PocketSmith vs Billroo: an 18-year veteran against an AI newcomer
PocketSmith has spent 18 years refining feeds, budgets and forecasting. Billroo launched in 2024 with open banking, AI spending insights and one of the strongest iOS ratings in Australian finance. We compare the two on maturity, features and price.
The short version
- PocketSmith has 18 years of feeds, calendar budgets, multi-currency net worth and forecasting up to 60 years ahead.
- Billroo launched in Australia in 2024, with CDR feeds via Fiskil, AI insights on a credit allowance, and a 4.7-star iOS rating.
- PocketSmith rewards planners with complex finances; Billroo suits people who want simple budgeting with an AI assist and a couples option.
PocketSmith and Billroo are separated by the widest age gap in Australian money apps. PocketSmith has been at this since 2008, the year the iPhone 3G launched, while Billroo's web app went live in late 2024 and its mobile apps followed in October 2025.
Age helps in some ways and hurts in others. This comparison mostly comes down to whether you want proven depth or a newer, simpler app.
We should disclose before refereeing: we build Kleev, a money app competing with both, and every claim below was verified against primary sources in July 2026.
What is PocketSmith?
PocketSmith is a New Zealand-built personal finance platform dating from 2008, now claiming over 382,000 users.
It covers a lot of ground: automatic feeds from more than 12,000 institutions (Australian banks via CDR open banking), calendar-based budgeting, multi-currency net worth including holdings like bitcoin and gold, advisor sharing, a new document library, and daily-balance forecasting from 10 to 60 years ahead depending on plan.
PocketSmith suits people with complicated finances who want one web-first tool to hold all of it.
What is Billroo?
Billroo is an Australian budgeting app created by Queenie Tan, the finance creator behind Invest With Queenie, and her partner Pablo. It is bootstrapped, operated by Billroo Operations Pty Ltd in NSW, and grew from a A$30,000 starting budget to a product with iOS, Android and web apps.
Billroo describes itself as "a budgeting tool without all the noise". You get CDR bank connections through Fiskil, automatic categorisation, custom budget cycles, net worth, tax-deduction highlighting, and AI-powered insights metered by monthly credits.
Billroo's App Store rating sat at 4.7 stars from 111 ratings in July 2026. It suits everyday budgeters who want a clean, modern app for simple budgeting.
| PocketSmith | Billroo | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing (July 2026) | Free tier (2 accounts); paid A$14.95 to A$39.95/mo, cheaper annually; 14-day money-back guarantee | Pro A$9.99/mo or A$98.99/yr; Plus A$14.99/mo or A$149.99/yr (2 users); 14-day trial, card upfront; no ongoing free tier advertised |
| Data method | Open-banking feeds (Basiq under the CDR) plus global aggregators and OFX/QFX/QIF/CSV import | CDR open banking via Fiskil, Australian banks only, plus CSV upload and manual transactions |
| Budgeting model | Calendar-based budgets with daily balance forecasting 10 to 60 years ahead | Custom categories with spending limits and a custom budget cycle |
| Standout features | What-if forecasting, multi-currency net worth, advisor sharing, document library | AI spending insights on a credit allowance, tax-deduction highlighting, two-user Plus tier |
| Platforms | Web-first plus iOS and Android companion | iOS (4.7 stars), Android and a web app |
| Privacy posture | CDR feeds credential-free; legacy overseas feeds credential-based; hosting country not stated | Consent-based CDR, no credential sharing; AI processing in the US (Anthropic); Google Cloud hosting; 30/90-day deletion windows |
PocketSmith and Billroo at a glance, from their published pages as at July 2026.
How does each app categorise your spending?
PocketSmith advertises no AI at all. Transactions are auto-categorised by rules and filters you refine, which is predictable, private and occasionally tedious.
Billroo leads with AI: automatic categorisation, personalised spending insights and smart budgeting reports. The heavier AI features are metered by a monthly credit allowance (30 on Pro, 50 on Plus), with extra credit packs sold from A$12.
The credit system is an honest way to cover what AI costs to run, and it does mean your most useful features are rationed.
One more difference is worth knowing. Billroo scans transactions and highlights possibly tax-deductible expenses, with a sensible disclaimer to confirm with a tax agent, and PocketSmith's pages advertise no tax features.
If AI assistance is why you're shopping, Billroo is the only one of the two offering it.
What does PocketSmith's extra 15 years give it?
PocketSmith has more features, mostly in places Billroo hasn't reached yet. It handles multiple currencies with daily exchange rates, while Billroo supports Australian banks only and offers CSV upload as the workaround for anything international.
