Comparison

Monese vs Payhawk

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Monese

This app offers a digital banking alternative, allowing users to manage multiple currencies, send and receive money internationally, and access a contactless debit card. It provides budgeting tools, real-time notifications, and features like savings pots and virtual cards for secure online payments.

Highlights
  • Multi-currency accounts (GBP, EUR, RON)
  • Contactless Mastercard debit card
  • International money transfers
  • Virtual card for online payments
  • Savings pots
  • Real-time spending notifications
  • Credit score building (UK only)
Features
Read full description

Monese is the banking alternative you’ve been waiting for. We’re the money app that helps you budget smartly, spend wisely and switch between currencies in a flash. Whether you need a GBP, EUR or RON account (or all 3!), you’ll be able to manage your money straight from your phone and enjoy the flexibility to live, work, travel, study and thrive wherever life takes you. We even have business accounts! Join over 2 million people and open a Monese mobile money account today. It’s simple, fuss-free and easy – so how does it work? • Open a GBP, EUR or RON account, straight from your phone • Easily switch between currencies and manage your money all in one place • Get a contactless Mastercard debit card you can use globally – online, in-store or at ATMs • Spend abroad with no extra fees on card spending and ATM withdrawals • Quickly send and receive money locally and internationally in multiple currencies • Create a virtual card and pay online or in-store for an extra layer of security • Open a joint account to easily spend, share and save with a loved one, roommate or friend With our feature-rich smartphone app, you’ll also get: • Real-time notifications: Instant updates whenever you use your account • A detailed spending overview: Full transparency around your transactions • Savings pots: Put money aside for something special • Apple Pay: A fast, easy and secure way to pay with your Apple Pay • Automatic Direct Debits and recurring payments: the easy way to pay for things like mobile phone contracts, rent, or gym memberships Plus, you can also: • Build your credit score: Use Credit Builder to grow your credit history and savings at the same time (UK only) • Link your PayPal account: Manage your PayPal balance and transactions from Monese, and add your Monese card to your PayPal wallet • Enjoy state-of-the art security features: 3D Secure, card locking, strong encryption and biometric login • Get instant account statements in PDF or XLS whenever you need Enjoy the convenience of being able to send and receive money straight from your phone, get your salary paid in, set up Direct Debits and recurring payments, all while maintaining a complete overview of your earning, spending and saving. Withdraw cash from ATMs worldwide for free, within generous allowances, and add money to your account by bank transfer, debit card, or with cash at over 84,000 locations in the UK, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal or Spain. You can open an account with us regardless of your citizenship or financial history, as long as you’re at least 18 years old and live in the European Economic Area (EEA).

About

Payhawk

Manage your company's entire spending lifecycle seamlessly. Instantly issue cards with custom limits, automate expense reporting with real-time notifications, and integrate directly with your accounting software. Go paperless and gain full control over your business finances.

Highlights
  • Instant virtual and physical card issuance
  • Customizable spending limits per employee
  • Automated receipt and invoice matching
  • Real-time expense tracking and reporting
  • Direct accounting software integration
  • Paperless expense management
Features
Read full description

What is Payhawk? One place to manage your entire spending lifecycle in a digitally compliant way. Why Payhawk? A click of a button is better than a trip to a bank. Next Generation cards * Issue cards instantly - issue physical or virtual cards to employees with a click. * Set spending limits - decide how much every employee can spend and create limits by vendors, categories and time * Control cash withdrawals and online payments - enable or disable ATM cash withdrawals & online payments. * Design custom approval chain - empower employees to request funds through an approval process * Prevent card sharing - delete all pictures of your shared company card. * Issue team cards for employees spending from a shared budget - the right way to manage subscriptions, marketing budgets, or project-based spending * Business Debit cards - issued by Visa and accepted worldwide. Don’t deal with expense reports and receipts * Real-time notifications - snap photos of receipts and invoices after every card transaction. * Don’t chase invoices - employees are constantly reminded to submit payment proofs. * Automated inbox - digital invoices are automatically matched with card transactions. * Automated categorization - based on your own chart of accounts. * Let us take care of the pre-accounting - we use smart computer vision that reads 60+ languages making every expense ready for reconciliation * Reconcile in real-time - calculate your budget vs. actual reports in real time * Easily pay bills and reimbursements - Initiate SEPA and Faster Payments transfers with one click directly from the platform * Go paperless - invoices, receipts, and bank statements are all digital and kept for 10 years. * No more bank statements - transactions and expenses are matched with a breeze. * Accounting integrations - push reconciled expenses straight to your accounting system. Do you work with an external accounting team? No problem, you can easily invite them to our web portal or export them a monthly Excel report. Learn more and sign-up at https://payhawk.com Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/payhawk-com/

Screenshots

Monese4 screens
Payhawk4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Payhawk at 60% against Monese's 19%. Payhawk also leads on ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (every 3 days vs every 3 weeks). Monese's advantage is rating (4.7 vs 4.5) and ratings volume (2.4K vs 250). On price, in-app purchases, monetization model and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Monese holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Monese has 2.4K ratings behind it against 250, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 19% of Monese's written reviews are positive against 60% of Payhawk's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Monese ships an update every 3 weeks, Payhawk every 3 days. Both last shipped on October 26, 2026.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Monese versus Payhawk: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMonesePayhawk
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (2.4K ratings) — better4.5 (250 ratings)
Positive reviews18.8% of reviews59.6% of reviews — better
Number of ratings2.4K — better250
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 3 days — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS15.0 — better16.4
Further details — not scored
Size203 MB122 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMonese LTDPayhawk OOD

Customer experience

Monese

All ratings2,403 ratings
Positive92.8%
Neutral1.7%
Negative5.5%
Written reviews368 reviews
Positive18.8%
Neutral1.9%
Negative79.3%

Payhawk

All ratings249 ratings
Positive85.9%
Neutral3.6%
Negative10.4%
Written reviews57 reviews
Positive59.6%
Neutral8.8%
Negative31.6%

In-app purchases

None

Monese

No in-app purchases

None

Payhawk

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Monese free?
Monese is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Payhawk free?
Payhawk is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Monese or Payhawk?
Monese is rated higher. Monese averages 4.7 out of 5 from 2.4K ratings, while Payhawk averages 4.5 from 250 ratings.
Do Monese or Payhawk have ads?
Monese shows ads; Payhawk does not.
Which is updated more often, Monese or Payhawk?
Monese ships an update every 3 weeks, and Payhawk every 3 days. Most recently, Monese was updated on October 26, 2026 and Payhawk on October 26, 2026.

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