Comparison

Spending Tracker vs Accounts 3 Lite

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Spending Tracker

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
Read full description

Spending Tracker is the easiest and most user friendly Personal Finance App in the store. And best of all, it's free! The simple fact is, by tracking your spending you will be able to stick to a budget and therefore SAVE MONEY. So give it a try and have instant control over your spending! *** Features *** ------------------ √ Simple and intuitive user interface - helps you track your spending quickly and easily √ Flexible Time Periods - choose to track Weekly, Monthly or Yearly √ Budget Mode - optionally set a fixed budget amount to help you meet your spending targets - carry over any remaining budget to the next period √ Summary View - overview of your current spending progress - time travel backwards and forwards in time - see your main areas of spending √ Log Expense and Income - easy and quick transaction entry - sort by date, name or amount - repeat transactions daily, weekly or monthly (Pro Upgrade required) - export transactions (Pro Upgrade required) √ Categories - editable spending and income categories - choose a quality icon for each category √ Reports - easy visualisation of where your money goes - beautiful and interactive charts - view spending grouped by category - see the history of your spending

About

Accounts 3 Lite

Manage your personal finances with this intuitive checkbook replacement app. Track daily transactions, schedule recurring payments, and capture photo receipts. Visualize your spending with detailed reports and graphs, and export your data for desktop use.

Highlights
  • Schedule recurring transactions
  • Capture photo receipts
  • Generate financial reports and graphs
  • Reconcile transactions with bank statements
  • Export data in CSV, QIF, and HTML
  • Supports Touch and Face ID
  • Split transactions across categories
Features
Read full description

Accounts 3 Lite is an easy to use application to replace your paper checkbook. With the Accounts 3 Lite application, you will have a quicker and more convenient way to track your daily finances. You can schedule transactions, transfer funds, capture photo receipts, reconcile, export data, view reports, graphs, and much more. * If you like this app, then please support us with a positive rating. Thank you! FEATURES * Touch and Face ID Support Use Touch ID to authenticate and launch the app quicker and more conveniently. * Optimized for Multitasking and Retina Display Supports fast app switching and higher resolution Retina display. * Universal Binary Designed for iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad devices. No need to buy separate apps for each device. * Graphs and Reports Review your monthly income vs. expense, spending by category, or income by category summaries with beautiful graphs and reports. * AirPrint Support Print reports directly from your iPhone or iPad (that have multitasking capability) to any AirPrint-enabled printer. * Photo Receipts Capture and store photo receipt as part of a transaction. * Search Quickly search for transactions and edit them from the same screen. * Recurring Transactions Schedule transactions to repeat weekly, biweekly, monthly, semimonthly, quarterly, biannually, or yearly on a start date that you choose. * Reconcile Transactions Reconcile by checking off cleared transactions and comparing the actual and outstanding balances against a bank statement. Accounts 3 now includes a running total for even easier reconciliation. * Split Transactions Split a transaction among several categories for more precise tracking. * Transfers Make a one-time transfer between accounts or set up recurring transfers to automatically repeat. * Multiple Accounts Track as many accounts as you need. * Export in CSV, QIF & HTML Formats Export transactions via email attachments for used with desktop applications such Numbers, Excel, or MS Money. * Description, Category, Memo, and Check # Fields All the necessary fields to track your transactions. * Smart Autocomplete As you type, a list will show you your previously entered descriptions and corresponding category. Selecting an entry from the list will fill both fields of the transaction. * Auto-increment Check # Field Accounts 3 will suggest the next check number for you based on the previously entered number. If you replace your checkbook, just enter the new starting number and Accounts 3 will auto-increment from there. * Customization Settings & Themes Configurable settings and themes to customize the Accounts 3 application based on your preferences. * Transaction Sorting/Hiding Sort transactions by date in either ascending or descending order. You can also hide reconciled transactions to keep your current list from being cluttered. * Accounts Reordering Reorder the accounts from the account list in any order you choose. * Accounts Delete Lock Prevents accidental deletion of all the transactions under an account. * Backup / Restore Backup your data to your computer for safekeeping. Then restore it to your device when you need to via email or iTunes file sharing interface. * Passcode Security Keep your accounts information private. * Sync Data via iCloud Sync your data across iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch devices (available when upgraded to full version) * Accounts 3 Lite is limited to 100 transactions.   At anytime, you can transfer all your data to the Full version by touching on the 'Export to Full Version' button from the Settings screen.

