Gem vs SpendAware
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Gem
Track your spending, manage budgets, and organize your finances with this comprehensive money management tool. It offers detailed budgeting options, expense organization by category, and bill tracking. Automate entries with Apple Pay and import/export data for a complete financial overview.
- Budgeting (daily, weekly, monthly, yearly)
- Expense organization by category
- Bill tracking and reminders
- Savings goals and income tracking
- Apple Pay integration for instant recording
- CSV import/export
- Customizable categories with icons
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Log expenses and stay on budget. No subscription. In-app purchases are tips :) BUDGET - Daily, weekly, monthly and yearly - Average & daily spending, breakdown by category - Compare against same day last month - Rearrange your budgets, and other lists - Explore your costs and salary over time ORGANIZE - By category, budget, wallet, account, tag… - Customize category colors & icons (500+ from Apple) - Favorite accounts, custom sorting, merge categories - Add attachments and receipts BILLS - Repeat: day, week, month, year - View paid & upcoming subscriptions MONEY TOOLS - Savings goals, income, transfers, balance - Multiple currencies, exchange rates - Calculator & journal view WALLET SYNC & AUTOMATIONS - Instant recording when paying in store with Apple Pay (requires setup) - Auto-organize expensesbased on merchant names - App shortcuts and “Send to Gem” in share sheet - Import CSV files, sub-categories, notes. Import into specific wallet. Skip duplicates when importing - Export everything MORE - Customize the way your create entries - Widgets. Lock Screen shortcut - Daily iCloud backup - Daily reminders - Custom main screen, list layouts, app menu and theme - Insights in search results PREVIEW FEATURES May not work as expected :) - Type “Rent” → it’s categorized in “Household” - Detect receipt prices from attachments Need help? Have a suggestion? Email me at human@shelftwo.com. Terms & privacy: shelftwo.com/gem/terms
SpendAware
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SpendAware turns your everyday expenses into a clear picture of your month, so you always know how much you have already spent and how much is still left. WHAT YOU CAN DO • Log an expense in seconds: title, amount, due date, category and status (open, paid or overdue). • Organise spending across twelve categories, from food and housing to transport, health, education, credit card, clothing and more. • Record how much you have available each month and compare it with what you actually spent. • Set a default monthly limit, or a specific limit for a single month, and choose the percentage at which you want to be warned. • Get a reminder the day before an open expense is due, at 9:00 AM. • Filter everything by period, status or category. UNDERSTAND YOUR MONEY AT A GLANCE • Current month summary: total spent, amount available, remaining balance and percentage used. • Six-month expense history with a running total. • Category breakdown showing which categories take the biggest share of your money. • Limit versus spent comparison, month by month. • Top categories and highest spending category, highlighted for you. YOUR DATA STAYS YOURS SpendAware has no ads, no trackers and no analytics. There is no account on our servers, because there are no servers. Everything is stored on your device and synced privately through your own iCloud account, so your numbers show up on every device signed in with your Apple Account. Available in English, Spanish and Portuguese, with amounts and dates always shown in your device's own regional format.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: SpendAware at none against Gem's 4. Gem's advantage is update cadence (every 4 weeks vs every 20 months) and chart position (#10 vs unranked). On price, ads, device support and iOS requirement 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
Gem costs $0.49 and SpendAware $0.99 up front. Gem sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. SpendAware asks for nothing beyond the download.
Gem ships an update every 4 weeks, SpendAware every 20 months. The most recent releases landed on September 28, 2026 and September 21, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Gem | SpendAware |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $0.49 — better | $0.99 |
| Rating | 4.8 (89 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 87.9% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 89 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 4 weeks — better | Every 20 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Best chart rank | #10 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone, iPad — better |
| Requires iOS | 18.6 | 18.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 42 MB | 2 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Oz Pinhas | Marcio Habigzang Brufatto |
In-app purchases
Gem
- Gem PowerpackFree
- Thanks tip$0.99
- Amazing tip$2.99
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- Spectacular tip$4.99
SpendAware
No in-app purchases









