Most people know the importance of keeping business receipts in case they’re audited. The problem with paper receipts is that they're easy to lose. By immediately uploading these into an expense tracker app, you save space and time instead of having to dig through a shoebox full of receipts at tax time. We reviewed 30 different options to determine the best expense tracker apps, based on price, features, reviews, and accessibility. The apps we picked have the ability to sync and categorize account transactions, are reasonably priced, and offer reporting tools to track your personal and business financial health. Best Expense Tracker Apps Best Expense Tracker Apps Final Verdict Compare Providers Pros and Cons Alternatives FAQ Methodology Why We Chose It We chose QuickBooks Accounting as the best expense tracking app for small businesses because users can send and track invoices and automatically track mileage. It also has a built-in photo tool to snap pictures of receipts—all on-the-go. Pros and Cons Pros Automatically track mileage and snap pictures of receipts Send and track invoices in multiple currencies Link bank and credit card accounts Cons One of the more expensive expense tracker apps E-signature is available only on the app No chat support Overview Owned by Intuit, QuickBooks is a leader in business accounting and bookkeeping. Its app helps small businesses track expenses, send invoices, and manage most financial aspects of a business. QuickBooks Accounting offers a free 30-day trial with no credit card or commitment required. And, if you have QuickBooks online, the Accounting app is free. Otherwise, choose from a variety of plans starting at $7.50 per month. Some popular features for small business owners include: Why We Chose It The best expense tracker app for investors is Empower because you can view all of your investment and bank accounts in one app. It gives investment tools, advice, expense categorization, and helps you stay on top of upcoming bills. Pros and Cons Pros Reporting tools make it easy to see the asset allocation and performance of your investments Offers strategies to lower your tax burden Recession simulator shows how your investments would’ve performed in historical recessions Cons No account reconciliation Some financial institutions won’t sync with the app Must have over $100,000 in investable assets for advisory services Overview Empower is a personal finance and wealth management company founded in 2009. This app is free and gives you a clear snapshot of your financial health. If you have over $100,000 in investable assets, you’re eligible for advisory services with Empower. After linking your accounts, receive a free initial consultation with one of their financial advisors. Compared to similar companies, its annual fee for investment management is high. You will pay an annual fee of 0.89% if your assets are over under $1 million. If it’s over $1 million, your annual fee is 0.79% to 0.49% depending on the total assets. This app is still beneficial if you don’t have $100,000 in investable assets, though. Take advantage of its investment management tools to link accounts, plan for retirement, set a budget, and see your cash flow. Each of these services is free with the app or its web interface. Why We Chose It When looking for an app for receipt saving, go with Expensify because its app automatically scans, reads, and imports receipt details for you. It also works great for travel—get trip reminders, flight delay notifications, and change notifications sent right to your phone. Pros and Cons Pros Automatically reads and imports receipt details for you—even if it’s foreign currency Categorize, tag, and group expenses into a report Automatic mileage tracking using GPS Cons Uploading PDF receipts can be difficult to do Automatic receipt reading sometimes takes longer than it would to manually type in the info Overview Expensify is an app launched in 2008 meant specifically to manage receipts and expenses. It allows 25 scans per month for free, and beyond that, you’ll need a paid account. Pricing starts at $4.99 per month, or $9 per user per month if your company needs expense reporting, card management, approvals, and reimbursem*nts. This app is targeted toward business users because it has tools to submit receipts directly to a manager or accountant. From there, they can approve or reject expenses right from the app. Expensify even offers a corporate Visa card and a corporate travel assistant. Integrate accounting apps like QuickBooks, Xero, NetSuite, and Sage Intacct. Next-day reimbursem*nt is a favorite feature of Expensify because employees get their money back quickly. One of the best features for international travelers is how Expensify works with global currencies and taxes. An app that’s globally compatible makes month-end closing seamless. Why We Chose It With Everlance, create an IRS-compliant mileage log