# Expense Tracker vs Cashew

Expense Tracker and Cashew both sit at 4.8 stars, but that hides the real split: 98% of Cashew's written reviews are positive against 83% of Expense Tracker's. On price, rating, ratings volume and update cadence there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Expense Tracker sells 17 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month and Cashew sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.49 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 Expense Tracker against 4.9 for Cashew. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 875 and 532 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 83% of Expense Tracker's written reviews are positive against 98% of Cashew's.

Expense Tracker ships an update every 2 weeks, Cashew every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 21, 2026 and October 22, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Expense Tracker | Cashew |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.8 (875 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/expense-tracker-monai/id6447112647/reviews) | **[4.9 (532 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/cashewexpense-budget-tracker/id6463662930/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **875** | 532 |
| Positive reviews | 82.6% of reviews | **97.5% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 2 weeks** | Every 3 weeks |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 53 MB | 103 MB |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | 18.0 |
| Devices | iPhone | **iPhone, iPad** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Florian Vates](https://appshunter.io/developer/1544416478) | [James Kokoska](https://appshunter.io/developer/1704737685) |

## What reviewers say

### Expense Tracker

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/expense-tracker-monai/id6447112647)

Effortlessly track your daily expenses using AI-powered voice input or manual entry. The app automatically categorizes and splits your spending with a beautiful, clutter-free interface. Your data is securely stored in your personal iCloud, with no login required.

**Highlights:** AI-powered voice expense entry, Automatic expense categorization, Manual expense entry, Custom category creation, Beautiful and simple UI/UX, Privacy-friendly iCloud storage, No login required

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

**In-app purchases (17)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Student Monthly | $2.99 | per month |
| Basic monthly intro | $2.99 | per month |
| Advanced | $2.99 | per month |
| Family month intro | $3.99 | per month |
| Basic monthly | $3.99 | per month |
| Family | $3.99 | per month |
| Student Monthly | $4.49 | per month |
| Family month | $5.49 | per month |
| Monthly | $7.99 | per month |
| Student Yearly | $24.99 | per year |
| Basic yearly intro | $24.99 | per year |
| Advanced | $24.99 | per year |
| Basic yearly | $29.99 | per year |
| Family yearly intro | $34.99 | per year |
| Family | $34.99 | per year |
| Family yearly | $39.99 | per year |
| Yearly | $71.99 | per year |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Dictate transactions, no need to enter individually
- 🚀 Simple and easy to use
- 👍 Shared account for couples
- 👍 Practical, solves the problem of writing down expenses
- 👍 Intuitive and effective

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Doesn't register all transactions, especially Apple Pay
- 🔒 Requires payment to use, no free trial
- 🔒 Stops working on alternative devices after paying
- 🔒 Limited features in free version
- 🐛 Voice input sometimes gets stuck or has errors

**Reported bugs**

- Doesn't register all bank transactions
- Incompatible with some devices or iOS versions
- Sharing large lists doesn't work

**Requested features**

- Weekly/daily expense view
- Separate savings category
- Ability to add past expenses
- Multi-currency support
- Improved reporting and analytics


### Cashew

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/cashewexpense-budget-tracker/id6463662930)

This app helps you understand your spending habits by allowing you to set flexible budgets and visualize your financial progress with charts. Track subscriptions, recurring transactions, and manage finances across different currencies with a personalized interface.

**Highlights:** Flexible budgeting (monthly, weekly, custom), Visual spending reports (pie charts, bar graphs), Subscription and recurring transaction tracking, Personalized interface (dark mode, accent colors), Multi-currency support with conversion rates, Timely reminders for transactions

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Cashew Pro Monthly | $1.49 | per month |
| Cashew Pro Yearly | $11.99 | per year |
| Cashew Pro Lifetime | $19.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Easy to use
- 👍 Sleek and intuitive interface
- 💡 Customizable budgets and categories
- 🚀 Smooth performance
- 👍 Helpful visualizations and analytics

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Occasional sync issues between devices
- 💡 Lack of bank/account integration
- 💡 Missing calendar view
- 🐛 Laggy animations when adding transactions

**Reported bugs**

- Recurring transactions not generating properly
- Inconsistent behavior when configuring past installments

**Requested features**

- Add widgets for quick access
- Implement shared budgets and family access
- Improve recurring transaction management
- Export data to Excel/CSV


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Expense Tracker free?

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

### Is Cashew free?

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

### Which has better reviews, Expense Tracker or Cashew?

Cashew is rated higher. Expense Tracker averages 4.8 out of 5 from 875 ratings, while Cashew averages 4.9 from 532 ratings.

### Do Expense Tracker or Cashew have ads?

Neither Expense Tracker nor Cashew shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Expense Tracker or Cashew?

Expense Tracker ships an update every 2 weeks, and Cashew every 3 weeks. Most recently, Expense Tracker was updated on October 21, 2026 and Cashew on October 22, 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.*