Screenshots

Spending Tracker4 screens
Accounts 3 Lite4 screens

Verdict

The call

Spending Tracker and Accounts 3 Lite both sit at 4.8 stars, but that hides the real split: 95% of Spending Tracker's written reviews are positive against 47% of Accounts 3 Lite's. Spending Tracker also leads on ratings volume (19K vs 214) and device support (5 vs 3). Accounts 3 Lite's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and ads (none vs shown). On price, rating and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Spending Tracker sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Accounts 3 Lite asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for Spending Tracker against 4.7 for Accounts 3 Lite. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Spending Tracker has 19K ratings behind it against 214, 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 47% of Accounts 3 Lite's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Spending Tracker ships an update every 2 months, Accounts 3 Lite every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 15, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Spending Tracker versus Accounts 3 Lite: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSpending TrackerAccounts 3 Lite
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (19K ratings) — better4.7 (214 ratings)
Positive reviews94.6% of reviews — better46.7% of reviews
Number of ratings19K — better214
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.514.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size50 MB11 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMH Riley LtdSVT Software

Customer experience

Spending Tracker

All ratings19,361 ratings
Positive96.7%
Neutral1.9%
Negative1.4%
Written reviews2,902 reviews
Positive94.6%
Neutral2.5%
Negative2.9%

Accounts 3 Lite

All ratings214 ratings
Positive94.4%
Neutral3.3%
Negative2.3%
Written reviews45 reviews
Positive46.7%
Neutral11.1%
Negative42.2%

User reviews

Spending Tracker

From 19K App Store ratings

What we love

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

Room to improve

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

Accounts 3 Lite

From 214 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Easy to use checkbook register
  • 👍 Helpful for personal finance
  • 👍 Good for simple tracking
  • 👍 Keeps all budget information
  • 👍 Works well for personal needs

Room to improve

  • 😠 Persistent pop-ups
  • 😠 Forceful upgrade prompts
  • 😠 No sub-accounts
  • 😠 Recurring charges not included in total outstanding
  • 😠 Sync issues causing data loss

Bugs and requests

Spending Tracker

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Transactions sometimes entered in wrong order
  • Backup and restore functionality not always reliable

Requested features

5 requests
  • 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

Accounts 3 Lite

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Pop-ups for paid versions
  • Sync issues deleting transactions
  • Recurring transaction memos not updating correctly
  • Recurring screen starting date/time squished

Requested features

15 requests
  • Add total outstanding balance with recurring charges
  • Import PDF files for checks
  • Add sub-accounts
  • Add PDF support for checks
  • Add recurring transfers between accounts
Show 10 more
  • Schedule recurring transactions on a specific date
  • Hide specific accounts from main view
  • Clear delineation between past and future transactions
  • Option to turn off auto check number
  • Fix recurring screen starting date/time issue
  • Import QIF or CSV files
  • Allow changing memo on recurring transfers without re-creation
  • Manually pay monthly bills instead of automatic
  • Recurring transactions that shift date for weekends/holidays
  • Option to select app icon color

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Spending Tracker

One-time1
  • Pro Upgrade$2.99
None

Accounts 3 Lite

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Spending Tracker free?
Spending Tracker is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Accounts 3 Lite free?
Accounts 3 Lite is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Spending Tracker or Accounts 3 Lite?
Spending Tracker is rated higher. Spending Tracker averages 4.8 out of 5 from 19K ratings, while Accounts 3 Lite averages 4.7 from 214 ratings.
Do Spending Tracker or Accounts 3 Lite have ads?
Spending Tracker shows ads; Accounts 3 Lite does not.
Which is updated more often, Spending Tracker or Accounts 3 Lite?
Spending Tracker ships an update every 2 months, and Accounts 3 Lite every 3 weeks. Most recently, Spending Tracker was updated on September 24, 2026 and Accounts 3 Lite on September 15, 2026.

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