Same instinct about privacy. Different bet on friction.
Choose Bobby if you have a small, stable list of subscriptions, you enjoy a minimalist app you can keep clean by hand, and a one-time $1.99 unlock fits how you'd rather pay.
Choose Subtle if typing eight fields is the reason you've been putting this off, you want something that reads a billing email or screenshot in a couple of seconds, and you want iOS-native depth (Share Extension, widgets, Siri).
If Bobby works for you today, keep using it — we mean that. But if you've ever opened Bobby, looked at the empty form, and closed the app: that's exactly why we built Subtle.
| Subtle | Bobby | |
|---|---|---|
| Platform | iPhone (iOS 17+) | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch |
| How subscriptions get added | Photograph receipt, billing page, screenshot, or share from any app | Type each field manually |
| AI extraction (OCR) | Yes — on-device + cloud model | No |
| Bank linking | No, never | No, never |
| Free tier | 100 subs, 10 AI scans/month | Up to 5 subscriptions |
| Paid tier | $4.99/mo or $39.99/yr | $1.99 one-time unlock (unlimited subs) |
| Renewal reminders | Yes | Yes |
| iCloud sync | Yes | Yes |
| Multi-currency | Yes (Pro) | Yes |
| Email inbox scanning | Yes (Pro) | No |
| Share Extension / Widgets / Siri | Yes — all three | Widgets only |
| Best for | Anyone who finds typing the bottleneck | Hand-curators with small lists who like a one-time payment |
The core difference: typing vs reading.
Bobby is built around a clean form. You enter the service name, amount, billing cycle, and renewal date by hand. The result is a beautifully designed list — and a small, ongoing tax of attention. Every new subscription means picking up your phone, finding Bobby, and typing.
For four or five subscriptions, this is fine. We've used Bobby. We like Bobby. But somewhere around the seventh or eighth, the friction wins. The app stops getting opened. The list stops being current.
Subtle takes the friction off you. Photograph any billing page, receipt email, or "your card was charged" notification. Subtle's AI reads the image, extracts the service, amount, billing cycle, and next charge date, and shows it to you with confidence scores. You confirm, save, done.
"The reason your subscription list is out of date is that updating it costs more attention than ignoring it."
Bobby and Subtle agree about almost everything else: privacy, no bank linking, no ads, minimalist design. They just made opposite calls on whether the user should be the one entering data — or the app.
Design language: both minimal, different priorities.
Bobby's design is iconic — a calm grid of subscription cards, generous color, deliberate restraint. It's one of the most beautifully made indie iOS apps of the last decade. We're not going to pretend otherwise.
Subtle's design is also restrained, but it leans editorial — Instrument Serif italics, hairlines, a paper-textured background. It's quieter than Bobby and more textured. Different aesthetic priorities: Bobby celebrates the colorful logos of the services you pay for; Subtle treats them like footnotes in a journal.
Pick whichever vibe you actually want on your home screen.
Pricing: one-time payment vs subscription.
Bobby is free for up to 5 subscriptions. Past that, a one-time $1.99 in-app purchase unlocks unlimited tracking, forever. No renewals. No tiers. It's one of the cleanest pricing models in indie iOS — and we admire it.
Subtle works differently: free for 100 subscriptions and 10 AI scans/month, $4.99/month or $39.99/year for unlimited scans and email inbox scanning. The reason: AI scans cost real money to run, and a one-time payment can't fund that for years.
If you have a stable list of fewer than 5 subscriptions, Bobby is genuinely cheaper. If you're tracking more — and you'd rather not type any of them in — Subtle's $4.99 covers an unlimited number of scans, plus inbox scanning, multi-currency, and price-change alerts.
When Bobby is the better choice.
Use Bobby if any of these are true:
- You have fewer than 10 subscriptions and they don't change often
- You prefer a one-time payment over a subscription, on principle
- You like the discipline of curating your list by hand
- You want Apple Watch support (Subtle doesn't have it yet)
- You already use Bobby and it works for you
Bobby is one of our favorite indie apps. Genuinely. If it fits your life, don't switch — there's no reason to.
When Subtle is the better choice.
Use Subtle if any of these are true:
- Typing each subscription in is the reason your list is incomplete
- You have 10+ active subscriptions and adding new ones happens often
- You want the app to read a billing email or screenshot for you
- You want native iOS depth — Share Extension to send any image to Subtle from any app, Lock Screen widgets, Siri shortcuts
- You like the idea of email inbox scanning catching the renewals you'd otherwise miss
Subtle is iOS-only on purpose. We use the depth of iOS to make capture as close to invisible as we can: see a charge, share it to Subtle, confirm, done.
Common questions.
Can I migrate from Bobby to Subtle? Yes. You can export your subscription list from Bobby and either type the entries into Subtle, photograph each service's billing page, or import via CSV.
Does Subtle have a one-time payment option? Not currently. The free tier covers 100 subscriptions and 10 scans/month forever, but unlimited scans require Pro because AI inference has a real per-call cost.
Is Subtle's design as good as Bobby's? Different. Bobby is iconic, Subtle is editorial. Open both, look at the screenshots, pick the one that feels like you.
Do both apps have widgets? Yes — Bobby has solid widgets. Subtle adds Lock Screen widgets, Siri shortcuts, and a Share Extension for capturing from other apps.
try Subtle free.
The iPhone subscription tracker that reads receipts, so you don't have to type.
Download on the App Store