# Expense Keep vs Trace

The clearest difference is ratings volume: Expense Keep at 1.7K against Trace's 18. Trace's advantage is update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 6 weeks). On price, rating, review sentiment and ads there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Expense Keep sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Trace sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 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 — 4.4 for Expense Keep against 4.4 for Trace. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Expense Keep has 1.7K ratings behind it against 18, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 77% of Expense Keep's written reviews are positive against 83% of Trace's.

Expense Keep ships an update every 6 weeks, Trace every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 22, 2026 and October 26, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Expense Keep | Trace |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.4 (1.7K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/expense-keep-envelope-budget/id601885495/reviews) | **[4.4 (18 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/trace-money-tracking/id845272077/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **1.7K** | 18 |
| Positive reviews | 77.5% of reviews | **83.3% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 6 weeks | **Every 2 weeks** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 5 MB | 14 MB |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | **16.0** |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Tayson Nguyen](https://appshunter.io/developer/601885498) | [Stackchief LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/845272080) |

## What reviewers say

### Expense Keep

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/expense-keep-envelope-budget/id601885495)

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:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Expense Keep Pro | $19.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 💻 Simple and intuitive interface
- 📊 Helpful expense tracking and visualization
- 🔁 Recurring expense and income management
- 🧠 Useful for budgeting and financial awareness
- 💰 Good value for the paid version

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Bugs and crashes after recent updates
- 🔒 Lack of cloud backup and data sync
- 📄 Limited export and reporting options
- 🔧 Inability to edit expense categories
- 💸 Some features locked behind paywall

**Reported bugs**

- 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**

- 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


### Trace

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/trace-money-tracking/id845272077)

This app helps you manage your daily spending to achieve monthly financial goals. It offers a simple way to create budgets, track expenses, and understand your available spending money each day. Focus on today's habits to build effective personal finance.

**Highlights:** Daily spending tracking, Monthly financial goal setting, Simple budget creation, Expense and income tracking, Automatic transaction clearing

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

**In-app purchases (2)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Daily Budget Pro | $4.99 | per month |
| Trace - Money Tracking | $49.99 | per year |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Expense Keep free?

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

### Is Trace free?

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

### Which has better reviews, Expense Keep or Trace?

Trace is rated higher. Expense Keep averages 4.4 out of 5 from 1.7K ratings, while Trace averages 4.4 from 18 ratings.

### Do Expense Keep or Trace have ads?

Neither Expense Keep nor Trace shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Expense Keep or Trace?

Expense Keep ships an update every 6 weeks, and Trace every 2 weeks. Most recently, Expense Keep was updated on October 22, 2026 and Trace on October 26, 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.*