Best Free Expense Trackers 2026: 8 Options Compared
Best free Expense Trackers compared: Zoho Expense, Expensify, Firefly III, Money Manager Ex and 4 more, with free-plan limits, platforms and prices from official pages checked October 23, 2026.
•4 min read•Accounting & Payments
Quick comparison
| Tool | Price | Platforms | Best for | Tested |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zoho Expense | Free (Free plan: up to 3 users, 20 receipt scans per user per month, 5 GB receipt storage, email support); paid from $3 per user/month, billed annually (Standard) | Web | Tiny businesses collecting staff receipts | Docs only |
| Expensify | Free (Free Submit workspace for individual employees: no approvals, payments, company cards or accounting integrations); paid from $5 per member/month (Collect, pay-per-use) | Web | Employees who need to send receipts to an employer | Docs only |
| Firefly III | Free (Open-source personal finance manager you host yourself; no paid tier in the repository) | Web (self-hosted) | Self-hosters who want full control of their data | Docs only |
| Money Manager Ex | Free (Free and libre; the repository page lists no price, donations optional) | Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS | People who want a private desktop tracker | Docs only |
| Goodbudget | Free (Free plan: 10 regular and 10 'more' envelopes, 1 account, 2 devices, 1 year of history); paid from $10 per month (Premium; $80 billed annually) | Web, iPhone, Android | Couples who budget with envelopes | Docs only |
| Rocket Money | Free (Free plan: subscription tracking, bill negotiation (35% to 60% of first-year savings, only if it succeeds), transaction history, a total budget plus up to two custom categories; mobile app only); paid from $7 per month (Premium, pay-what-you-think-is-fair, typically $7 to $14; Premium+ is $15) | Mobile app | People who mainly want to find recurring charges | Docs only |
| Actual Budget | Free (Open-source app you host yourself; the repository lists no paid tier) | Web (self-hosted) | Budgeters who like zero-based envelopes | Docs only |
| Sure | Free (Free to self-host with Docker; the repository lists no price) | Web, Self-hosted, macOS, iOS, Android | Self-hosters who want a modern app | Docs only |
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Good fit if
- You are an employee who needs to send receipts for reimbursement (Expensify is the pick)
- You run a business of three and must collect staff receipts (Zoho Expense is the pick)
- You want data on your own server (Firefly III is the pick)
- You want a private tracker with no server to run (Money Manager Ex is the pick)
- You want to see which subscriptions you forgot about (Rocket Money is the pick)
Not ideal if
- You need paid-tier features, uptime guarantees or support that these free plans leave out
The word expense tracker covers two different needs, and the best free tool for one is poor at the other. If you want to know where your own money goes, a personal tracker or budgeting app such as Firefly III, Money Manager Ex, Goodbudget or Rocket Money records spending by category and shows trends. If you submit receipts to an employer or a small business, a tool built for reimbursement, such as Expensify or Zoho Expense, captures the receipt and routes it for approval. The free limits differ accordingly. Zoho Expense's free plan allows 3 users and 20 receipt scans per user per month, and Expensify's free Submit workspace has no approvals, payments or company cards. Open-source tools such as Firefly III and Sure cost nothing but need a server you run, while Money Manager Ex is installed on your own devices. Bank sync is the usual price of convenience: it is the feature most often held back for paid plans or provided by a third party you pay separately. Decide whether you will type in purchases or want them imported, then try a month of real spending and see whether you still open the app in week three.
Zoho Expense
Free plan covers up to 3 users with 20 receipt scans per user per month and 5 GB of receipt storage. It is built for business reimbursement, and Standard starts at $3 per user per month billed annually.
Price: Free (Free plan: up to 3 users, 20 receipt scans per user per month, 5 GB receipt storage, email support); paid from $3 per user/month, billed annually (Standard) (Zoho Expense pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Platforms and license: Web. Proprietary SaaS.
Best for: Tiny businesses collecting staff receipts.
Worth knowing: Standard is $4 per user per month billed monthly; Premium is $6 monthly or $5 annually. Pay-as-you-go with no contract.
Expensify
The free Submit workspace lets an individual submit expenses, but has no approvals, payments, company cards or accounting integrations. Collect is $5 per member per month for new workspaces.
Price: Free (Free Submit workspace for individual employees: no approvals, payments, company cards or accounting integrations); paid from $5 per member/month (Collect, pay-per-use) (Expensify pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Platforms and license: Web. Proprietary SaaS.
Best for: Employees who need to send receipts to an employer.
Worth knowing: Control is listed at $18 per included member per month on an annual subscription, or $36 per active member pay-per-use. Collect at $5 applies to workspaces created from April 1, 2025; older ones are listed at $10 per active member.
