Comparison

UsageLens vs Monkeytail

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

Head to head
About

UsageLens

Features
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UsageLens puts your AI usage in one place: a single dashboard and a configurable Home Screen widget that shows how much of your allowance you have used. The main view is a quota ring, not a battery icon. One glance tells you where you stand. FOUR WAYS TO TRACK • OpenAI Platform — connect an organization Admin API key and follow total tokens, model requests, or spend in USD through the official organization usage and cost endpoints. • Anthropic Claude Platform — connect an organization Admin API key and follow total tokens, requests, or cost through the official Usage and Cost Admin API. • Custom REST — point UsageLens at any authorized HTTPS endpoint that returns JSON. Map used, limit, remaining, reset time and cost with simple paths such as quota.used or data[0].usage. Ideal for an internal AI gateway or a broker service. • Manual tracker — for plans with no reporting API, keep your own count. Update it in the app or with the "Log AI Usage" Shortcut, without opening the app. WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE • Dashboard with overall quota pressure across every provider you track. • Per-provider detail: used, limit, remaining, reset time, cost, request count and input/output token breakdown. • Usage history chart once two samples have been collected. • Home Screen and Lock Screen widgets in four sizes, showing one provider or your overall pressure, as a percentage, remaining or used. • Threshold warnings at 70%, 85% and 95% of any limit you set. BUILT TO KEEP YOUR KEYS SAFE • API keys are stored in the iOS Keychain and are never written to the file the widget reads. • The widget is read-only and cannot reach your credentials. • Custom endpoints are HTTPS only, with request timeouts and a 2 MB response cap. • Error messages never echo your keys or authorization headers. • Privacy mode hides exact amounts in widgets while keeping the quota ring visible. • No account, no analytics, no tracking. Your data stays on your device. WHAT USAGELENS DOES NOT DO Please read this before buying into expectations it cannot meet. The OpenAI and Anthropic connectors report usage for an API organization. They do not report ChatGPT or Claude consumer subscription message allowances, because those providers do not publish an API for them — Anthropic's Admin API is explicitly unavailable to individual accounts. If you want to follow a consumer plan, use a manual tracker, or point the Custom REST connector at an endpoint you control. UsageLens does not read other apps, does not scrape provider websites, and never asks for your browser cookies or session tokens. It reads official APIs, endpoints you configure yourself, and numbers you enter by hand. A quota limit is a budget you define. It may not match the limit your provider enforces for billing. Background refresh is best effort. iOS decides when background work and widget updates actually run; pull to refresh in the app is always immediate. REQUIREMENTS An OpenAI or Anthropic organization Admin API key is required for those connectors. Custom REST needs an endpoint you are authorized to call. Manual trackers need nothing at all.

About

Monkeytail

Features
Read full description

Monkeytail is a native request debugger for iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Vision Pro. The compact Apple Watch companion sends favourite requests copied from iPhone. No Monkeytail account or sign-in. • Import cURL, Postman collections, Insomnia JSON, and OpenAPI or Swagger JSON/YAML. • Organize nested folders with shared headers, authentication, variables, and JavaScript hooks. • Use OAuth 2.0 with PKCE and refresh tokens, API keys, Basic, Bearer, and AWS Signature V4. • Manage cookies and client certificates. Inspect request timings, redirects, and TLS details. • Edit GraphQL queries and variables, browse schema fields, and inspect WebSocket or SSE messages. • Format JSON, browse a tree, search, run visual response tests, and inspect images, audio, video, hex, or binary data. • Save and compare responses, create offline mocks, and export Swift, JavaScript, Python, or Kotlin client code. • Sync workspaces with optional iCloud Drive. Choose proxies. Browser TLS/HTTP2 profiles are available on iOS and Mac. Free, with no in-app purchases, analytics, tracking, or data collection by Kitta Co. Requests go to servers and proxies you choose. Credentials, cookies, client certificates, and upload files stay on your device by default. Requires iOS 17 or macOS 14 or later. Client certificate import on Mac requires macOS 15. Import, schema validation, and scripting support the documented subset.

Screenshots

UsageLens4 screens
Monkeytail3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is device support: Monkeytail at 5 against UsageLens's 1. On price, ads, in-app purchases and iOS requirement 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

Scorecard1 real difference Ā· 5 level
UsageLens versus Monkeytail: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterUsageLensMonkeytail
PriceFreeFree
Update frequency—Every 3 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, Vision Pro — better
Requires iOS17.017.0
Further details — not scored
Size2 MB11 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSarunas GrigaliunasKitta Ltd

In-app purchases

None

UsageLens

No in-app purchases

None

Monkeytail

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is UsageLens free?
UsageLens is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Monkeytail free?
Monkeytail is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do UsageLens or Monkeytail have ads?
Neither UsageLens nor Monkeytail shows ads.

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