Comparison

Spendly vs Jot

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

Head to head
About

Spendly

Features
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Spendly was designed for people who want one thing: to know where their money went today — without wading through bank-grade complexity. Your data syncs securely across your own devices, so your records are always up to date. It starts with a living balance card. Your monthly income, expense, and balance sit inside a gently animated display, and when you set a monthly budget, a soft arc fills to show how much room you have left. It is the first thing you see when you open the app, and it tells you exactly what you need to know. RECORD IN SECONDS Tap the + button, enter an amount, pick a category, and you are done. Add a date and an optional note if you want context. The very first time you open Spendly, it detects your device region and sets the default currency automatically — zero setup required. MONTHLY BUDGET TRACKING Set a spending goal for each month. The balance card responds with a visual arc that fills as your expenses grow, giving you an at-a-glance sense of whether you are on track. FLEXIBLE CATEGORIES Built-in categories cover the basics — food, transport, shopping, housing, salary, bonus, and more. When your life does not fit neatly into defaults, create custom categories with any name you like. STATISTICS THAT REVEAL PATTERNS Pie charts break down spending and income by category. Toggle between time ranges — today, this month, last month, this year, last 3 or 6 months, all time, or any custom date range — to spot trends and high-frequency expenses. FIND ANY RECORD Scroll through a date-grouped list of every transaction, or search by keyword, category, or date to jump straight to what you need. SYNC ACROSS DEVICES Your bookkeeping data stays in sync across your personal devices through cloud backup. Switch phones or restore a device without losing a single record. BACK UP AND RESTORE Export your entire history as a portable file. Import it on another device to pick up right where you left off. YOUR THEME, YOUR CHOICE Switch between light and dark themes, or let Spendly follow your system setting. WHY SPENDLY EXISTS Most finance apps keep adding features until they feel like work. Spendly goes the other way: it removes everything that does not help you record and understand your daily spending. The result is an app that is calm enough to open every single day — and that is the whole point, because the best tracker is the one you actually use.

About

Jot

Features
Read full description

Jot — fast, private expense tracking. Built for people who want to keep track of money without fighting a complicated finance app. Open Jot and the number pad is ready. Enter an amount, tap a category, and the entry is saved in seconds. FAST BY DESIGN • Opens directly to entry • Tap a category to save • Supports expressions such as 12+8.5 • Choose the payment or receiving account directly on the keypad EVERYTHING YOU NEED • Asset accounts for bank cards, cash, WeChat and Alipay • Income, expense and account transfers • Monthly budgets with clear remaining and overspent amounts • Statistics for categories, trends and budget progress • Transaction history with quick editing and deletion • Custom categories, icons, themes and dark mode • Home Screen and Lock Screen widgets • Siri Shortcuts for quick entry • CSV export PRIVATE BY DEFAULT • Data is stored locally on your devices • Private iCloud sync across your Apple devices • No account required • No ads, tracking or third-party SDKs • Optional Face ID app lock The simpler expense tracking feels, the easier it is to keep going.

Screenshots

Spendly4 screens
Jot4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Jot at none against Spendly's 1. Jot also leads on ads (none vs shown). Spendly's advantage is device support (3 vs 1) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 17.0). On price and update cadence there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price Ā· Rating Ā· Positive reviews Ā· Number of ratings Ā· Update frequency Ā· Ads Ā· In-app purchases Ā· Monetization Ā· Best chart rank Ā· Devices Ā· Requires iOS

CostPrice Ā· In-app purchases Ā· Ads Ā· Monetization

Both are free to download. Spendly sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Jot asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 25, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences Ā· 2 level
Spendly versus Jot: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSpendlyJot
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 3 weeks
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS13.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size33 MB3 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developer庆鸿 ęž—ē›øč¶… 邱

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Spendly

One-time1
  • Lifetime Premium$9.99
None

Jot

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Spendly free?
Spendly is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Jot free?
Jot is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Spendly or Jot have ads?
Spendly shows ads; Jot does not.
Which is updated more often, Spendly or Jot?
Spendly ships an update every 3 weeks, and Jot every 3 weeks. Most recently, Spendly was updated on October 25, 2026 and Jot on October 31, 2026.

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