# Emma vs Surplus

Emma and Surplus both sit at 4.7 stars, but that hides the real split: 83% of Surplus's written reviews are positive against 38% of Emma's. Surplus also leads on ads (none vs shown). Emma's advantage is update cadence (every 6 days vs monthly) and ratings volume (1.4K vs 27). On price, rating, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Emma sells 8 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month and Surplus sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Emma against 4.8 for Surplus. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Emma has 1.4K ratings behind it against 27, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 38% of Emma's written reviews are positive against 83% of Surplus's.

Emma ships an update every 6 days, Surplus monthly. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and June 4, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Emma | Surplus |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.7 (1.4K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/emma-budget-planner-tracker/id1270062373/reviews) | **[4.8 (27 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/surplus-expense-tracker/id1578612881/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **1.4K** | 27 |
| Positive reviews | 38.4% of reviews | **83.3% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | Yes | **No** |
| Update frequency | **Every 6 days** | Monthly |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 165 MB | 67 MB |
| Requires iOS | 15.1 | **15.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Emma Technologies LTD.](https://appshunter.io/developer/1202559061) | [Dev Harvest LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/1526293285) |

## What reviewers say

### Emma

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/emma-budget-planner-tracker/id1270062373)

Consolidate all your financial accounts in one place to track spending, manage subscriptions, and set budgets. Receive weekly reports, daily balance notifications, and overdraft alerts. Offers bank-level security with SSL encryption and biometric authentication.

**Highlights:** Consolidate all accounts, Track subscriptions, Set budgets, Weekly spending reports, Overdraft alerts, Bank-level security

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

**In-app purchases (8)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Emma Plus Monthly | $4.99 | per month |
| Emma Pro Monthly | $9.99 | per month |
| Monthly Pro Subscription | $9.99 | per month |
| Emma Pro | $9.99 | per month |
| Emma Ultimate | $14.99 | per month |
| Emma Plus Yearly | $41.99 | per year |
| Emma Pro | $83.99 | per year |
| Subscription | $83.99 | per year |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Helpful for budgeting and tracking spending
- 🚀 Efficient at categorizing transactions
- 💡 Useful for detecting subscriptions and recurring payments
- 👍 Intuitive and user-friendly interface
- 👍 Provides good financial insights and analytics

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🔒 Concerns about data privacy and security
- 💰 Expensive subscription model, features locked behind paywall
- 🐛 Syncing issues, transactions not always accurately categorized
- 🔍 Difficult to cancel subscription or delete account
- 📢 Aggressive upselling and notifications

**Reported bugs**

- App crashes or freezes frequently
- Transactions not syncing properly or showing incorrect balances
- Issues connecting to certain bank accounts
- Recurring payments not being tracked accurately

**Requested features**

- Add support for more banks and financial institutions
- Improve budgeting features with better categorization and goal-setting
- Provide more customization options for categories and reporting
- Integrate with investment accounts and track net worth
- Offer a more affordable pricing model or free tier with core features


### Surplus

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/surplus-expense-tracker/id1578612881)

This app helps you manage your monthly finances by tracking income, expenses, and upcoming payments. It provides insights into your spending habits, categorizes transactions, and offers customizable reports. Sync your accounts automatically or manually for a clear overview of your leftover spend.

**Highlights:** Monthly income and expense tracking, Categorization of spending, Customizable reports with CSV export, Transaction grouping, Home and lock screen widgets, Automation via Shortcuts app

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases (4)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Surplus Pro Monthly | $3.99 | per month |
| Surplus Pro Yearly | $14.49 | per year |
| Surplus Pro Yearly | $29.99 | per year |
| Surplus Pro Lifetime | $29.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Emma free?

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

### Is Surplus free?

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

### Which has better reviews, Emma or Surplus?

Surplus is rated higher. Emma averages 4.7 out of 5 from 1.4K ratings, while Surplus averages 4.8 from 27 ratings.

### Do Emma or Surplus have ads?

Emma shows ads; Surplus does not.

### Which is updated more often, Emma or Surplus?

Emma ships an update every 6 days, and Surplus monthly. Most recently, Emma was updated on September 24, 2026 and Surplus on June 4, 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.*