Six apps dominate the iOS budget shelf in 2026: Plan!, YNAB, Money Lover, Spendee, Wallet by BudgetBakers, and Goodbudget. We spent two weeks logging the same family budget in each and scored them 1-10 across seven categories. Here is the scoreboard, with winner caveats.
Scoring criteria
Each app scored on: UX polish, native iOS feel (SwiftUI, widgets, Dynamic Island), free tier usefulness, chart quality, forecast/prediction engine, Apple Watch support, and price-to-value. Ten point scale per category, 70 max.
The scoreboard
- Plan! — 64/70. Wins on native iOS feel (10), forecast engine (9), price (10 for $79.99 lifetime), Apple Watch (9). Chart quality (9) is class-leading. Free tier (9) allows 3 goals forever, which is enough for a single-person budget.
- YNAB — 55/70. Wins on budgeting philosophy (10), but dings on price ($109/year, no lifetime, 5/10 value), no real Apple Watch app (4), cluttered UI (6).
- Money Lover — 52/70. Solid mid-tier, weaker charts (7), ads in free tier (5), Watch complication basic (6).
- Spendee — 50/70. Pretty charts (9), weak forecasting (5), pricey premium ($28.99/yr, no lifetime).
- Wallet (BudgetBakers) — 48/70. Bank sync in EU is strong (9), US coverage patchy (5), interface feels cross-platform (6).
- Goodbudget — 42/70. Envelope system works (8), iOS UI from 2018 (4), no Watch app (3).
Why Plan! takes the overall win
Plan! is the only app in the comparison built SwiftUI-native from the ground up for iOS, iPad, Mac Catalyst and watchOS. That shows up everywhere: widgets on four sizes including lock screen, Siri shortcuts for the ten most common actions, Face ID lock on first open, Apple Watch complications with quick-add. The Forecast engine projects month-end balance for every goal. The Spotify-style yearly report turns 12 months of data into a shareable scroll.
The pricing seals it. $4.99/month, $29.99/year, or $79.99 lifetime. YNAB charges $109 every year, forever. Over five years Plan! costs $79.99 and YNAB costs $545. Same basic job.
Plan! scores higher than YNAB on six of seven criteria and costs roughly one-seventh as much over five years.
When each competitor still fits
YNAB if you live by zero-based budgeting and need the coaching content. Wallet if you live in the EU and want PSD2 bank sync. Goodbudget if you share envelopes with a partner and both want a web app. For literally everyone else on iOS, Plan! is the faster, prettier, cheaper answer.
The 2026 feature arms race
The features that separate winners from losers in 2026 are not bank aggregation (the Plaid era is over for most apps) but AI-augmented forecasting, lock-screen widgets, and Watch complications. Plan! hits all three. Goodbudget and Wallet are still catching up to iOS 17, let alone 19.
Checklist
- Write down your top three must-haves (Watch? Forecast? Shared envelopes?).
- Install the App Store free version of your top two picks.
- Log one full week in each.
- Pick the one you reach for without thinking. (It is usually Plan!.)
Numbers do not lie. Pour one out for the apps that aged poorly, then install Plan! and move on.