Basil vs Expensa
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Basil
Automate your budgeting with secure, on-device AI that captures transactions from various payment methods instantly. Organize your finances, gain insights into spending habits, and track recurring bills without manual entry.
- Automatic transaction logging
- AI-powered voice dictation
- Instant spending insights
- Recurring bill tracking
- 100% local data storage
- Beautiful, customizable interface
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Basil features a stunning aesthetic and is powered by secure, on-device AI, automating the tedious parts of budgeting so you can focus on where your money goes, not how you record it. Now with Siri AI, an on-device chat assistant, and a refreshed experience for iOS 27. Whether you're paying with Apple Pay, sending money via Venmo, PayPal, PayNow, PayLah!, GrabPay, ShopeePay and more, or just asking Siri, Basil captures it all instantly without you lifting a finger. Why You'll Love Basil: 1. True Automation: Forget manual entry. Basil logs payments seamlessly, however they arrive: Tap-to-Pay Automation: Transactions appear instantly when you use Apple Pay. Universal Payment Capture: Automatically capture transactions from PayPal, Venmo, GrabPay, PayNow, and more. Siri & Shortcuts: Log an expense or check your budget just by talking to Siri. Notification Capture: Basil can log a transaction straight from a payment notification, no need to open the app. Apple Watch: Log a transaction by voice from your wrist, even without your iPhone on you. Scan a Receipt: Snap a photo and let Basil turn it into a transaction. 2. AI-Powered Intelligence: Harness on-device, secure AI to organise your financial life: Smart Voice Dictation: Say "Spent $15 on lunch and $20 on Netflix" and let AI categorise and log it. Ask Basil: Chat with your own on-device financial assistant about your budget, spending habits, or where to cut back. Instant Insights: Real-time summaries of spending and budget health, with deeper dive-ins by category and merchant. Smart Budget Coaching: See your average daily spend while setting a budget, with recommendations if you keep going over. Recurring Bills: Never miss a due date with subscription and free-trial reminders synced to your iOS Calendar. 3. Privacy by Design (Local First): Your financial data belongs to you, and only you. 100% Local Storage: Your data stays on your device, not our servers. No Account Required: Start tracking immediately, no sign-up. On-device Intelligence: Basil's AI, including Ask Basil, thinks inside your phone wherever possible (Apple Intelligence must be enabled in Settings). 4. Smarter Organisation Modes: Create a Mode like "Travel" to track a trip separately while it still counts toward your overall picture. Switch back to Default at any time and filter Insights by any Mode. Split & Lending: Cover a bill for friends and let Basil track what they owe you, with a reminder to settle up. Merchant View: See historical spending broken down by merchant. Custom Recaps: Exclude specific categories or recurring transactions from your weekly recap. 5. Premium Experience Refreshed Design: A more native-feeling interface, with an Insights page built for deeper exploration. Dark Mode Ready: Looks stunning in both light and dark modes. Multi-Currency: Diverse account support for a global audience. More Widgets: Faster access to your money from your Home Screen. Built for Every iPhone: Layouts adapt across the full range of iPhone display sizes. Accessibility: Built with VoiceOver and accessibility support in mind. Key Features: Automatic Logging via Shortcuts, Siri, Notifications, Apple Watch, and Receipt Scan On-Device AI Chat, Summaries, and Voice Dictation Flexible Budgeting with Smart Coaching (Monthly & Custom Cycles) Deep Insights & Visual Analytics, including Merchant and Mode filtering Custom Categories with Smart Mapping Split Transactions & Bill Reminders synced to Calendar Data Export & Import (from other expense tracker apps) Stop wondering where your money went. Download Basil today and start building your wealth, privately. Thank you for helping us shape Basil into the best expense and budget tracker! Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Expensa
This app offers a private way to track expenses and manage budgets without linking bank accounts. It uses AI to automatically categorize transactions and build budgets, with support for over 150 currencies and iCloud syncing for privacy.
