# Expense Tool vs Budgets Pro

The clearest difference is price: Expense Tool at Free against Budgets Pro's $4.99. Expense Tool also leads on update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 2 months) and device support (4 vs 2). Budgets Pro's advantage is rating (4.5 vs 2.5) and in-app purchases (none vs 5). On ads, monetization model and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Expense Tool is free to download; Budgets Pro costs $4.99 up front. Expense Tool sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per 3 months. Budgets Pro asks for nothing beyond the download.

Budgets Pro holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 2.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Budgets Pro has 10 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 67% of Expense Tool's written reviews are positive against 92% of Budgets Pro's.

Expense Tool ships an update every 3 weeks, Budgets Pro every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on September 29, 2026 and October 2, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Expense Tool | Budgets Pro |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | **Free** | $4.99 |
| Rating | [2.5 (2 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/expense-tool/id398904876/reviews) | **[4.5 (10 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/budgets-pro-expense-tracker/id498102622/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | 2 | **10** |
| Positive reviews | 66.7% of reviews | **91.9% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 3 weeks** | Every 2 months |
| Monetization | Paid | Paid |
| Best chart rank | — | **#199** |
| Size | 32 MB | 8 MB |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | **14.0** |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac** | iPhone, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Juerg Otter](https://appshunter.io/developer/398904879) | [MoneyBudgie](https://appshunter.io/developer/354069981) |

## What reviewers say

### Expense Tool

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/expense-tool/id398904876)

Track personal and shared expenses with detailed logging, receipt attachments, and location mapping. Generate summaries and balances for group spending, and export your data in various formats.

**Highlights:** Define custom expense sets, Attach receipts, photos, and locations, Fast data capture with autocompletion, Expense summaries and balances, Export data (HTML, Text, CSV), Map integration, Passcode lock

**Features:** Family Sharing

**In-app purchases (5)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Plus Quarterly | $0.99 | per 3 months |
| Pro Quarterly | $1.99 | per 3 months |
| Plus Yearly | $2.99 | per year |
| Pro Yearly | $4.99 | per year |
| Pro (Lifetime) | $19.99 | one-time |


### Budgets Pro

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/budgets-pro-expense-tracker/id498102622)

**Currently charting:** #199 Top Paid · Finance (US App Store)

This app helps you manage your money by creating custom budgets and tracking your spending against them. It provides instant feedback on how much you have left to spend and allows you to view your purchase history. You can also export your data for further analysis.

**Highlights:** Create custom budgets (monthly, weekly, custom periods), Track spending against budgets, View remaining budget amounts, Monitor purchase history, Export purchases as CSV, Secure passcode entry

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

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Expense Tool free?

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

### Is Budgets Pro free?

Budgets Pro costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Expense Tool or Budgets Pro?

Budgets Pro is rated higher. Expense Tool averages 2.5 out of 5 from 2 ratings, while Budgets Pro averages 4.5 from 10 ratings.

### Do Expense Tool or Budgets Pro have ads?

Neither Expense Tool nor Budgets Pro shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Expense Tool or Budgets Pro?

Expense Tool ships an update every 3 weeks, and Budgets Pro every 2 months. Most recently, Expense Tool was updated on September 29, 2026 and Budgets Pro on October 2, 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.*