and sync your bank accounts and credit cards for expense and receipt tracking. This app is particularly popular with those who are self-employed. Pros and Cons Pros GPS used to create an IRS-compliant mileage log Syncs to bank or credit card for expenses and receipts Export mileage and expense reports in PDF, CSV, or Excel formats Cons The app creates a new trip if you’ve stopped for 10 minutes Premium features cost far more than other expense tracker apps Notifications are cumbersome if manually tracking trips Overview Founded in 2015, Everlance is an app designed to track mileage, expenses, and receipts. When you download the app, you automatically start a seven-day Premium trial. At the end of the trial, you’ll revert to a free account unless you choose to upgrade. To track expenses, sync your credit cards and bank accounts. With one swipe, you can categorize business and personal expenses. For recurring expenses and transactions, users can set custom expense rules. With Everlance, tracking revenue is easy, too—even if you have income from multiple sources. Everlance uses GPS technology to automatically chart your trips. However, you can also turn that feature off and manually track trips. While the app does advertise you can set it and forget it, user reviews suggest it’s best to double-check your trip is recorded, as GPS errors have caused the app to miss some trips. There are three packages available with Everlance: Why We Chose It If you want to get a handle on your personal finances for free, download the NerdWallet app. With it, you can see all of your accounts and their transactions in one place, keep tabs on your credit and net worth, and get helpful reports on your cash flow. Pros and Cons Pros Track income and expenses Monitor your credit and net worth It’s completely free Cons Limited transaction management Credit score is only provided by one bureau—TransUnion Must link your account to reconcile transactions, rather than it pulling from your credit report Overview NerdWallet is a personal finance company founded in 2009. Its app gives a complete look at your personal finances and tools to help manage your money. It’s completely free and doesn’t offer in-app purchases. Link your accounts and categorize your transactions to get a picture of how you spend your money every month. From there, set goals to help pay down debt, invest for your future, and save money. When you link a debit or credit card, you can receive offers from retailers to get cashback. NerdWallet also offers calculators and editorial content to help you make smart financial decisions. The app offers tips based on your own personal situation. For example, if you're using a high amount of credit on a credit card, the app tells you to make multiple payments per month on that specific card to keep your balance low. The best expense tracker app will depend on your needs. If you're looking for small business expense tracking, go with QuickBooks. If you're an investor, Empower may work well for you with its ability to house your investment and bank account info in one place. If you need receipt scanning capability, Expensify will work well for you. The Federal Reserve has aggressively increased the federal funds rate since February 2022. These rate increases have caused business and consumer loan rates to increase significantly, making it harder to find affordable financing. For those focused on managing their money in the wake of rising rates, expense tracker apps can help simplify the process of tracking spending and saving for specific goals. Pros Can simplify financial management Free options are available May help you budget and improve credit May help you meet money goals Cons Certain apps cost money Features vary Not all financial institutions connect Requires some upfront and ongoing work Expense tracking apps and other financial management tools require upfront work and ongoing upkeep. They won’t automatically help you achieve your financial goals; instead, you need to commit to using them over time to meet your money goals and improve your situation. An expense tracker app allows you to monitor and categorize your expenses across different bank and investment accounts and credit cards. Some of these apps also offer budgeting tools, credit monitoring, mileage tracking, receipt keeping, and advice to grow your net worth. Expense tracker apps vary in cost, although many are free. Paid apps are typically less than $10 per month, although if you want business features like invoice creation and management, you’re more likely to pay well above that. Before paying for an expense tracker app, check to see if there’s a free trial. A lot of apps offer 30 days to test drive all of their features. Many expense tracker apps are free or low cost, so explore your options and decide if you need a paid app. These apps can help you gain control of your finances, pay down debt, and