# The Expense App vs PaperTrail Receipts

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: PaperTrail Receipts at none against The Expense App's 1. PaperTrail Receipts also leads on update cadence (fortnightly vs every 4 months). The Expense App's advantage is iOS requirement (13.4 vs 17.0). On price, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. The Expense App sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $12.00 per year. PaperTrail Receipts asks for nothing beyond the download.

The Expense App ships an update every 4 months, PaperTrail Receipts fortnightly. Both last shipped on October 24, 2026.

## The numbers

| Metric | The Expense App | PaperTrail Receipts |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.2 (5 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/the-expense-app/id6478640959/reviews)** | — |
| Number of ratings | **5** | — |
| Positive reviews | 0.0% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months | **Fortnightly** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Size | 16 MB | 23 MB |
| Requires iOS | **13.4** | 17.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Lifeware Tech LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/1733578019) | [Michael Stromer](https://appshunter.io/developer/910972096) |

## What reviewers say

### The Expense App

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/the-expense-app/id6478640959)

Effortlessly manage your finances by tracking expenses and uploading receipts. Search, sort, and export your financial data for tax season and personal budgeting. Save time and money with this intuitive expense management tool.

**Highlights:** Receipt upload (PDF, image), On-the-go receipt photos, Search expenses by multiple criteria, Sort expenses by date, merchant, total, Track annual expense totals, Export expenses to CSV

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

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Yearly Subscription | $12.00 | per year |


### PaperTrail Receipts

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/papertrail-receipts/id6503082986)

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is The Expense App free?

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

### Is PaperTrail Receipts free?

PaperTrail Receipts is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Do The Expense App or PaperTrail Receipts have ads?

Neither The Expense App nor PaperTrail Receipts shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, The Expense App or PaperTrail Receipts?

The Expense App ships an update every 4 months, and PaperTrail Receipts fortnightly. Most recently, The Expense App was updated on October 24, 2026 and PaperTrail Receipts on October 24, 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.*