# Spending Tracker vs Pennywise

The clearest difference is ads: Pennywise at none against Spending Tracker's shown. Pennywise also leads on update cadence (fortnightly vs every 2 months). Spending Tracker's advantage is device support (5 vs 2). On price, in-app purchases and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Spending Tracker sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Pennywise sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Spending Tracker ships an update every 2 months, Pennywise fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 29, 2026 and October 8, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Spending Tracker | Pennywise |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.8 (19K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/spending-tracker/id548615579/reviews)** | — |
| Number of ratings | **19K** | — |
| Positive reviews | 94.5% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | Yes | **No** |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | **Fortnightly** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Size | 50 MB | 87 MB |
| Requires iOS | **15.5** | 16.0 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac, Apple Watch** | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [MH Riley Ltd](https://appshunter.io/developer/409695800) | [Media-z OU](https://appshunter.io/developer/1847953767) |

## 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


### Pennywise

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pennywise-budget-app/id6754343519)

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Lifetime Access | $19.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Spending Tracker free?

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

### Is Pennywise free?

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

### Do Spending Tracker or Pennywise have ads?

Spending Tracker shows ads; Pennywise does not.

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

Spending Tracker ships an update every 2 months, and Pennywise fortnightly. Most recently, Spending Tracker was updated on October 29, 2026 and Pennywise on October 8, 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.*