# Spending Tracker vs Expenses

The clearest difference is ads: Expenses at none against Spending Tracker's shown. Expenses also leads on update cadence (every 4 days vs every 2 months). Spending Tracker's advantage is ratings volume (19K vs 1.8K). On price, rating, review sentiment and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Spending Tracker sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Expenses sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for Spending Tracker against 4.8 for Expenses. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Spending Tracker has 19K ratings behind it against 1.8K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 95% of Spending Tracker's written reviews are positive against 87% of Expenses's.

Spending Tracker ships an update every 2 months, Expenses every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 23, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Spending Tracker | Expenses |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.8 (19K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/spending-tracker/id548615579/reviews) | [4.8 (1.8K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/expenses-spending-tracker/id1492055171/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **19K** | 1.8K |
| Positive reviews | **94.6% of reviews** | 87.3% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | Yes | **No** |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | **Every 4 days** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 50 MB | 70 MB |
| Requires iOS | **15.5** | 16.0 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac, Apple Watch** | iPhone, iPad, Mac, Vision Pro |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [MH Riley Ltd](https://appshunter.io/developer/409695800) | [BLUE COMET LABS LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/1492055170) |

## What reviewers say

### Spending Tracker

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/spending-tracker/id548615579)

Easily track your expenses and income to gain control over your finances. Set budgets, view spending summaries, and generate reports with interactive charts. Take the first step towards saving money by understanding where your money goes.

**Highlights:** Simple and intuitive interface, Flexible time period tracking (Weekly, Monthly, Yearly), Budget mode with carry-over, Summary view of spending progress, Log expenses and income, Editable spending and income categories, Interactive charts and reports

**Features:** Family Sharing, Apple Watch app

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Pro Upgrade | $2.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Easy to use
- 📊 Helpful reports and charts
- 💰 One-time fee for premium features
- 🔁 Recurring transactions
- 🗂️ Multiple accounts and categories

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Occasional syncing issues
- 🔢 Lack of fortnightly budget option
- 🗂️ Difficulty deleting unused categories
- 💰 Paid upgrade required for some features
- 📈 Limited budget tracking within categories

**Reported bugs**

- Transactions sometimes entered in wrong order
- Backup and restore functionality not always reliable

**Requested features**

- Add ability to split transactions into multiple categories
- Incorporate currency conversion and exchange rates
- Allow family/shared account access and updates
- Implement a 'Debt' category to track loan payments
- Add option to take photos of receipts and attach to transactions


### Expenses

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/expenses-spending-tracker/id1492055171)

Easily track your spending and income in any currency with this private finance app. Organize expenses with custom categories and gain insights into your spending habits through intuitive charts and trends. Collaborate with others on shared sheets and sync data across Apple devices.

**Highlights:** Expense and income tracking, Multi-currency support with auto exchange rates, Customizable categories, Spending trend analysis, Real-time sheet sharing, Private by design, no account needed, Data import/export (CSV)

**Features:** Family Sharing

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Expenses Pro - Monthly | $1.99 | per month |
| Expenses Pro - Yearly | $14.99 | per year |
| Expenses Pro - Lifetime | $39.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Simple and easy to use
- 🚀 Straightforward functionality
- 🔒 No bank account required
- 💡 Flexible customization options
- 🚀 Seamless iCloud sync

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Occasional bugs and crashes
- 🔒 Sharing/collaboration issues
- 💡 Lack of advanced budgeting features
- 💡 Missing subcategories and reporting options
- 🔒 Requirement to pay for full access

**Reported bugs**

- Syncing issues between devices
- Disappearing transaction data after updates
- Inconsistent balance display
- Unresponsive UI elements

**Requested features**

- Ability to create folders/groups for sheets
- Option to view combined stats across sheets
- Recurring expense/income tracking
- Improved sorting and filtering of transactions
- Budget comparison and forecasting tools


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Spending Tracker free?

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

### Is Expenses free?

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

### Which has better reviews, Spending Tracker or Expenses?

Spending Tracker and Expenses are both rated 4.8 out of 5 on the App Store, from 19K and 1.8K ratings respectively.

### Do Spending Tracker or Expenses have ads?

Spending Tracker shows ads; Expenses does not.

### Which is updated more often, Spending Tracker or Expenses?

Spending Tracker ships an update every 2 months, and Expenses every 4 days. Most recently, Spending Tracker was updated on September 24, 2026 and Expenses on September 23, 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.*
