How to choose (3 questions)
Before looking at apps, answer three questions. First: do you want to hand the app your banking credentials? Bank-linked apps categorise your spending for you, but you delegate awareness — and your data. Manual apps ask for eight seconds per expense in exchange for nobody else seeing your bank.
Second: where will you use it? Some apps are mobile-only, and if you spend your day at a computer, logging and reviewing from the browser changes the habit entirely.
Third: what does the app live on? If it is free and sells no subscription, it lives on something else — usually recommending loans and insurance, or advertising. Not necessarily bad, but worth knowing before you put your finances there.
The 7 apps, one by one
1. Sumant — manual tracking, without handing over your bank
Ours, cards on the table: Sumant does not connect to your bank by design. You log each expense by hand in about three seconds, your data lives on your device, and it works on the web — desktop and mobile — with a free plan that never expires. The Pro plan (advanced statistics, Excel export) has a 7-day trial.
The catch, stated by us: if what you want is automatic transaction imports, Sumant is not your app. Manual entry is the product, not a missing feature — but it demands the habit.
2. YNAB — the most serious method, at the most serious price
YNAB (You Need A Budget) is not an expense logger: it is a zero-based budgeting method where every euro gets a job before being spent. People who truly adopt it tend to defend it fiercely. It costs $109 a year (or $14.99 a month), with a 34-day trial.
The catches: English only, bank syncing built around US banks, and a method that demands more involvement than everyone wants. Sumant vs YNAB, compared in depth →
3. Fintonic — bank-linked and free (with caveats)
Fintonic is the Spanish veteran of bank-linked apps: you grant access to your accounts and it categorises transactions on its own. If you want zero effort and do not mind sharing your banking data, it delivers.
The caveat is the model: it is free because it lives on recommending loans, insurance and financial products based on what it sees in your accounts. Sumant vs Fintonic, compared in depth →
4. Monefy — the fastest manual app on mobile
Monefy does one thing well: logging an expense on your phone in two taps, with a pie chart as the home screen. Manual and bank-free, like Sumant. The free tier is usable; Premium (a subscription; the exact price varies by platform and country) unlocks categories and syncing.
The catches: it only exists on mobile — no web, no desktop — and syncing between devices goes through Google Drive or Dropbox rather than its own account. Sumant vs Monefy, compared in depth →
5. Spendee — the freemium middle ground
Spendee sits in between: good-looking, with shared wallets and a real if limited free tier (one wallet). The Plus plan costs $14.99 a year; Premium, $35.99 a year, adds bank connections.
The usual complaint is precisely that ladder: what you want tends to sit one plan above the one you have. Sumant vs Spendee, compared in depth →
6. Wallet by BudgetBakers — European bank connections
Wallet is probably the most complete option if you want European bank connections: web and mobile, budgets, detailed reports. Bank syncing lives in the paid plan.
The catch: all that functionality costs complexity — its learning curve is among the steepest on this list. Sumant vs Wallet, compared in depth →
7. Money Lover — the freemium veteran
Money Lover has spent over a decade polishing an expense app with almost everything: budgets, reminders, multiple wallets. The free tier is enough to start; the rest is subscription.
The catches: the interface shows its years of accumulated features, and the web version plays second fiddle to mobile. Sumant vs Money Lover, compared in depth →
Which one for your case
If you want to log by hand and keep your banking data inside your bank: Sumant if you also use a computer, Monefy if you live on your phone. If you want a strict budgeting method and read English comfortably: YNAB, accepting its price. If you want bank connections without paying: Fintonic, knowing what it lives on. And if you want European bank connections and do not mind paying: Wallet or Spendee Premium.
The best system is not the most powerful one: it is the one you are still using in March. Pick whichever puts the least friction on the habit you want to build — and if that habit is logging by hand, Sumant is built for exactly that.