# Expense vs Daylio Journal

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Expense at none against Daylio Journal's 7. Daylio Journal's advantage is update cadence (weekly vs every 6 months) and ratings volume (62K vs 112). On price, rating, review sentiment and ads there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Daylio Journal sells 7 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Expense asks for nothing beyond the download.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for Expense against 4.8 for Daylio Journal. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Daylio Journal has 62K ratings behind it against 112, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 97% of Expense's written reviews are positive against 91% of Daylio Journal's.

Expense ships an update every 6 months, Daylio Journal weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 21, 2026 and November 1, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Expense | Daylio Journal |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.8 (112 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/expense-spending-tracking/id1020335225/reviews) | **[4.8 (62K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/daylio-journal-mood-tracker/id1194023242/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | 112 | **62K** |
| Positive reviews | **97.1% of reviews** | 91.3% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | **No** | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 6 months | **Weekly** |
| Monetization | **Free** | Freemium |
| Best chart rank | — | **#178** |
| Size | 4 MB | 250 MB |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | **15.0** |
| Devices | iPhone | **iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Shan Cao](https://appshunter.io/developer/652897325) | [Relaxio s.r.o.](https://appshunter.io/developer/1194023241) |

## What reviewers say

### Expense

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/expense-spending-tracking/id1020335225)

Effortlessly monitor your finances with this intuitive spending tracker. Visualize your expenses with a clean line chart and gain insights into your spending habits. Customize categories and export your data for detailed analysis.

**Highlights:** Intuitive expense tracking, Beautiful line chart visualization, Monthly spending overview, Customizable categories, Export data to CSV, Local data storage

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Extremely simple and easy to use
- 🚀 Fast and efficient expense tracking
- ✨ Clean and minimalistic interface
- 🆓 Free to use with no ads
- 💡 Intuitive GUI

**What reviewers complain about**

- 💡 Lacks search functionality
- 💡 No recurring expense option
- 💡 Limited category icon selection
- 💡 No subcategories
- 💡 Currency display can be odd

**Reported bugs**

- Currency display issues
- No visible way to delete entries (user reported)

**Requested features**

- Search functionality
- Increased list of category icons
- Ability to use Emojis as category icons
- Set a recurring expense
- Add a 'memo' or text field for notes


### Daylio Journal

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/daylio-journal-mood-tracker/id1194023242)

**Currently charting:** #178 Top Grossing · Lifestyle (US App Store)

This app helps you track your moods and activities to improve self-care and mental well-being. It offers a simple way to journal, set goals, and understand your habits through insightful statistics, all while prioritizing your privacy.

**Highlights:** Mood tracking with customizable icons, Activity logging, Goal setting and habit building, Detailed statistics and charts, Private journaling without typing, Data backup and export options, PIN lock for privacy

**Features:** Family Sharing, Apple Watch app, iMessage stickers, Vision Pro support, iPhone Duo support

**In-app purchases (7)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Daylio Premium | $4.99 | per month |
| Daylio Premium | $4.99 | per month |
| Daylio Premium | $17.99 | per year |
| Daylio Premium | $17.99 | per year |
| Daylio Premium | $23.99 | per year |
| Daylio Premium | $35.99 | per year |
| PREMIUM | $59.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Easy to use
- 👍 Customizable moods and activities
- 📊 Helpful statistics and analytics
- 🗓️ Consistent daily logging
- 💡 Motivating goal-setting features

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🔒 Backup feature locked behind premium
- 🔍 Limited mood/activity options in free version
- 📱 No Apple Watch app
- 🧠 Difficulty tracking mood changes throughout the day

**Reported bugs**

- Occasional app freezing and notification issues
- Difficulty restoring data after device change

**Requested features**

- Add ability to log voice recordings
- Implement color-coding for activity groups
- Allow syncing across multiple devices
- Provide more detailed mood/emotion tracking options
- Add option to schedule future activities


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Expense free?

Expense is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Daylio Journal free?

Daylio Journal is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Expense or Daylio Journal?

Daylio Journal is rated higher. Expense averages 4.8 out of 5 from 112 ratings, while Daylio Journal averages 4.8 from 62K ratings.

### Do Expense or Daylio Journal have ads?

Neither Expense nor Daylio Journal shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Expense or Daylio Journal?

Expense ships an update every 6 months, and Daylio Journal weekly. Most recently, Expense was updated on October 21, 2026 and Daylio Journal on November 1, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*