grow your net worth. Some even allow you to upload receipts, track mileage, and send invoices, which are all helpful if you run a business. The best app for tracking personal expenses is one that lets you track and categorize your spending while also seeing your overall financial picture. It should be affordable, with the features you need to stay in control of your budget. With its range of financial tools and intuitive interface, NerdWallet is our choice for the best free expense tracking app. You can use NerdWallet to manage expenses, track your credit and net worth, and run helpful reports about your cash flow. Another top-rated free expense tracker apps include Empower (for investors). The best expense tracker app for iPhone depends on your individual needs. What’s right for someone else won’t necessarily work for you. For instance, if you’re more focused on tracking your investments, Empower may be a better choice. You can track daily personal expenses on your mobile device using an expense tracking app for iPhone or Android, or you could opt for paper tracking while reviewing and reconciling your online credit card or bank statements regularly. Your personal preferences will dictate which option is best for you. Some expense tracker apps are tailored for personal use, while others are designed for small business use. If you need to track business expenses, opt for an app like QuickBooks Accounting or Expensify. An expense tracking app could help simplify the process of tracking your monthly payments. If you’re interested in doing so for your small business, an app like Quickbooks Accounting may be a good choice. We looked at 30 of the best expense tracker apps available and narrowed it down to the best options based on several features and considerations. We considered pricing, features, reviews, and accessibility. In each case, we evaluated how robust the features were for day-to-day and power users and whether the app was easy to use. Article Sources Investopedia requires writers to use primary sources to support their work. These include white papers, government data, original reporting, and interviews with industry experts. We also reference original research from other reputable publishers where appropriate. You can learn more about the standards we follow in producing accurate, unbiased content in oureditorial policy. Quickbooks. "Try Advanced Free for 30 days." Quickbooks. "Enjoy Exclusive Savings." QuickBooks. "Integrations." QuickBooks. "Manage Cash Flow." Personal Capital. "Betterment vs Personal Capital." Personal Capital. "Wealth Management." Expensify. "How We Got Here." Expensify. "Pricing." PR News Wire. "Everlance Reaches 500,000 User Milestone and Launches New Partnerships With Xero and FreshBooks." Everlance. "Pricing." Crunchbase. "Nerdwallet." The St. Louis Fed. "Federal Funds Rate."The Best Expense Tracker Apps of 2024
Best for Small Businesses : QuickBooks Accounting
Best for Investors : Empower (Formerly Personal Capital)
Best for Receipt Saving : Expensify
Best for Reimbursem*nt and Mileage : Everlance
Free Premium: $8 per month billed monthly or $5 per month billed annually Premium Plus: $12 per month billed monthly or $10 per month billed annually 30 automatic trips per month Unlimited automatic detection Unlimited automatic trip detection Unlimited manual start and stop trip tracking Automatic expense tracking with bank and credit card sync Automatic expense tracking with bank and credit card sync IRS-compliant reports Deduction finder Deduction finder Expense tracking with unlimited receipt uploads Trip auto-classification with work hours and commute Trip auto-classification with work hours and commute Advanced PDF and Excel reports Custom Excel & PDF data exports Customised 1x1 training and VIP customer support Best Free Option : NerdWallet
Final Verdict
Compare Providers
Expense Tracker Apps Why We Picked It Key Benefit QuickBooks Accounting Best for Small Businesses Send and track invoices Empower Best for Investors Investment tools, advice, and management Expensify Best for Receipt Saving Automatically reads and imports receipt details for you Everlance Best for Reimbursem*nt and Mileage Automatically create an IRS-compliant mileage log and sync accounts to track expenses NerdWallet Best Free Option It’s completely free and helps you monitor your credit and expenses In the News
Pros and Cons of Expense Tracker Apps
Pros Explained
Cons Explained
Alternatives to Expense Tracker Apps
Frequently Asked Questions
What Does an Expense Tracker App Do?
How Much Does an Expense Tracker App Cost?
Is an Expense Tracker App Worth the Cost?
What Is the Best App to Track Personal Expenses?
What Is the Best Free Expense Tracker App?
What’s the Best Expense Tracker App for iPhone?
How Do I Track Daily Personal Expenses?
How Do I Keep Track of My Monthly Payments?
Methodology
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