Personal Finance · head to head
Spendee vs Goodbudget
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Spendee the free Basic plan allows one cash wallet and one budget; Goodbudget free plan is capped at 10 regular envelopes, 10 more envelopes, 1 account, 2 devices and 1 year of history
- They diverge on capability: Spendee covers Budget management, Goodbudget covers Envelope budgeting.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Spendee and Goodbudget actually diverge.
| Attribute | Spendee | Goodbudget |
|---|---|---|
| Founded | 2013 | 2012 |
Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (freemium), free tier (Yes), platforms (Web, IOS, Android), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Personal Finance).
What each one covers
Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.
Only in Spendee
- Budget management
- Shared wallets
- Financial analytics
Only in Goodbudget
- Envelope budgeting
- Shared budgets
- Receipt scanning
Both cover
- Expense tracking
- Bank accounts
- Web support
- IOS support
- Android support
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Spendee
- Tracking personal spending across cash and bank accountsnot Goodbudget
- Sharing a budget or wallet with a partner or householdnot Goodbudget
Goodbudget
- Envelope method budgetingnot Spendee
- Sharing a household budget across a couple's devicesnot Spendee
- Tracking debt payoff alongside envelopesnot Spendee
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Spendee
- The free Basic plan allows one cash wallet and one budget
- Shared wallets are excluded from the free plan
- Premium at $5.99 a month is triple the $1.99 Plus plan, and the pricing page does not quantify what separates them beyond shared wallets
- Bank sync depends on a supported bank list rather than being universal
Goodbudget
- Free plan is capped at 10 regular envelopes, 10 more envelopes, 1 account, 2 devices and 1 year of history
- Automatic bank sync is Premium only and works with US banks only
- Premium is limited to 5 devices and 7 years of history
- Free plan gets community support only; email support requires Premium
- Premium costs $10 per month or $80 per year
Pricing, plan by plan
Spendee
Free- FreeFree
- Expense tracking
- Budget creation
- 3 wallets
- Premium$6.99/month
- Unlimited wallets
- Advanced analytics
- Investment tracking
Goodbudget
Free- FreeFree
- 10 envelopes
- Basic tracking
- Plus$5.99/month
- Unlimited envelopes
- Advanced reports
- Receipt capture
Which should you pick?
Choose Spendee if
- You need budget management.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, IOS, Android.
- You also want shared wallets.
Choose Goodbudget if
- You need envelope budgeting.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, IOS, Android.
- You also want shared budgets.
Questions people ask
- Is Spendee or Goodbudget better?
- Neither clearly leads. Spendee starts at Free and Goodbudget at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Spendee or Goodbudget?
- Spendee starts at Free and Goodbudget at Free.
- Does Spendee or Goodbudget run on more platforms?
- Both run on Web, IOS, Android, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
- Can I use Spendee for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- What is Spendee best used for?
- Spendee is most often used for tracking personal spending across cash and bank accounts, sharing a budget or wallet with a partner or household. Of those, tracking personal spending across cash and bank accounts and sharing a budget or wallet with a partner or household are not what Goodbudget is typically brought in for.
- What can Spendee do that Goodbudget cannot?
- Spendee covers Budget management, Shared wallets, Financial analytics. Goodbudget covers Envelope budgeting, Shared budgets, Receipt scanning. Both handle Expense tracking, Bank accounts, Web support, IOS support.