Review Insights · App Store
Goodbudget Budget Planner
Dayspring Technologies · 13,217 ratings · ★ 4.6
4.6
★★★★★
13,217 ratings
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Top complaints - extracted from 49 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
"envelopes"
11 negative reviews mention this · 22% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Bug. There is a bug. If you don’t have envelopes but just income, the app crashes when you click on the income." - PierreDeFrance
2
"budget"
9 negative reviews mention this · 18% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Ridiculously Complicated. It is more complicated than it needs to be I’m not going to be on for something that is forcing me to budget weekly monthly bi monthly tri yearly" - Blancofox
3
"sync"
9 negative reviews mention this · 18% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Better ones out there. This has become one of the most ineffective ways to track our budget. While the idea seems great it’s finicky and glitchy. Sometimes you have to log onto the site to do stuff when it should all be handled with the app. Because it requires t…" - Jimmy D Productions
4
"been"
9 negative reviews mention this · 18% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Potential. I really like how straight-forward the app is, however, the initial setup is insane. My credit cards unlink as soon as I select "I'm paying it off" instead of "pay in full each month" and the lightning bolt goes away. When I set this up hal…" - JamesForKing
5
"user"
9 negative reviews mention this · 18% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Not user friendly unless you are debt free already. Paid for it and had to switch to something else because so many issues trying to sink with accounts that have a balance. Horrible interface" - Habitual listener
6
"subscription"
8 negative reviews mention this · 16% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Scam. Paid for the subscription and my bank won’t even link. If you have Family Security don’t waste your time purchasing. The free version is also entirely wrong." - eksmommy
7
"recently"
7 negative reviews mention this · 14% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Buggy. I’m assuming there was an update to the app recently because now I cannot enter in my debt payments. Please fix." - Brit510
8
"paid"
7 negative reviews mention this · 14% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Scam. Paid for the subscription and my bank won’t even link. If you have Family Security don’t waste your time purchasing. The free version is also entirely wrong." - eksmommy
9
"month"
7 negative reviews mention this · 14% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Ridiculously Complicated. It is more complicated than it needs to be I’m not going to be on for something that is forcing me to budget weekly monthly bi monthly tri yearly" - Blancofox
10
"update"
6 negative reviews mention this · 12% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Buggy. I’m assuming there was an update to the app recently because now I cannot enter in my debt payments. Please fix." - Brit510
11
"bank"
6 negative reviews mention this · 12% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Scam. Paid for the subscription and my bank won’t even link. If you have Family Security don’t waste your time purchasing. The free version is also entirely wrong." - eksmommy
12
"free"
6 negative reviews mention this · 12% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Scam. Paid for the subscription and my bank won’t even link. If you have Family Security don’t waste your time purchasing. The free version is also entirely wrong." - eksmommy
📋 All 49 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").
Ridiculously Complicated
It is more complicated than it needs to be I’m not going to be on for something that is forcing me to budget weekly monthly bi monthly tri yearly
Buggy
I’m assuming there was an update to the app recently because now I cannot enter in my debt payments. Please fix.
Scam
Paid for the subscription and my bank won’t even link. If you have Family Security don’t waste your time purchasing. The free version is also entirely wrong.
Not paying for everything
It would be better if they charged for the service not the envelope dumb
Better ones out there
This has become one of the most ineffective ways to track our budget. While the idea seems great it’s finicky and glitchy. Sometimes you have to log onto the site to do stuff when it should all be handled with the app. Because it requires the site it doesn’t always sync and there are connection issues when out and about trying to record expenses.
Bug
There is a bug. If you don’t have envelopes but just income, the app crashes when you click on the income.
It’s not good
I’ve used a lot of budget apps and this app really is not good. I can’t even figure out how to fill envelopes from the app. The how-to videos only show it done from desktop-what? Are you kidding me! OMG!
No. I don’t want to use my laptop-that’s ridiculous!
No. I don’t want to use a tiny screen in Safari because your app software can’t do what should be a simple task.-ridiculous!
No. I don’t want to auto-fill!-that would defeat the whole purpose of a budget. It should evolve every month because every month your income and spending changes.-ridiculous!
There is NO support to be found other than forum, what? Are you kidding me? I can’t believe you have any good reviews? You don’t even deserve a single star.
No. I don’t want to use my laptop-that’s ridiculous!
No. I don’t want to use a tiny screen in Safari because your app software can’t do what should be a simple task.-ridiculous!
No. I don’t want to auto-fill!-that would defeat the whole purpose of a budget. It should evolve every month because every month your income and spending changes.-ridiculous!
There is NO support to be found other than forum, what? Are you kidding me? I can’t believe you have any good reviews? You don’t even deserve a single star.
