Stowe

Short version

Stowe is an iPhone money app from Toronto-based Stowe Financial Corp. for households in Canada and the US. It connects accounts through Plaid (or uses manual accounts with CSV import), tracks spending, bills and subscriptions, compares household spending, analyzes grocery receipts and includes an AI assistant. Its core guidance uses the 50/30/20 framework, while the vendor also describes auto-budgeting for selected categories. It is more of a household money monitor and savings finder than a traditional envelope budget.

Research-based profile, not hands-on testing. Refreshed on 2026-10-15 from the vendor's site, help center, terms, privacy policy, product updates and App Store listing. I did not sign up, start a trial or connect a bank.

Recent update

The App Store lists version 1.0.14, released in October 2026. Its notes describe improved Advisor answers and on-demand comparison charts. The vendor's October product update also describes automatic transaction split rules, monthly balance history, transaction-to-account details and a refined daily check-in. Its September update added a Groceries dashboard card and credit-card value breakdowns; RBC connections still need a manual re-login to refresh, per the existing vendor update.

How it works

• Spending and bills: transactions are categorized and filterable. A recurring view tracks subscriptions, their cost, frequency and expected payment.
• Guidance and categories: the Household view uses a 50/30/20 guideline. A vendor article also says an auto-budgeting feature lets users track specific categories over a month. Public material does not clearly explain whether those categories have planned amounts and remaining-to-spend figures, so that detail remains unconfirmed.
• Household sharing: members can choose which accounts or transactions are private or shared.
• Savings tools: subscription guidance, credit-card recommendations, phone-plan checks, household benchmarks and grocery receipt/price insights.
• Manual accounts: checking, savings, credit card, line of credit and loan accounts can be added by hand and filled by CSV import from an iPhone file.
• Recent product changes: vendor notes describe split rules, balance history, improved categorization and Advisor updates. Household totals use a default currency and do not convert exchange rates, according to the vendor's update.

Cost

• $14.99/month (App Store, US); vendor comparison pages list CA$19.99/month.
• $99.99/year (App Store, US); vendor comparison pages list $99 USD or CA$129 per year.
• 7-day free trial; no free tier.
• Launch promotion: the home page advertises the first year for $1, while the App Store lists $0.99. Availability and terms may change.

The vendor's own pages differ slightly ($99 vs $99.99 annually and $1 vs $0.99 for the offer); the site has no standalone pricing page.

Privacy

Account access through Plaid is read-only, and the policy says Stowe does not receive a bank password. The privacy policy describes encryption and says personal information is not sold for money, but analytics or attribution technologies may count as sharing or targeted advertising under some US state laws. AI features may send prompts, transactions and account context to third-party providers (OpenAI and Google Gemini named); the policy says those providers are not permitted to train on Stowe user data, though limited retention may occur for operational or security reasons. Privacy requests go through support. No named independent audit or standard was found.

One wording conflict

The home page and App Store say users can cancel subscriptions in the app. The help center describes instructions users follow with the provider, and the terms say Stowe does not execute cancellations or switches. Treat this as guided cancellation, not a cancellation service.

Who it suits

Households with iPhones that want a shared view of bills, subscriptions and spending, flexible account privacy, and savings prompts without maintaining every budget line. People who want a detailed envelope plan, clearly documented category targets, Android access or a free plan may find it limiting.

Not confirmed

Whether category tracking includes targets and remaining balances; data export beyond a support request; reconciliation; debt payoff planning; multiple budgets; Android release; independent user feedback beyond a single App Store rating and limited launch coverage.

Notes

Stowe's own comparison pages position it around household money monitoring and savings actions. Public reviews and research materials are limited; this profile is based on published documentation, not extended personal use.

Ratings are set separately against a shared rubric (51 of 100 points; rating unchanged as of 2026-10-15).