# Expense Tracker vs Surplus

The clearest difference is rating: Surplus at 4.8 against Expense Tracker's 4.3. Surplus also leads on ratings volume (28 vs 4) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17). Expense Tracker's advantage is review sentiment (100% vs 83%). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Expense Tracker sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 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.

Surplus holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Surplus has 28 ratings behind it against 4, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 100% of Expense Tracker's written reviews are positive against 83% of Surplus's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

Expense Tracker ships an update every 3 weeks, Surplus monthly. Both last shipped on October 22, 2026.

## The numbers

| Metric | Expense Tracker | Surplus |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.3 (4 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/expense-tracker-budget-app/id1567197275/reviews) | **[4.8 (28 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/surplus-expense-tracker/id1578612881/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | 4 | **28** |
| Positive reviews | **100.0% of reviews** | 83.3% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 3 weeks** | Monthly |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 40 MB | 67 MB |
| Requires iOS | 17 | **15.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Nishan Niraula](https://appshunter.io/developer/1328908390) | [Dev Harvest LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/1526293285) |

## What reviewers say

### Expense Tracker

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/expense-tracker-budget-app/id1567197275)

Easily track your daily, weekly, and monthly spending with this intuitive budgeting app. Organize expenses into categories, set budgets, and visualize your spending habits with clear charts and summaries. Securely sync your data to iCloud.

**Highlights:** Beautiful User Interface, Budgeting and Expense Tracking, Expense History and Summary, Customizable Expense Categories, Data Backup & Sync to iCloud, Recurring Expense Notifications, Built-in Calculator

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

**In-app purchases (4)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Expense Diary Premium: Monthly | $1.99 | per month |
| Expense Diary - Weekly | $1.99 | per 7 days |
| Expense Diary Premium: Yearly | $17.99 | per year |
| Expense Diary Premium Lifetime | $24.99 | one-time |


### 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 Expense Tracker free?

Expense Tracker 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, Expense Tracker or Surplus?

Surplus is rated higher. Expense Tracker averages 4.3 out of 5 from 4 ratings, while Surplus averages 4.8 from 28 ratings.

### Do Expense Tracker or Surplus have ads?

Neither Expense Tracker nor Surplus shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Expense Tracker or Surplus?

Expense Tracker ships an update every 3 weeks, and Surplus monthly. Most recently, Expense Tracker was updated on October 22, 2026 and Surplus on October 22, 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.*