Not user friendly unless you are debt free already
Paid for it and had to switch to something else because so many issues trying to sink with accounts that have a balance. Horrible interface
Use to love but can’t anymore
I use to love this app. I used it for years for budgeting. However, I recently got a new phone and there for the newer version of the app?
It’s horrible now. It doesn’t feel user friendly anymore.
At first I thought I just needed to get use to the new but it’s been a couple months and I find myself not tracking my budget because I don’t want to fight with the app.
I am know on the hunt for better one.
It’s horrible now. It doesn’t feel user friendly anymore.
At first I thought I just needed to get use to the new but it’s been a couple months and I find myself not tracking my budget because I don’t want to fight with the app.
I am know on the hunt for better one.
Privacy Policy
In a budget app saturated market, I don’t know why this app needs to collect so much personal information. Developer should clearly explain what is being used and for what purposes.
Do not buy
It’s so hard to use. The app is not user friendly. I would not recommend.
Not user friendly
There is no intro to the app. It’s not user friendly. Has a rudimentary interface. I paid for premium so that I could sync my bank account and see transactions however it looks like a jumbled hot mess. I knew within the same day this was absolutely it going to work for me, but there is no option for a refund on the Apple support site. So it was a complete waste of time and money. I’m excited to cancel my subscription and delete the app and try something else after doing some more research.
No registration option
Cannot create an accout in order to start using the app. No option for that
Wasted time
Sorry it was a waste of time that I ever downloaded it and started my information. Their common every day words that have definitions they use them in opposite meaning and will throw balances off and make numbers and charts not work out.
What does the word free mean
This second app that have tried and apparently it’s not FREE
No free trial
There is no way to test the app for free. You sign up for an account and immediately pushed into paying for a month or a year if you want to connect your bank account. If I can’t try all the features for 30 days to decide if it meets my needs, then this is an instant fail and delete.
Re Developer response: because the “free forever” plan doesn’t support bank sync, there is no way to test the main features of the product.
Re Developer response: because the “free forever” plan doesn’t support bank sync, there is no way to test the main features of the product.
Hard to get customer service contact
I just downloaded the app I don’t like to continue. It’s strange where to go and how to cancel?
Crashes when app switching
Great app.
The all transactions list in the iOS app is constantly scrolling to top uncontrollably. Really annoying.
The all transactions list in the iOS app is constantly scrolling to top uncontrollably. Really annoying.
App doesn’t work anymore.
Used to be a great app. It doesn’t sync anymore. I recent came back to this app and paid for the premium subscription, only to be disappointed that I absolutely can’t use it.
Very disappointed.
Very disappointed.
NO GOOD ANY MORE!!
Using this app for more then 6 years and now i have a lot of problema backing up my Data, and they don’t have any 1800 number to call, im getting another APP now, so sad i used to love this App!
What the heck
I paid for the premium version and as soon as i did this app stopped working?…. keeps saying it can’t sync 😡
They got greedy
Used this a long time ago, and it worked pretty good. We had bank account sync for free back then. Went to give it another try again. Removed bank account I had added back them to add a different one (said I could only sync one). Wouldn’t let me do it without paying overpriced subscription. If it was reasonable, I would consider.
Ads for paying customers
Service was good enough, used this for 14 years. But recently they started putting ads in the top of the transaction register…for paying customers!
Looking to switch to something self-hosted to prevent dealing with this again.
Looking to switch to something self-hosted to prevent dealing with this again.
Refused to back up any data
I used it for a month but refused to pay for it. It never backed up any data and I was logged out, losing all the transactions.
Not working at all
The app out of blue is not working at all. I keep receiving an error message that it is having trouble syncing. All of my envelopes are gone, it says they are “user deleted”. I’m really disappointed because I have been using this app for years without any issues at all. I’m hoping the developers come up with a fix.
Impossible, Waste of Time & Money
This looked like the answer to my dreams. I can’t figure out how to use it. I am not stupid. It’s probably some simple little thing I am missing but it is impossible to reach anybody to answer questions.
Very Disappointed!!
Very Disappointed!!
Deleted all my folders
Recently updated the app and now all my folders are gone. I still have the account but all transactions say they are to (user deleted folder). Been using the app for 8 years and have never had this issue and now I’m stuck trying to figure out what money goes where.
Was great, now there is a problem!
I have using this app for a long time and love it, but recently it is unable to sync so I can’t do anything at all- please fix!
Bad ANR on opening suspended app session
Love the app but recently started seeing an issue where I have Goodbudget open, move to another app, and then come back to Goodbudget but it freezes and eventually crashes. Please fix!
Bring Back Income
I used to love this app - super simple to create a budget based on actual income, and to track income and spending. However, the latest “update” eliminated the ability to track income and to build a budget based on that income. I’ll be looking for an alternative app that includes an income tracking feature. So stupid to eliminate that.