PocketSmith's forecasting projects decades ahead with what-if scenarios, and Billroo's reports compare months and track goal progress. PocketSmith also supports advisor access, a document library, and net worth entries for metals and crypto.
Age also shows in PocketSmith's mobile app, rated around 3.1 stars on the Australian App Store against Billroo's 4.7, and in an interface that newcomers can find dense.
Billroo's youth shows in other ways: fewer features, a user base in the thousands rather than hundreds of thousands, and no ongoing free tier advertised. Its terms describe a limited free account after the trial, which loses bank connections.
How do the prices compare?
Billroo undercuts PocketSmith at the entry level: A$9.99 a month (or A$98.99 a year) against PocketSmith's A$14.95 monthly, which drops to A$9.99 a month billed annually. Billroo's Plus at A$14.99 covers two people, and PocketSmith prices sharing through its bigger plans.
PocketSmith answers with an ongoing free tier of 2 accounts with feeds included, which Billroo doesn't advertise at all.
How do their privacy postures compare?
Both take the consent-based CDR path with no credential sharing for Australian banks. Billroo names its processors openly, including Anthropic for AI (data processed in the United States) and Google Cloud for hosting, with deletion from live systems within 30 days of account closure.
PocketSmith states data lives on its own servers with feeds read-only and 2FA available. Its published policy was dated 2019 when we checked, and no hosting country is stated.
Neither posture should scare you. They are just transparent about different things.
The verdict, by user type
- Complex finances, multiple currencies, long horizons: PocketSmith. Nothing in Billroo approaches the forecasting or breadth.
- Simple budgeting with a modern app and AI help: Billroo. Cleaner, cheaper at entry, and the iOS app is genuinely well reviewed.
- Budgeting as a couple: Billroo. Plus covers two users for A$14.99 a month.
- Wanting a free tier to live in indefinitely: PocketSmith. Billroo is effectively trial-then-pay.
- Tax time as a sole trader or deduction hunter: Billroo. Its deduction highlighting has no PocketSmith equivalent.
- Nervous about young products: PocketSmith. Eighteen years and 382,000 users is a long track record, and Billroo has been going about two years.
And if neither quite fits
You're reading this on kleev.ai, and we build Kleev, so here's our one plainly-labelled pointer. Kleev differs from both apps in two ways that matter to a particular kind of Australian.
Data comes in through CSV uploads you make yourself, with no bank connection of any kind. The deepest part of the product is investment property, with loan amortisation, offset projections and property cashflow that neither PocketSmith nor Billroo offers.
If that describes you, start with Kleev's spending features, the full market roundup, or our direct comparisons with PocketSmith and Billroo.
The fine print
- This article is general information, not financial advice. Kleev describes your own data and does not give financial advice.
- Prices, ratings and features were checked on PocketSmith's and Billroo's published pages and app-store listings in July 2026 and may change.
- We build Kleev, a competing money app; we've disclosed that and kept this comparison to facts we could verify.
Common questions
Is Billroo cheaper than PocketSmith?
At the entry level, yes. Billroo Pro costs A$9.99 a month or A$98.99 a year; PocketSmith's cheapest paid plan is A$14.95 a month, or A$9.99 a month if you commit annually (A$119.88 a year). PocketSmith offers an ongoing free tier capped at 2 accounts, while Billroo advertises no ongoing free tier, just a 14-day trial with a card required. Prices as at July 2026.
Do PocketSmith and Billroo both use open banking in Australia?
Yes, both take the Consumer Data Right route rather than screen-scraping. PocketSmith connects through Basiq, an accredited data recipient, and Billroo connects through Fiskil, also CDR-accredited, with read-only access and no bank credentials shared. Billroo covers Australian banks only; PocketSmith adds worldwide coverage through other aggregators.
Does PocketSmith have AI features like Billroo?
No. PocketSmith's features pages advertise rules-based categorisation and forecasting with no AI claims anywhere. Billroo is AI-led: automatic categorisation, spending insights and smart reports, metered by a monthly credit allowance (30 credits on Pro, 50 on Plus, with extra credit packs sold separately).
Which app should a couple use?
Billroo has the purpose-built option: its Plus tier (A$14.99 a month or A$149.99 a year) covers two users with full access. PocketSmith approaches sharing differently, letting you invite another user such as a partner or advisor into your account on any paid plan. For everyday couple budgeting Billroo's model is simpler; for a household working with an advisor PocketSmith's is more flexible.