# Basic Expense Tracker vs Smart Budget

The clearest difference is rating: Basic Expense Tracker at 5.0 against Smart Budget's 4.3. Basic Expense Tracker also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 83%). On price, ratings volume, update cadence and ads there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Basic Expense Tracker sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Smart Budget sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Basic Expense Tracker holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.3. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 7 and 20 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 100% of Basic Expense Tracker's written reviews are positive against 83% of Smart Budget's.

Basic Expense Tracker ships an update fortnightly, Smart Budget every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 6, 2026 and October 14, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Basic Expense Tracker | Smart Budget |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[5.0 (7 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/basic-expense-tracker/id1644294113/reviews)** | [4.3 (20 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/smart-budget-walletpal/id6475526197/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | 7 | **20** |
| Positive reviews | **100.0% of reviews** | 82.6% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Fortnightly** | Every 3 weeks |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 2 MB | 172 MB |
| Requires iOS | **16** | 17.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, Mac |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Ivo Maag](https://appshunter.io/developer/1619751397) | [MICHAEL JOHN S WILLER](https://appshunter.io/developer/1694028060) |

## What reviewers say

### Basic Expense Tracker

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/basic-expense-tracker/id1644294113)

Easily track your daily spending and cash flow with this finance app. It syncs across your iOS devices and offers features like expense rating and currency switching. Export your data to spreadsheets for further analysis.

**Highlights:** Daily expense tracking, iCloud sync across devices, Expense rating indicator, Currency switcher, CSV export/import, Daily reminders

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Family Sharing

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Tip | $1.99 | one-time |


### Smart Budget

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/smart-budget-walletpal/id6475526197)

Effortlessly track your spending and manage budgets with automatic transaction logging from Apple Pay. Features include smart budgeting, subscription management, and receipt scanning. Simplify your finances without manual data entry.

**Highlights:** Automatic expense tracking, Smart monthly budget planner, Free budget tracker tools, Receipt tracker with OCR, Subscription manager, Widgets for instant insights, Custom categories and budgets

**Features:** Safari Extension

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Weekly | $1.99 | per 7 days |
| Monthly | $5.99 | per month |
| Annual | $39.99 | per year |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Basic Expense Tracker free?

Basic Expense Tracker is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Smart Budget free?

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

### Which has better reviews, Basic Expense Tracker or Smart Budget?

Basic Expense Tracker is rated higher. Basic Expense Tracker averages 5.0 out of 5 from 7 ratings, while Smart Budget averages 4.3 from 20 ratings.

### Do Basic Expense Tracker or Smart Budget have ads?

Neither Basic Expense Tracker nor Smart Budget shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Basic Expense Tracker or Smart Budget?

Basic Expense Tracker ships an update fortnightly, and Smart Budget every 3 weeks. Most recently, Basic Expense Tracker was updated on October 6, 2026 and Smart Budget on October 14, 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.*