Lightsplit vs Minimal Expense
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side ā with what reviewers say about each.
Lightsplit
Easily track and split expenses for group trips, dinners, or shared living costs. Integrate directly into your chat apps, allowing friends to participate without needing the app. Offers smart settlement features and multi-currency support for international use.
- Group expense tracking
- Direct chat integration
- AI receipt scanning
- Smart settlement algorithm
- Multi-currency support
- Group budgets and stats
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Split bills for trips, rent and meals with friends. Lightsplit tracks shared expenses and shows who owes whom, even when several people pay. Friends can also use Lightsplit on the web, LINE, Telegram or Discord. Start with virtual members, then share a group link when everyone is ready to join. START SPLITTING RIGHT AWAY ⢠Create virtual members and track expenses before friends even sign up. When they join, they claim their records ⢠Invite anyone in seconds with a QR code or link ⢠Keep separate groups for trips, roommates, and nights out, and manage them all in one place SPLIT ANY EXPENSE ⢠Split evenly, by shares, or by exact amounts, and mix them freely ⢠Expenses, income, and transfers, with multiple payers ⢠Built-in calculator and category icons AI RECEIPT SCAN ⢠Scan a receipt or order screenshot with AI, then check the items and amounts before saving ⢠Record it as one expense or split item by item ⢠The free plan includes a limited number of scans; Premium raises the limit CONNECT AI APPS WITH MCP ⢠Connect a compatible AI app to Lightsplit after signing in and approving access ⢠Ask it to add expenses, look up transactions and review spending breakdowns ⢠View and revoke connected apps from your profile SETTLE UP THE SMART WAY ⢠Simplify group debts and see suggested repayments ⢠Mark a debt as paid and the transfer is recorded automatically ⢠Remind whoever still owes with one tap MULTI-CURRENCY ⢠Record spending in different currencies with automatic conversion ⢠Log each expense in its own currency, auto-converted to your group's settlement currency ⢠Made for international trips STATS, BUDGETS & MORE ⢠Category charts show exactly where the group's money went ⢠Group budgets and personal spending limits ⢠Shared to-do lists that convert into expenses ⢠Save your payment details so friends know exactly how to pay you back Lightsplit Premium Subscribe to unlock: ⢠An ad-free experience ⢠Personal statistics ⢠Record search and filters ⢠Spreadsheet export ⢠Full edit history ⢠Unlimited records and to-dos ⢠A higher AI scan limit Free to download, with limits on the free plan. Premium is an optional subscription. Create your first group and keep shared expenses clear. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Minimal Expense
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Minimal Expense: Travel, Split ā daily, travel and shared ledgers in one app. And when you're done logging, a finance report written just for you. ā Journal design - Warm paper tones, a terracotta seal, soft Japanese-inspired colors, dark mode retuned page by page. Logging feels like keeping a quiet journal. ā Everyday logging & splitting - Custom categories and payment methods: your own colors and icons; cash, card and e-payments tallied separately. - Recurring entries: set rent, subscriptions, salary or that annual insurance once, and they post themselves ā monthly, quarterly, half-yearly or yearly. - Income and expenses tallied separately, with a budget that shows what's left. - Everyday splitting: no trip needed ā build a dinner or household event and add saved contacts as a group in one tap. - Multiple accounts & net worth: bank, cash and e-payments tracked apart. Transfers never count as spending, and the main ledger shows total and net worth at a glance. ā Why Minimal Expense? - Three kinds of ledger, kept apart: daily, travel and shared each get their own book. Trip expenses file themselves. - Split with companions: who paid, how to split, who's in ā three taps. Settlement reports work out who owes whom; mark as settled and share. - Treemap charts: the bigger the block, the more you spent. Understand your spending at a glance. - Multi-currency with locked-in rates: log in local currency abroad; the exchange rate is locked at entry time, so reports never shift. - Voice logging: "Lunch ramen 250" ā one sentence logs category and amount. Works offline, completely free. - Transaction search: notes, categories, payment methods, amounts ā find any entry in seconds. - Daily reminder + streak: a gentle knock each day to keep the habit going. ā Weekly, monthly and yearly reports (Premium) - Weekly report: appears by itself every Monday ā where last week went, how many days you logged. No waiting for month end. - Monthly Report: published on the 1st ā spending trend, category ranking, a rhythm calendar, and a one-line summary. - Year in Review: a once-a-year page-flip ritual ā seasons, top categories, records ā shareable as a beautiful card. - Insights: see where you are this month (compared with the same day in your own past months, not with strangers), and which charges are still due before month end. - Trip Recap & Trip Report: statistics and share cards worth keeping. ā Shared ledgers: one book, two people - Send a link and you're in: family, a friend, or your partner. No account, no friend requests. - Every entry shows who logged it, and syncs over iCloud to both phones. - Shared money is kept apart: it never mixes into your own ledger, so your reports and budget stay as clean as before. - Shared fund: each put some in, then spend from it ā or let one person pay first and settle later. ā Built for travel - Trip list: ongoing, upcoming, and finished trips at a glance; keep multiple trips. - Pre-trip expenses: log flights and hotels before departure for complete trip costs. - Travel footprint map: countries and cities light up on the map with per-trip spending (Premium). - Currency converter: quick conversions on the road, cached for offline use. ā Subscription - Free: full main ledger + 1 travel ledger + 1 shared ledger + 1 account + splitting & settlement + voice logging + ledger search + charts. No ads. - Premium: weekly reports, monthly reports, year in review, insights, trip recap & footprint map, unlimited travel and shared ledgers, unlimited accounts, iCloud backup, export (CSV / JSON / PDF). - 3-day free trial; monthly or yearly (yearly saves more), cancel anytime in Settings. ā Contact - Website: https://www.miniexpense.com - Privacy Policy: https://www.miniexpense.com/privacy-policy - Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.miniexpense.com/eula Thank you for choosing Minimal Expense ā let's keep daily, travel and shared spending clear, together.
Screenshots
Verdict
Lightsplit and Minimal Expense are too close to call on the numbers: across 6 compared parameters ā price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases among them ā neither pulls far enough ahead to decide it. What separates them is feature set and interface, not measurable difference.
Scored on Price Ā· Rating Ā· Positive reviews Ā· Number of ratings Ā· Update frequency Ā· Ads Ā· In-app purchases Ā· Monetization Ā· Best chart rank Ā· Devices Ā· Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Lightsplit sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $2.19 per month and Minimal Expense sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on September 23, 2026 and September 9, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Lightsplit | Minimal Expense |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Positive reviews | 0.0% of reviews | ā |
| Update frequency | Every 3 days | Every 3 days |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Freemium | ā |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | 17.2 ā better |
| Further details ā not scored | ||
| Size | 49 MB | 27 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Ping-Hsien Chou | POEN HSIEH |
In-app purchases
Lightsplit
- Lightsplit Premium Monthly$2.191 Month
- Lightsplit Premium Yearly$21.901 Year
Minimal Expense
- Premium Monthly3 Days trial$0.991 Month
- Premium Yearly3 Days trial$7.991 Year
Questions
Is Lightsplit free?
Is Minimal Expense free?
Do Lightsplit or Minimal Expense have ads?
Which is updated more often, Lightsplit or Minimal Expense?
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