The best expense tracker is the one you still open after the first month. The real split is between logging spending yourself and having it arrive from your bank. Here are seven apps with ratings and prices read on the US App Store, each with its own audience.
Data checked on October 20, 2026
Log a spend in three seconds and always see what's left: Tuppence — free, no account, no bank connection.
1. Tuppence
Simone Ruggiero
For knowing what's left, without a bank or an account
A spend takes three seconds to log; budgets show what's left as a big number, recurring expenses come back on their own, goals tell you how much to set aside each month. No ads, data in your iCloud.
Price:
Free; Tuppence+ $2.99 a week (3-day free trial) or $17.99 a year (7-day free trial)
Good to know:
Doesn't connect to banks; iPhone, iPad and Mac only (no Android or web); no sharing with other people; one currency. Category budgets, recurring expenses, sync, widgets and export need Tuppence+.
A simple log of expenses and income with weekly, monthly or yearly periods, an optional budget that carries over, editable categories and charts. Repeating transactions and export need the Pro Upgrade.
Income and expenses with double-entry bookkeeping, accounts and cards, weekly, monthly and yearly budgets, calendar view, multiple currencies, editing from a PC over Wi-Fi and backup to iCloud.
Price:
Free with ads; Data Sync $2.49 a month or $19.99 a year; the ad-free edition is a separate app
Good to know:
The free edition shows ads and allows 10 accounts.
Reflective Technologies ApS · 4.7 out of 5 (6,768 ratings)
For the fastest entry and several currencies
Very quick entry (just the amount), multiple currencies, a spending chart, custom categories, recurring records, passcode, and sync through your own Google Drive or Dropbox, also with a partner.
Budgets and spending with connections to online banking, PayPal and crypto wallets, wallets, shared finances with a partner or flatmates, multiple currencies, an AI receipt scanner and a web version.
Price:
Free; Plus and Premium as in-app purchases, from $3.99
BudgetBakers s.r.o. · 4.6 out of 5 (5,921 ratings)
For a complete picture, investments included
Personal finance with automatic updates from 4,000 banks, unlimited accounts, one-time or recurring budgets, reports, multiple currencies, stock tracking and a web interface.
Price:
Free; Premium in-app purchases from $5.99 to $49.99 (3 years), Lifetime Premium $29.99
Good to know:
You sign in with Facebook or email; bank updates and flexible budgets are Premium.
A “safe to spend” amount after bills, goals and essentials, category budgets with rollover, zero-based, envelope or 50/30/20 budgeting, bill and subscription detection, and a debt payoff plan. Manual transactions and cash accounts are possible too.
Price:
Free download; PocketGuard Plus in-app purchases from $2.99 to $74.99 (the description quotes $12.99 a month or $74.99 a year, 7-day trial)
First question: do you want to link your bank? If yes, look at Spendee, Wallet or PocketGuard, knowing that it's usually the paid part. If not, look at apps built for manual entry, like Tuppence, Spending Tracker, Money Manager or Monefy: you start right away without giving access to your account. Second: what do you want to know at the end of the month? If the answer is “how much is left”, pick an app that puts the budget before the charts.
Frequently asked questions
What's the best free expense tracker?
It depends on what you need for free. Spending Tracker and Money Manager are free with ads. In Tuppence, logging spending, the searchable ledger and one overall budget are free with no ads. Monefy and Spendee are free to start.
Is a bank-linked tracker better than a manual one?
Linking saves time but asks for access to your account and is often paid. Manual entry takes a few seconds per spend, but it makes you look at every expense, which is often what changes the habit.
Are these apps safe for my data?
Each app explains it in its privacy policy and in the App Privacy section of its listing. In general, an app that doesn't connect to your bank and doesn't need an account, like Tuppence, holds less of your data.
Spending Tracker, MH Riley, Money Manager, Realbyte, Monefy, Spendee, Cleevio, Wallet, BudgetBakers and PocketGuard are trademarks of their respective owners. Tuppence is an independent project with no affiliation, sponsorship or endorsement from them. This page compares apps; it is not financial advice.