Personal Finance · head to head
Expense Manager vs Wally
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Expense Manager the Internet Archive's capture from 23 January 2022 shows expensemanagerapp.com already redirecting to a Dan.com 'domain name is for sale' listing rather than a product page, confirming the app's original domain has been abandoned and offered for resale.; Wally the Internet Archive's capture of wally.me on 2 January 2019 stated the app is free ('Control your money seamlessly. And, it's free.'), and claimed rankings as the #1 finance app in 22 countries and top 10 in 52 countries at that time.
- They diverge on capability: Expense Manager covers Shared expenses, Wally covers Receipt OCR scanning.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Expense Manager and Wally actually diverge.
| Attribute | Expense Manager | Wally |
|---|---|---|
| Founded | 2011 | 2009 |
Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (freemium), free tier (Yes), platforms (IOS, Android), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Personal Finance).
What each one covers
Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.
Only in Expense Manager
- Shared expenses
- Bill splitting
- Budgeting
- Cloud backup
Only in Wally
- Receipt OCR scanning
- Receipt storage
- Category management
- Cloud storage
Both cover
- Expense tracking
- IOS support
- Android support
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Expense Manager
- Budget Management
- Expense Tracking
- Investment Tracking
Wally
- Budget Management
- Expense Tracking
- Investment Tracking
Both are used for budget management, expense tracking, investment tracking, on those jobs the choice comes down to price and fit rather than capability.
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Expense Manager
- The Internet Archive's capture from 23 January 2022 shows expensemanagerapp.com already redirecting to a Dan.com 'domain name is for sale' listing rather than a product page, confirming the app's original domain has been abandoned and offered for resale.
Wally
- The Internet Archive's capture of wally.me on 2 January 2019 stated the app is free ('Control your money seamlessly. And, it's free.'), and claimed rankings as the #1 finance app in 22 countries and top 10 in 52 countries at that time.
Pricing, plan by plan
Expense Manager
Free- FreeFree
- Expense tracking
- Shared expenses
- Pro$2.99/month
- Budget tracking
- Analytics
- CSV export
Wally
Free- FreeFree
- Receipt scanning
- Expense tracking
- Basic reports
- Premium$9.99/month
- Advanced analytics
- Unlimited storage
- Cloud sync
Which should you pick?
Choose Expense Manager if
- You need shared expenses.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on IOS, Android.
- You also want bill splitting.
Choose Wally if
- You need receipt ocr scanning.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on IOS, Android.
- You also want receipt storage.
Questions people ask
- Is Expense Manager or Wally better?
- Neither clearly leads. Expense Manager starts at Free and Wally at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Expense Manager or Wally?
- Expense Manager starts at Free and Wally at Free.
- Does Expense Manager or Wally run on more platforms?
- Both run on IOS, Android, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
- Can I use Expense Manager for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- What is Expense Manager best used for?
- Expense Manager is most often used for budget management, expense tracking, investment tracking.
- What can Expense Manager do that Wally cannot?
- Expense Manager covers Shared expenses, Bill splitting, Budgeting, Cloud backup. Wally covers Receipt OCR scanning, Receipt storage, Category management, Cloud storage. Both handle Expense tracking, IOS support, Android support.