Who wrote this: the team that makes SIMPL, so read it knowing we sell one of the two apps. Every fact about PocketGuard links to where we read it, on 2026-10-19. Where PocketGuard is the better choice, we say so.

PocketGuard vs SIMPL

Bottom line: PocketGuard is $12.99 a month, $74.99 a year, or $149.99 for life. SIMPL is $199 once. PocketGuard's lifetime plan is cheaper than SIMPL; pick SIMPL only if you want its fuller budget (envelopes, goals, debt payoff, receipts, reports).

Our read

It depends on the job

PocketGuard also sells a one-time lifetime plan, and at $149.99 it costs less than SIMPL. If its single 'what's left to spend' number is what you need, the lifetime plan is the cheaper way to own a budgeting app. SIMPL gives you a full zero-based budget, receipts and money reports.

Can it pay for itself?

SIMPL is $199 once, about $17 a month over its first year. Its Drain Guard reads your expenses (from a linked bank, an imported statement, or ones you type in), finds the charges that repeat, and adds them up by the month. Keep or Cut then walks you through them one at a time. Cancel $17 a month of charges you'd forgotten about and SIMPL has paid for itself inside the first year, before you count the PocketGuard bill you'd stop paying.

It depends on what you find and what you cancel, so we don't promise a number.

What PocketGuard is

People who want an easier way to manage money, especially first-time budgeters and overspenders who want to see how much is left to spend after necessities (US, Canada and UK). pocketguard.com

Price: $12.99 a month, $74.99 a year, or $149.99 lifetime, with a 7-day trial and no free tier. pocketguard.com

Where it runs: Web, iPhone and Android (plus Apple Watch). Core features run on linked accounts.

Where PocketGuard is strong

'Leftover' shows how much you can still spend after budgeting for necessities. pocketguard.com
It catches recurring charges before they renew and builds a personalized debt payoff plan from your budget. pocketguard.com
It connects to 20,000+ institutions through Plaid, Finicity and Salt Edge, with read-only access, so it never moves money. pocketguard.com
The Motley Fool lists syncing accounts or adding them yourself, the 'In My Pocket' view, and budgets with savings goals as pros. fool.com

What reviewers say it lacks

The free tier is now just a 7-day trial; Engadget says that without it 'it just doesn't present the same value proposition as it once did.' engadget.com
The interface 'lacks polish'. The web version feels like the mobile app blown up, and the Accounts tab doesn't total categories like cash or investments. engadget.com
The Motley Fool says it has few tools for analyzing your data. fool.com

What SIMPL is

SIMPL is a budgeting and money app you buy once for $199. It is the same money engine as the Vault inside Nexa, sold on its own.

What it does

A zero-based budget: give every dollar a job on payday, with envelopes for the irregular costs.
Savings goals, each with its own progress, and a debt payoff plan.
A subscription tracker (Drain Guard) that finds charges repeating every month and lets you Keep or Cut each one.
Receipt capture with the phone camera; receipts become expenses.
Profit and loss, balance sheet and cash flow, for anyone who also earns freelance or side income.
Works offline, with a Spanish interface.

What it doesn't

No investment tracking. If watching a brokerage or retirement portfolio is the job, SIMPL is the wrong tool.
Without Cloud Sync it lives on one device. Cloud Sync is optional at $4.99 a month (the first three months are included).
No hosted support desk: it is software you own and run yourself.

What each costs, at today's prices

PocketGuard's price as listed on pocketguard.com on 2026-10-19 (the yearly plan; the $149.99 lifetime plan costs less than SIMPL). No price rises are assumed: these are today's prices multiplied by the years.

Over	PocketGuard	SIMPL
1 year	$74.99	$199
2 years	$149.98	$199
3 years	$224.97	$199
5 years	$374.95	$199

At $74.99 a year, SIMPL's $199 equals about 2.7 years of PocketGuard. If you'd only use a budgeting app for a year or two, PocketGuard costs less.

Who should stay on PocketGuard

Stay if your main need is one simple 'what's left to spend' number plus bill and subscription catching, and you'll pay for it; Engadget finds it weaker value now that the free tier is gone. engadget.com

Who SIMPL suits better

You want to plan every dollar, not just see what's left, and keep receipts and reports in the same app.

Moving from PocketGuard to SIMPL

Getting your data out of PocketGuard: Use Transactions > the download icon > 'Export transactions', or Sidebar > 'Export transactions'. PocketGuard emails a link to a UTF-8 CSV of transaction history from all linked accounts, and the link expires after 24 hours. The article sits under 'PocketGuard Plus features', so export likely needs a paid plan. pocketguard.com

What SIMPL can bring in:

Bank and card transactions: CSV, OFX, QFX. In SIMPL: Bank → Import CSV.
Any other spreadsheet of spending: CSV with a date, a description and an amount. In SIMPL: Bank → Import from YNAB / Mint / CSV.

Questions people ask before switching

Can I bring my PocketGuard data into SIMPL?

Use Transactions > the download icon > 'Export transactions', or Sidebar > 'Export transactions'. PocketGuard emails a link to a UTF-8 CSV of transaction history from all linked accounts, and the link expires after 24 hours. The article sits under 'PocketGuard Plus features', so export likely needs a paid plan. SIMPL imports bank downloads (CSV, OFX or QFX) and any spreadsheet of spending with a date, a description and an amount.

Does SIMPL track investments like PocketGuard?

No. SIMPL has no investment tracking: it covers budgets, goals, debt payoff, subscriptions, receipts and money reports. If you track a portfolio, keep a tool that does.

Do I need a subscription for SIMPL?

No. SIMPL is $199 once. Cloud Sync, which keeps it on more than one device, is optional at $4.99 a month, and the first three months come with the purchase. Without it SIMPL runs on one device and works offline.

Does SIMPL need my bank login?

No. You can bring in the files your bank lets you download (CSV, OFX or QFX). SIMPL can also connect to your bank directly if you choose to.

Is PocketGuard cheaper than SIMPL?

Over one year, yes: $74.99 against $199. SIMPL costs the same as about 2.7 years of PocketGuard at today's price, and nothing after that. Its lifetime plan is cheaper than SIMPL outright.

$199 once. No subscription.

Get SIMPL: $199

Sources

Checked 2026-10-19. Prices change; the vendor's page is the final word.