Gem vs ScanExpense
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
ScanExpense
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Stop losing money to lost receipts. ScanExpense turns any receipt into organized, tax-ready expense data in about 7 seconds — built for 1099 and self-employed solo operators who don't have time for bookkeeping. Snap a photo of any receipt and our receipt scanner instantly pulls the vendor, date, and total into clean, organized expense data — no manual typing. Built for 1099 workers and the self-employed: rideshare and delivery drivers, mobile tradespeople, realtors, photographers, and freelancers who'd rather work than do bookkeeping. WHY SCANEXPENSE • Fast receipt scanner — receipt to data in ~7 seconds, the quickest way to log an expense • Auto-categories — each receipt is sorted into a category automatically, or pick your own • Tax deductions — keep every write-off organized and IRS-ready all year, not just in April • Expense tracker — totals and search across all your business expenses in one place • Export reports — PDF reports can include your receipt photos, plus CSV exports for your accountant or tax software • 10 free scans every month — no credit card required BUILT FOR THE SELF-EMPLOYED Whether you're a gig driver, a contractor on job sites, a realtor between showings, or a freelancer juggling clients, ScanExpense keeps your business receipts organized so tax season is a non-event. Every scanned receipt is a logged deduction. HOW IT WORKS 1. Snap a receipt 2. We extract the data in ~7 seconds 3. Export a clean expense report anytime Your data syncs securely to the cloud so it's backed up across devices. Download ScanExpense and turn your glovebox full of receipts into money back at tax time. SUBSCRIPTION ScanExpense Pro — $4.99 per month or $29.99 per year, billed to your Apple Account. Unlimited scans. Subscriptions renew automatically unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period; manage or cancel anytime in your Apple Account settings. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://scanexpense.app/privacy
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: ScanExpense at Free against Gem's $0.49. ScanExpense also leads on iOS requirement (15.1 vs 26.0). Gem's advantage is chart position (#164 vs unranked). On update cadence, ads, in-app purchases 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
ScanExpense is free to download; Gem costs $0.49 up front. Gem sells 4 one-off in-app purchases and ScanExpense sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Gem ships an update every 4 weeks, ScanExpense fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 29, 2026 and October 28, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Gem | ScanExpense |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $0.49 | Free — better |
| Rating | 4.8 (89 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 87.9% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 89 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 4 weeks | Fortnightly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Best chart rank | #164 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 26.0 | 15.1 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 46 MB | 53 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Oz Pinhas | Yevhenii Harychev |
In-app purchases
Gem
- Gem PowerpackFree
- Thanks tip$0.99
- Amazing tip$2.99
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- Spectacular tip$4.99
ScanExpense
- Pro Monthly$4.991 Month
- Pro Annual$29.991 Year









