# SpendMate vs Friendly Expense

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: SpendMate at none against Friendly Expense's 3. Friendly Expense's advantage is iOS requirement (15.5 vs 17.0). On price, update cadence, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

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

SpendMate ships an update every 2 weeks, Friendly Expense fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on September 17, 2026 and July 23, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | SpendMate | Friendly Expense |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| In-app purchases | **No** | Yes |
| Ads | Yes | Yes |
| Update frequency | **Every 2 weeks** | Fortnightly |
| Size | 23 MB | 121 MB |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | **15.5** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Shiv Vaishnav](https://appshunter.io/developer/1797832308) | [MOHAN SHIWAKOTI](https://appshunter.io/developer/1878963564) |

## What reviewers say

### SpendMate

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/spendmate-expense-tracker/id6743342453)

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none


### Friendly Expense

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/friendly-expense-track-and-split/id6759486439)

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

**In-app purchases (3)**

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


## Frequently asked questions

### Is SpendMate free?

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

### Is Friendly Expense free?

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

### Do SpendMate or Friendly Expense have ads?

Both SpendMate and Friendly Expense show ads.

### Which is updated more often, SpendMate or Friendly Expense?

SpendMate ships an update every 2 weeks, and Friendly Expense fortnightly. Most recently, SpendMate was updated on September 17, 2026 and Friendly Expense on July 23, 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.*