Latest update ruined app
The app was very simple to use and the latest update overcomplicated it a ton. The UI went from simplistic and easy to grasp to way too much going on, and tons of things hidden behind different menus.
THIEVES
The app developers are thieves. For anyone unaware, these snakes have their app set up so that canceling the subscription within the app store does not cancel the subscription at all; they will continue to charge you until you search through the app for a way to remove the subscription. They purposely hide this function, and requires you to reroute through a web browser just to cancel it.
To the app developers, you have been reported for stealing money from me for months after I canceled the subscription, which it clearly says within my account information. Nasty scammers.
To the app developers, you have been reported for stealing money from me for months after I canceled the subscription, which it clearly says within my account information. Nasty scammers.
Does not work
I just downloaded the app to my new iPhone 15 and can’t get past ‘Get Started’ page. It’s an unresponsive page.
Can’t get past first page
App just freezes
Not good
Created a budget, bought a subscription yesterday Go to get in it today, no record of my email or my budget. So I cancelled the subscription. What a joke.
No free syncing
You have to pay for a subscription to link / auto sync bank accounts. Otherwise you’re manually inputting every transaction.
Potential
I really like how straight-forward the app is, however, the initial setup is insane. My credit cards unlink as soon as I select "I'm paying it off" instead of "pay in full each month" and the lightning bolt goes away. When I set this up halfway through the month it's impossible to match what's been paid already.
Could be great if your accounts sync
Purchased and then failed to sync my main bank account. Then my other account stopped syncing after a few days. Liked it if it would work for all my accounts. Waist of time and money.
Used to be good
Been a long standing user. App was always buggy, but now I just downloaded latest versionand my envelopes and transactions were wiped out. It’s no longer synching. Trash. Not happy!
Not user friendly
Hard to figure out how to start fresh each month, reload your envelopes, etc. it just wasn’t easy to use.
Should be good but…
The constant syncing issues completely break it. No idea why this information needs to be uploaded to their servers constantly, or at all. Feel like they are just trying to push us to pay for it
Why did you change the way envelopes are sorted?
Give us the option to sort envelopes the same way they’ve always been sorted (by frequency of filling, like in the UI video on the App Store page). This new way of forcing users to sort by arbitrary categories is absolute garbage and I will be deleting the app if it’s not fixed. It keeps glitching out and looks godawful.
No trial subscription
Why don’t you offer a trial subscription? 14 days to try out plus or premium before being charged.
Buggiest app I’ve ever used.
Spent over an hour tonight creating envelopes, setting up budgets, logging expenses paid for the month. Was excited about the system but noticed that two of the envelopes were not updating. The numbers showed up, but the status bars were absent. I also wanted to adjust the monthly goal for one of them and when I did, it too lost the status bar, so I backed up everything I had done, logged out and logged back in, and found that the only envelopes in there were the ones with the missing status bars, and their status bars were still missing. All other work had been lost. It’s crazy that an app this well- reviewed could be so buggy. I hope there is an update coming. Definitely not upgrading to Premium based on this initial experience.
Trouble Syncing After Update
I primarily use the app to track my budget and it had served its purpose well. The app allowed for privacy and was easy to navigate. After the most recent update, I have a constant pop up about having syncing issues (which are still unresolved) and my most critical envelopes are a mess. I’ve to to reset everything and start fresh to fix the issue but it hasn’t helped.
User for 4-5 years to many bugs at this point.
I’ve been using this app going on 5 years I think and I’m starting to get very frustrated with some major bugs that aren’t being resolved especially since I use the pay feature. 1. When I set new “monthly envelop fills on the app a lot of the time they don’t execute the next month so I end up having to manually add the money. 2. Today I woke up to only having 33 dollars in an envelope that had over 700 in it yesterday and when I add up all the purchases for this month it confirms they were no where near the envelope fill for the beginning of the month. These bugs are basically starting to make the app useless because I can’t accurately track my money flow. I plan on looking for another app until these issues can be resolved.
Great app, annoying bugs
I love this app. It’s great for budgeting and I would give it a 5/5, except that it stopped working recently. After updating the app I can no longer see or edit my envelopes. Please fix!
App constantly crashing with new update
Post a transaction, get a crash. Switch to a different app for a second, get a crash. Move from envelopes to transactions, you guessed it. Worked flawlessly before the update but now is almost unusable.
Don’t like it
If you have more than 10 bills it’s not for you cuz then they will make subscribe to get more envelopes. I want to budget to get out of debt not add more to my budget.
Sentiment summary
92%
Positive (4-5★)
3%
Neutral (3★)
4%
Negative (1-2★)