Expense tracker apps help you collect and classify your purchases so that you recognize spending patterns. These tools can also help you spot expenses to trim and opportunities to save.
You might track expenses for a while just to check where your money’s going, or it might be a stepping stone toward making and following a budget.
How do expense trackers work?
The goal is some form of categorization of money spent. Apps can do that. However, the experience varies widely.
These are the most popular apps on the iOS and Android platforms, but you’ll likely need to test-drive a few before you find one you’re comfortable with. While our list focuses on free apps, for the most part, you’ll probably have to upgrade at a small cost to get all the features you want.
The list of features you may want might include:
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Easy transaction download.
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Automatic logging of recurring transactions.
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A forecast of your ending balances at some point in time (cash flow).
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Auto-categorization of transactions, especially taxable items.
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And one real luxury on the wish list: the ability to scan receipts.
It’s likely you won’t find every feature you want or need in one of these apps, especially if it’s free. But starting the process of tracking your expenses is more than half the battle. When you’ve been at it a while, you’ll know more about what you want in a financial app.
How we selected the apps on our list Here are top apps based on user ratings in the App Store and on Google Play. Those platforms vary widely on search volume for “expense trackers.” Because of that, an iOS app needed 35,000 or more reviews and a rating of 4 or better to make our list. On Google Play, an Android app needed 100,000 or more reviews with a rating of 4.5 or greater. We omitted apps that focused mostly on tracking business expenses.
Best iOS personal expense tracker apps
This app helps you deploy a zero-based budget plan by helping you account for each dollar spent. Users are enthusiastic about the spending and saving approach of EveryDollar, but some reviews express complaints about the app’s user interface and expense-tracking capability.
Cost: The basic version of the app is free. The premium version is $17.99 a month, or $79.99 a year. New users are offered a 14-day free trial.
YNAB is pricey, but reviews gush that it’s “life-changing” and “excellent.” You can share one subscription with your partner, family or friends. And you can use the app to set and track your goals, and calculate some of your debt with the loan planner tool.
Cost: After a free 34-day trial, you can purchase the annual plan for $109 a year or pay $14.99 a month.
Combining personal and business expense tracking capabilities lures many users to this app — as does the convenience of scanning receipts. It’s important to note that categories are limited in the free version of the app. There are also two paid versions of the app, aimed at small and large businesses.
Cost: Free to custom pricing, depending on the plan.
This app has an interesting wrinkle: It not only helps you track your expenses, but promises to find and cancel unused subscriptions that are tied to your financial accounts. Rocket Money also says it can lower some charges on recurring bills. There is a free version of the app and a paid premium version. Some features, including bill negotiation services, require an additional fee.
Cost: Free. The premium version has a sliding scale from $6 to $12 a month.
Geared toward couples, this app also has a desktop version to help facilitate a shared view of finances. By syncing all accounts into a single dashboard users can track, budget, plan and collaborate. Monarch also has a professional version for financial advisors, tax professionals and attorneys to track real-time client data.
Cost: If paid monthly, the fee is $14.99 per month. Paying annually drops the monthly price to $8.33. New users get 30% off their first. Monarch for Professionals is free to sign up and $14.99 per month for each client.
Best Android personal expense tracker apps
Money Manager tops our list of Android expense tracker apps for its high rating, clean display and personalization options. App developers seem quick to respond to user questions and suggestions. Many reviews are very favorable, and note that the number of ads shown (the tradeoff for a free app) is not overly irritating.
Cost: Free
AndroMoney has been described as a versatile app that can help track daily expenses, manage budgets, and manage multiple accounts. Some special features AndroMoney offers include alerts when you’ve exceeded your budget and real-time expense reports.
Overall, AndroMoney earns a high user rating, though developer responses to suggestions and complaints are few and far between. There is also an ad-free version of the app.
Cost: Free. The premium version costs $3.99.
Best expense tracker app according to Redditors
We sifted through Reddit forums to get a pulse check on how users feel about expense tracker apps. We used an AI tool to help analyze the feedback. People post anonymously, so we cannot confirm their individual experiences or circumstances.
While other apps were mentioned, YNAB was the clear favorite among Redditors, specifically for credit card expense tracking. It was consistently mentioned as the “gold standard.” One user simply stated: “YNAB. The way it handles credit cards is brilliant.”
Some users mentioned YNAB’s pricing as a potential drawback. Some users also noted there can be a learning curve to using it effectively.
The second most positively mentioned app appears to be Monarch Money, with multiple users saying they “really like it” and that it’s “super easy to use.”
If you’re ready to start a budget
Once you get a handle on where your money is going, you may want to take even more control of your efforts to build your net worth. That is likely to lead to exploring the budgeting process. NerdWallet has compiled the best budget apps for your consideration.NerdWallet also offers a free app that lets you track your wealth and see your credit score. We chose not to include ourselves in the list above in order to present an unbiased view.
We also provide non-app options:
