# MONO vs SmartChi

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: SmartChi at none against MONO's 3. MONO's advantage is update cadence (daily vs every 5 weeks). On price, ads, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. MONO sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. SmartChi asks for nothing beyond the download.

MONO ships an update daily, SmartChi every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 28, 2026 and October 14, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | MONO | SmartChi |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.6 (14 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/mono-ai-expense-tracker/id6670716062/reviews)** | — |
| Number of ratings | **14** | — |
| Positive reviews | 68.3% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Daily** | Every 5 weeks |
| Monetization | Freemium | — |
| Size | 477 MB | 3 MB |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | **17.6** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Chengdu Weisen Quwan Technology Co., Ltd](https://appshunter.io/developer/1755528939) | [Suu Nguyen](https://appshunter.io/developer/1855576128) |

## What reviewers say

### MONO

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/mono-ai-expense-tracker/id6670716062)

Effortlessly track expenses using AI. Log transactions via text, screenshots, or photos, and get automatic categorization and smart reports. Manage subscriptions and multiple currencies with secure iCloud sync.

**Highlights:** AI-powered expense logging, Screenshot and photo recognition, Automatic categorization, Smart financial reports, Subscription management, Multi-currency support, iCloud sync

**Features:** Apple Watch app

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Premium – Monthly Subscription | $2.99 | per month |
| Premium – Yearly Subscription | $9.99 | per year |
| Lifetime | $12.99 | one-time |


### SmartChi

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/smartchi-ai-expense/id6796603882)

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Apple Watch app, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is MONO free?

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

### Is SmartChi free?

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

### Do MONO or SmartChi have ads?

Neither MONO nor SmartChi shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, MONO or SmartChi?

MONO ships an update daily, and SmartChi every 5 weeks. Most recently, MONO was updated on October 28, 2026 and SmartChi on October 14, 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.*