews.
It has categories, but it never puts charges into the correct category, and you have to manually adjust every single one. Nearly every single time.
Forbid you have a credit card. It doesn’t seem to understand how it works. It’ll say you’re going “over budget” for ANYTHING to do with a credit card. Whether making a payment or using the card for a purchase.
We just paid off our cc debt this past month and it says we are way over budget because of this, even though we are not, it was planned and set.
I have had to re enter my card information 2 or 3 different times at this point because it keeps saying they’re not synced.
Learn from me. If you just WANT to try the trial, do it, but make sure it actually cancels before the first payment day. Because they auto set it to annual payments.
Whether it was my internet that day, or whatever else it may be for the reason it didn’t cancel. But if Apple gives me the confirmation of the app being canceled, I expect them to stand by that. 😒
Does not sync with AppleCard
As above.
Loved the app but no one ever responded to support messages
Enjoyed using the app and considering signing up to the subscription. Reached out three times trying to get some time sensitive support but still haven’t heard back. Worried that if I ever subscribed and have some issue with the app or data, will I ever be able to get support help? This happened to another accounting app that I used for two years and had to switch because of the data issue that couldn’t get resolved. Worried that it’ll happen to this app as well.
Free trial - Just kidding we lied
The day I signed up, it indicated that there was a free trial available. I noticed it lacked some of the functionality I needed, so I canceled the subscription on the same day. Despite canceling, they attempted to charge my card the subscription fee, even though it was supposed to be a free trial. I have never used or heard of this app before, so it was completely new to me.
It’s unethical to offer a free trial and then charge me immediately upon cancellation. I canceled within an hour of signing up because the app couldn’t properly update categories; it required me to individually update the same thing every single time. I want my money back!
It’s unethical to offer a free trial and then charge me immediately upon cancellation. I canceled within an hour of signing up because the app couldn’t properly update categories; it required me to individually update the same thing every single time. I want my money back!
Too many errors! Don't waste your money
This is literally one of the worst budgeting apps. I paid $50 and it's a complete waste. My bank keeps automatically disconnecting and even when connected the transactions all don't import. Don't waste your time and money on this app. I am very disappointed. Also there are always error messages! Very annoying
Would be perfect except the data keeps getting messed up
I loved this app but numerous times my expenses would shift dates without me moving them. It will completely throw off months of tracking which renders the app almost useless. I’m switching to a more reliable app which is sad because I did love this app before that has happened numerous times.
Too Buggy
App frequently closes when entering search criteria. Recategorize a transaction and it doesn’t always stick. Twice it asked me about recategorizing multiples of the same item, but it doesn’t ask me anymore. Doesn’t recognize Camp Bow Wow and Chuck & Dons as pet places. Way too buggy to use.
Only on apple
Make a cross platform app so I can budget with my partner we both really like this app but he only likes using android.
Meh
Doesn’t connect to my Frost Bank. Sent a help ticket but haven’t heard back. Doesn’t help track debt or savings, just spending in categories.
Missing basic features
Needs to be able to split transactions up to move between categories. Very basic feature most other apps have. Very essential to how I’m looking to budget and unfortunately ruined this app for me :( would definitely come back if this feature was added as I am actively looking for a budget app that offers a one time payment for life
Missing institutions
Does not support Apple Savings nor Card sync
Syncing Issues and Poor Customer Service
It’s a little unclear to me why this app has such high ratings. While the design is solid and useful, there are problems with syncing (it’s inconsistent, severely delayed, and unpredictable). I’ve attempted to get help for the issue but am not receiving a resolution. Instead, the one time they responded, they said I had numerous accounts linked (I had only one) and didn’t offer a solution. Now they’re not responding at all, since I’ve paid and couldn’t get the issue resolved before my trial period ended.
Budget categories randomly disappearing
Exactly as the title says, budget categories are randomly disappearing. I make a category for, say, gifts and log a few transactions. A few days later, the category and all transactions have completely disappeared. It’s beyond frustrating and makes the app virtually useless. What’s the point in tracking my money when it will randomly add hundreds of dollars back into my budget by removing known, recorded expenses?
It has SO much potential.
It has SO much potential.
+ 1 more in the clipboard copy
Sentiment summary
93%
Positive (4-5★)
3%
Neutral (3★)
4%
Negative (1-2★)