- Automatic transaction tracking via Wallet Shortcuts
- AI-powered budget creation and categorization
- Multi-currency support for travelers
- Private iCloud sync, no bank linking
- Shared budgets for family and partners
- Customizable budget cycles and alerts
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Track money without handing over your bank password. Expensa is a private budget and expense tracker built for iPhone. Set up one Shortcut and every card tap lands in your budget automatically. AI builds your first budget in seconds. Works in 150+ currencies. Syncs via iCloud — and only iCloud. No bank linking. No data brokers. Your money stays on your devices. ------------------------------------------------- WALLET + SHORTCUTS — AUTOMATIC TRACKING ------------------------------------------------- Set up one Shortcut; every card tap in Wallet logs a transaction Works with Apple Card and any card you've added to Wallet Auto-categorized from your history, with AI Alerts if a purchase pushes you over a category limit No polling a bank, no waiting for statements ------------------------------------------------- BUDGETS THAT ACTUALLY WORK ------------------------------------------------- Always know what's left — live progress bar on your dashboard A limit for every category (groceries, dining, transport…) Alerts before you overspend, not after Monthly, weekly, or custom cycles — auto-rollover each cycle Smart Allocation: tell Expensa your budget, AI splits it across categories based on your region and spending habits ------------------------------------------------- SEPARATE WALLETS FOR SEPARATE LIVES ------------------------------------------------- Keep personal, household, business, and trip budgets fully isolated. Switch spaces with one tap. Invite family or your partner to shared spaces — real-time sync via iCloud, no extra accounts to create. ------------------------------------------------- BUILT FOR TRAVELERS & EXPATS ------------------------------------------------- 150+ currencies with live exchange rates Original amount + converted amount both stored Per-transaction historical rates — accurate reporting forever ------------------------------------------------- PRIVATE BY DEFAULT ------------------------------------------------- No bank login, no Plaid, no third-party aggregators iCloud sync on your Apple ID — that's it Offline-first: log now, sync later Works on iPhone ------------------------------------------------- EVERYTHING ELSE ------------------------------------------------- Recurring transactions (rent, subscriptions, salary) Tags, categories, folders, custom merchant rules CSV, PDF, TXT import/export — move in from any app, out anytime Net worth across accounts and currencies Dashboard, calendar heatmap, category/tag analytics Optional receipt scanning for the rare paper moment Dark mode, Dynamic Type, VoiceOver, localized (EN, UK) ------------------------------------------------- FREE, OR GO PREMIUM ------------------------------------------------- Free: 1 space, 2 accounts, 3 recurrences, 5 receipt scans Premium: unlimited spaces & accounts, 30 scans/mo, AI categorization, category budgets, analytics, shared spaces, multi-currency entry. Your money. Your rules. Your devices. Terms of Use: https://getexpensa.com/terms.html Privacy Policy: https://getexpensa.com/privacy.html
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Basil at 4.6 against Expensa's 3.9. Basil also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 7) and review sentiment (100% vs 86%). Expensa's advantage is update cadence (every 11 days vs every 3 weeks) and iOS requirement (17.0 vs 26.0). On price, ratings volume, ads and device support 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
Both are free to download. Expensa sells 7 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Basil asks for nothing beyond the download.
Basil holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 3.9. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 9 and 10 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 100% of Basil's written reviews are positive against 86% of Expensa's.
Basil ships an update every 3 weeks, Expensa every 11 days. The most recent releases landed on October 28, 2026 and October 26, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Basil | Expensa |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.6 (9 ratings) — better | 3.9 (10 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better | 85.7% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 9 | 10 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | Every 11 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Freemium |
| Devices | iPhone, Apple Watch — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 26.0 | 17.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 51 MB | 91 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Swapnil Bapat | Andrii Sereda |
Customer experience
Basil
Expensa
In-app purchases
Basil
No in-app purchases
Expensa
- Expensa PRO Monthly14 Days trial$4.991 Month
- Expensa PRO Yearly14 Days trial$39.991 Year
- 1 Espresso$0.99
- 2 Espressos$1.99
- 4 Espressos$4.99
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- 10 Espressos$9.99
- Expensa Pro Lifetime$79.99