Compare: Expensify alternatives
Firefly III
AGPL-3.0 personal finance manager you host yourself, with no paid tier in the repository. You run the server and back up the database.
Price: Free (Open-source personal finance manager you host yourself; no paid tier in the repository) (Firefly III pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Platforms and license: Web (self-hosted). AGPL-3.0 (open source).
Project activity: 25k GitHub stars · latest release v6.7.9 (Oct 11, 2026) · last commit Oct 26, 2026
Best for: Self-hosters who want full control of their data.
Worth knowing: Self-hosted, so you run the server and back up the database yourself. The repository describes it as a personal finances manager.
Money Manager Ex
GPL-2.0 desktop and mobile app for accounts, budgets, bill reminders and cash-flow forecasts, with CSV and QIF import. Data lives in a local SQLite file, optionally AES-encrypted.
Price: Free (Free and libre; the repository page lists no price, donations optional) (Money Manager Ex pricing, checked 2026-10-23).
Platforms and license: Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS. GPL-2.0 (open source).
Project activity: 2.3k GitHub stars · latest release v1.9.4 (Aug 31, 2026) · last commit Oct 26, 2026
Best for: People who want a private desktop tracker.
Goodbudget
Envelope budgeting with a free plan of 10 regular and 10 more envelopes, 1 account, 2 devices and 1 year of history. Bank sync is US-only and paid.
Price: Free (Free plan: 10 regular and 10 'more' envelopes, 1 account, 2 devices, 1 year of history); paid from $10 per month (Premium; $80 billed annually) (Goodbudget pricing, checked 2026-10-23).
Platforms and license: Web, iPhone, Android. Proprietary SaaS.
Best for: Couples who budget with envelopes.
Worth knowing: Automatic bank sync is US banks only and sits on the paid plan.
Rocket Money
The free plan tracks subscriptions and transactions, with a total budget plus two custom categories, but only in the mobile app. Premium is pay-what-you-think-is-fair, typically $7 to $14 a month.
Price: Free (Free plan: subscription tracking, bill negotiation (35% to 60% of first-year savings, only if it succeeds), transaction history, a total budget plus up to two custom categories; mobile app only); paid from $7 per month (Premium, pay-what-you-think-is-fair, typically $7 to $14; Premium+ is $15) (Rocket Money pricing, checked 2026-10-23).
Platforms and license: Mobile app. Proprietary SaaS.
Best for: People who mainly want to find recurring charges.
Compare: Rocket Money alternatives
Actual Budget
MIT-licensed, local-first budgeting you host yourself, free with no paid tier. Bank syncing relies on a third-party service that is billed separately.
Price: Free (Open-source app you host yourself; the repository lists no paid tier) (Actual Budget pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Platforms and license: Web (self-hosted). MIT (open source).
Project activity: 29.8k GitHub stars · latest release v26.10.0 (Oct 2, 2026) · last commit Oct 27, 2026
Best for: Budgeters who like zero-based envelopes.
Sure
AGPL-3.0 community fork of Maybe Finance, self-hosted with Docker and one-click deploys. A hosted price was not listed, so assume you pay only for your own hosting.
Price: Free (Free to self-host with Docker; the repository lists no price) (Sure pricing, checked 2026-10-23).
Platforms and license: Web, Self-hosted, macOS, iOS, Android. AGPL-3.0 (open source).
Project activity: 10.7k GitHub stars · latest release v0.7.5-hotfix.3 (Oct 24, 2026) · last commit Oct 27, 2026
Best for: Self-hosters who want a modern app.
Which one to pick
- You are an employee who needs to send receipts for reimbursement: Expensify
- You run a business of three and must collect staff receipts: Zoho Expense
- You want data on your own server: Firefly III
- You want a private tracker with no server to run: Money Manager Ex
- You want to see which subscriptions you forgot about: Rocket Money
Limits of this review
Docs-only for Zoho Expense, Expensify, Firefly III, Money Manager Ex, Goodbudget, Rocket Money, Actual Budget, Sure: we did not install or run them, so feature claims come from vendor pages. Vendor prices and free limits change; confirm on the linked pricing page before you commit.
Related guides
Sources
Kevin Fan
Kevin Fan is a SaaS founder. He runs Free Instead Of, which tracks free and open-source alternatives to paid software and checks each price and free-plan limit against the vendor's own pages.
Methodology
Based on official pricing, license and product pages checked between 2026-10-22 and 2026-10-23: Zoho Expense, Expensify, Firefly III, Money Manager Ex, Goodbudget, Rocket Money, Actual Budget, Sure. Prices, free limits and licenses are the figures shown on those pages on those dates. No tool on this page was installed or run. No accounts were created.