Comparison

Expense Keep vs Truly Simple Envelopes

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

Head to head
About

Expense Keep

This app offers a simple and fast way to track expenses and income, helping users manage their finances and save money. It allows for organizing funds into separate accounts or spending envelopes, with features for recurring transactions and detailed monthly history.

Highlights
  • Track expenses and income
  • Organize money into accounts/envelopes
  • Set up recurring transactions
  • View monthly history and cash flow
  • Create custom expense categories
  • Transfer money between accounts
Features
Read full description

Expense Keep is the simplest and quickest way to track your expenses. It will save you money and improve your financial health. Expense Keep has been downloaded over 500,000 times and ranked top 5 Finance app in 33 countries. "This is exactly what I was looking for. It has cut my spending tremendously. Couldn't be happier with this app." "I have never rated an app before but I feel so strongly about this app that I knew I had to share with everyone how great it is!" "All I wanted was a sole app to track multiple accounts. This does it. I love it and have deleted all of my other expense tracking apps." "This app is the only budget app that I could find which works well with a zero-based budget." "This is the best budget envelope app available. So beautifully designed and simple to use. Includes recurring transactions and transfers between envelopes." "This app is awesome! Super easy to use without requiring so much personal info like other apps (Mint)." "Finally an expenses tracking app that don't force you to connect every single bank account you have. This app is for those, like me, that like to keep their info as private as possible." "This app is helping me feel in much more control of my finances." "This app is fantastic. Don't know how i ever managed without it." "Awesome app. Easy to use. Quick to set up and quick to input transactions." "Have tried a number of apps to track expenses, and this one has everything I've been looking for." Expense Keep is a personal finance app built to be fast and designed to be flexible yet simple to use. Organize your money into separate accounts and track your expenses and incomes. Accounts can be used to track your bank account balances or as "envelopes" for your different spending groups. FEATURES: Accounts + Add/Edit/Delete accounts. + Set starting balance. + Organize your money into separate accounts. + View current balance of each account. Expenses and Incomes + Add/Edit/Delete entries for expenses and incomes. + Create custom expense categories. + Assign expenses/incomes to an account. + Set a date and note for each entry. + Select a category for expenses. Transfers + Add/Edit/Delete transfers. + Transfer money from one account to another. + Helps you stay on budget when you overspend in one account. Recurring Entries + Add/Edit/Delete recurring entries that get automatically entered. + Setup recurring expenses/incomes/transfers for each account. + Set repeat cycles of daily, weekly, biweekly, monthly and more. + Set a start date and end date for recurring expenses. + Or set recurring expenses to be ongoing with no end date. Monthly History + View all entries for current month. + Go back and see previous months' entries. + Go to future months and add entries ahead of time. Cash Flow + See how much you earned/spent for the month. + Cash flow bar chart helps you spend less than you earn. Expense Chart + Pie chart shows your expenses broken down into categories. + See where all your money is going. + Filter pie chart to show only the accounts you select. Report + CSV export Security + Passcode lock feature More features coming soon! Have questions, requests, or feedback? Send them to info@expensekeep.com If you enjoy using Expense Keep or found the app useful, please consider leaving a review. It helps us a lot. Thank you!

About

Truly Simple Envelopes

Read full description

Managing money is stressful, and modern budgeting apps usually make it worse. They connect to your bank, download hundreds of transactions you don't recognize, bombard you with confusing pie charts, and charge you a hefty monthly subscription for the privilege. Truly Simple Envelopes is the opposite. It’s a digital version of the classic "cash stuffing" envelope method, built to be visually calm, completely manual, and intentionally friction-free. It never links to your bank accounts or automatically pulls in data. Instead, it asks you to mindfully put money into digital envelopes, and manually subtract it when you spend. By stripping away the bloat and focusing entirely on how much money you have left for different priorities, it brings peace of mind back to your finances while helping you develop healthy and sustainable financial habits. The core app, including iCloud syncing between your devices, is entirely free. If you find it useful, a one-time, lifetime $4.99 fee unlocks unlimited envelopes. Features: • The Main Wallet: A central holding bucket for all unallocated income. Add your paycheck here, then distribute the cash to your categories. • Custom Envelopes: Create dedicated folders for Groceries, Rent, Vacation, etc. Customize them with tactile, earthy colors and native Apple icons. • iCloud Sync: Built natively for Apple devices. Your balances and transactions sync instantly and privately across your Mac, iPhone, and iPad. • Accessible: Designed strictly to WCAG AA accessibility standards. Enjoy high-contrast text, large touch targets, and full support for Apple's Dynamic Type text scaling. • Complete Control: Swipe to delete a mistaken transaction, use the built-in Reconcile tool to clean up duplicate sync records, or hit the "Reset App Data" button to completely wipe your slate clean at any time. • Proudly Subscription-Free: We hate recurring billing as much as you do. Stick with the free version, or pay once and use the software forever. No ads, no trackers, no hidden fees.

Screenshots

Expense Keep4 screens
Truly Simple Envelopes3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Truly Simple Envelopes at every 2 weeks against Expense Keep's every 6 weeks. Truly Simple Envelopes also leads on device support (3 vs 1). On price, ads, in-app purchases 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. Expense Keep sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Truly Simple Envelopes sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Expense Keep ships an update every 6 weeks, Truly Simple Envelopes every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 15, 2026 and October 13, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Expense Keep versus Truly Simple Envelopes: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterExpense KeepTruly Simple Envelopes
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.4 (1.7K ratings) — better—
Positive reviews77.5% of reviews—
Number of ratings1.7K — better—
Update frequencyEvery 6 weeksEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad, Mac — better
Requires iOS17.017.0
Further details — not scored
Size5 MB1 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperTayson NguyenColin Wright

Bugs and requests

Expense Keep

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • App crashes on launch after recent update
  • Dark mode functionality is broken
  • Recurring expense dates not updating correctly
  • Unable to export data or send feedback in-app

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add support for multiple currencies
  • Implement a monthly budgeting feature
  • Allow customization of expense categories
  • Improve data export and reporting options
  • Integrate cloud backup and cross-device sync

Truly Simple Envelopes

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Expense Keep

One-time1
  • Expense Keep Pro$19.99
1 purchases

Truly Simple Envelopes

One-time1
  • Unlock Pro$4.99

Questions

Is Expense Keep free?
Expense Keep is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Truly Simple Envelopes free?
Truly Simple Envelopes is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Expense Keep or Truly Simple Envelopes have ads?
Neither Expense Keep nor Truly Simple Envelopes shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Expense Keep or Truly Simple Envelopes?
Expense Keep ships an update every 6 weeks, and Truly Simple Envelopes every 2 weeks. Most recently, Expense Keep was updated on October 15, 2026 and Truly Simple Envelopes on October 13, 2026.

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