# Expense Manager vs Costbook

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Costbook at 100% against Expense Manager's 50%. Costbook also leads on rating (5.0 vs 3.8) and update cadence (every 2 days vs fortnightly). Expense Manager's advantage is iOS requirement (9.3 vs 17.0). On price, ratings volume, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Expense Manager sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Costbook sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.49 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Costbook holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.8. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 4 and 2 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 50% of Expense Manager's written reviews are positive against 100% of Costbook's.

Expense Manager ships an update fortnightly, Costbook every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 10, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Expense Manager | Costbook |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [3.8 (4 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/expense-manager-penny/id1247753395/reviews) | **[5.0 (2 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/costbook-expense-tracker/id6821447451/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **4** | 2 |
| Positive reviews | 50.0% of reviews | **100.0% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly | **Every 2 days** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Freemium |
| Size | 3 MB | 48 MB |
| Requires iOS | **9.3** | 17.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | **iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Janhavi Wagh](https://appshunter.io/developer/1247753394) | [Mesut Altuncu](https://appshunter.io/developer/1624955662) |

## What reviewers say

### Expense Manager

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/expense-manager-penny/id1247753395)

This personal finance app helps you track and manage your expenses and income. It offers tools to understand spending habits, set budgets, and view financial progress through charts and reports. Organize transactions with folders and categories for better financial control.

**Highlights:** Expense and income tracking, Monthly budget setting, Organize expenses with folders, Graphical spending reports, Export to CSV and PDF, Passcode lock for security, Customizable themes

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Upgrade to Pro | $1.99 | one-time |


### Costbook

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/costbook-expense-tracker/id6821447451)

Easily track personal expenses, set budgets, and manage shared costs. Scan receipts with AI to automate data entry and visualize spending patterns with insightful charts. Collaborate on group expenses and see who owes whom.

**Highlights:** Expense logging in any currency, Budget setting per list, AI receipt scanning, Shared expense tracking, Spending charts by category, Home and Lock Screen widgets, Apple Watch app

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Family Sharing, Apple Watch app, Vision Pro support, iPhone Duo support

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Costbook Plus (Monthly) | $1.49 | per month |
| Costbook Plus (Yearly) | $12.49 | per year |
| Costbook Plus (Lifetime) | $29.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Expense Manager free?

Expense Manager is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Costbook free?

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

### Which has better reviews, Expense Manager or Costbook?

Costbook is rated higher. Expense Manager averages 3.8 out of 5 from 4 ratings, while Costbook averages 5.0 from 2 ratings.

### Do Expense Manager or Costbook have ads?

Neither Expense Manager nor Costbook shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Expense Manager or Costbook?

Expense Manager ships an update fortnightly, and Costbook every 2 days. Most recently, Expense Manager was updated on November 6, 2026 and Costbook on November 10, 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.*