Comparison

Sem vs Expense Tracker

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

Head to head
About

Sem

Easily manage your expenses, categorize spending, and track savings with this intuitive budgeting tool. Receive timely reminders for upcoming bills and generate detailed monthly financial statements to understand your spending habits.

Highlights
  • Add and manage expenses
  • Categorize spending
  • Monthly budget overviews
  • Push notifications for due dates
  • Generate monthly statements
  • Light and Dark mode
Features
Read full description

Take control of your finances with Sem, the user-friendly budgeting app designed for everyday users. Easily add and manage your expenses, categorize them, and stay on top of what matters most. With monthly budget overviews, push notifications to remind you of upcoming expenses, and the ability to generate detailed statements, managing your finances has never been simpler. Whether tracking savings, wants, or needs, Sem helps you see where your money goes. Key Features: • Add and manage expenses with name, status, due date, category, and notes. • Select any month for your budget. • Receive push notifications 3, 2, or 1 day before a expense is due. • Auto-generate and download monthly statements. • Multi-select and swipe to manage expenses. • Light and Dark mode support. • Budget overview by month. • User feedback integration. • Onboarding guide. Developed by a solo creator passionate about financial health, Sem is here to make personal finance easier for you. We welcome all feedback and suggestions through the Feedback button in Settings. Let Sem help you manage your finances effortlessly.

About

Expense Tracker

Effortlessly track daily income and expenses with a notebook-like interface. On-device AI automatically categorizes your entries, and all data is securely stored locally or synced via iCloud. Customize your experience with various page styles and widgets.

Highlights
  • Notebook-style daily expense and income tracking
  • On-device AI for automatic categorization
  • Local data storage and private iCloud sync
  • Customizable page styles, fonts, and currency
  • Home screen widgets for quick overview
  • Offline functionality
Read full description

YOUR DAILY CASHBOOK: Today Expenses brings the simplicity of a paper notebook to your personal finances. Write naturally — jot down what you spent or earned, and on-device AI fills in the details automatically. No outside servers, no account creation. Everything stays securely in your own iCloud. Each day gets its own page. Turn back to see previous days. Turn forward to plan ahead. HOW IT WORKS Open the app to your Today Page Tap Expense or Income to set the record type Type naturally — "coffee 4.50" or "freelance payment 2500" On-device AI extracts the category and amount instantly Tap any record to edit or correct the details Turn the page to navigate between days RECORD KEEPING Daily notebook page for expenses and income One page per day — navigate forward and back through any date Add, edit, and delete records on any day Tap the metadata panel to correct anything the AI gets wrong Set your own category, amount, and currency manually anytime AI MODELS Two on-device AI models — you choose. Apple Foundation Models — powered by Apple Intelligence. Reads your full note and infers meaning from context. Available on iPhone 15 Pro and later. Pre-Trained Model — trained on 16,700 expense and income notes across 71 categories. Works on every iPhone, with or without Apple Intelligence. Fast, private, fully on-device. Your notes are never sent to any server. Your data is never used to train any model. Switch between models anytime from Settings. PAGE STYLES AND CUSTOMIZATION Multiple paper styles including Classic, Ivory Rose, Obsidian Gold, Sage, and more Choose your font and font size Set your preferred currency and category list Set an initial balance for accurate net tracking BUDGETS Set a budget for any category, or one overall budget for everything Track spending against your budget as you record See how much is left at a glance Adjust or remove a budget anytime CHARTS AND INSIGHTS Net balance tracking over time Spending and income breakdown by category Weekly and monthly overviews 6-month chart and spending calendar HOME SCREEN WIDGETS Today Balance, Today Records, This Week, This Month 6 Month Overview, Spending Calendar, Streak, Category Breakdown Multiple sizes — small, medium, and large Widgets follow your chosen page style theme SYNC AND PRIVACY Stored locally and synced privately to your iCloud via CloudKit No accounts, no sign-up, no outside servers Works fully offline — syncs automatically when you reconnect FREE PERIOD AND PLANS 24 hours of full access to try everything — no card required. Choose a monthly or yearly subscription, or buy once and keep it forever. WHY TODAY EXPENSES? Notebook-style UI that makes recording feel natural Two on-device AI models — Apple Foundation Models or Pre-Trained Model Pre-Trained Model works on every iPhone, no Apple Intelligence needed Budgets by category or for everything, tracked as you write Beautiful page styles, fonts, and home screen widgets Full offline support with automatic iCloud sync No ads. No account required. Your data stays yours. REQUIREMENTS iOS 26 or later and iCloud required. Pre-Trained Model works on every supported device. Apple Foundation Models requires Apple Intelligence on iPhone 15 Pro or later. If unavailable, Pre-Trained Model is used automatically. TRY IT FREE Download and start with 24 hours of full free access — no card required. Privacy Policy: https://www.notion.so/Today-Expenses-Privacy-Policy-3392d576f5a48029a0dedcca7dd3ae31?source=copy_link Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Sem4 screens
Expense Tracker4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Sem at none against Expense Tracker's 2. Sem also leads on device support (3 vs 1) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 26.0). Expense Tracker's advantage is update cadence (every 3 days vs every 4 months). On price, rating, review sentiment and ratings volume 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 Tracker sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Sem asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Sem against 5.0 for Expense Tracker. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1 and 2 respectively. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 100% and 100% positive.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Sem ships an update every 4 months, Expense Tracker every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Sem versus Expense Tracker: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSemExpense Tracker
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings)5.0 (2 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings12 — better
Update frequencyEvery 4 monthsEvery 3 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS12.0 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size53 MB99 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMark MendozaMin Thet Maung

Customer experience

Sem

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Expense Tracker

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Sem

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

Expense Tracker

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly3 Days trial$3.991 Month
  • Yearly$14.991 Year

Questions

Is Sem free?
Sem is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Expense Tracker free?
Expense Tracker is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Sem or Expense Tracker?
Sem and Expense Tracker are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 1 and 2 ratings respectively.
Do Sem or Expense Tracker have ads?
Neither Sem nor Expense Tracker shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Sem or Expense Tracker?
Sem ships an update every 4 months, and Expense Tracker every 3 days. Most recently, Sem was updated on November 3, 2026 and Expense Tracker on October 31, 2026.

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