Personal Finance · head to head
Spendee vs Apple Pay
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Spendee the free Basic plan allows one cash wallet and one budget; Apple Pay apple Pay works only in countries and regions that support contactless payments and is not available in all markets
- They diverge on capability: Spendee covers Expense tracking, Apple Pay covers Digital wallet.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Spendee and Apple Pay actually diverge.
Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), 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 Spendee
- Expense tracking
- Budget management
- Shared wallets
- Financial analytics
- Web support
- Android support
Only in Apple Pay
- Digital wallet
- Secure payments
- Contactless transactions
- P2P money transfers
- Credit cards
- Debit cards
- WatchOS support
- MacOS support
Both cover
- Bank accounts
- IOS support
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Spendee
- Tracking personal spending across cash and bank accountsnot Apple Pay
- Sharing a budget or wallet with a partner or householdnot Apple Pay
Apple Pay
- Contactless in store payment from iPhone and Apple Watchnot Spendee
- Paying in apps and on the web without entering card detailsnot Spendee
- Sending money between Apple users with Apple Cash and Tap to Cashnot Spendee
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Spendee
- The free Basic plan allows one cash wallet and one budget
- Shared wallets are excluded from the free plan
- Premium at $5.99 a month is triple the $1.99 Plus plan, and the pricing page does not quantify what separates them beyond shared wallets
- Bank sync depends on a supported bank list rather than being universal
Apple Pay
- Apple Pay works only in countries and regions that support contactless payments and is not available in all markets
- Apple Cash is available only in the 50 United States, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico
- Apple Cash Family accounts and Tap to Cash transactions are each capped at 2000 USD within a rolling seven day period
- Mac support requires a Touch ID equipped model
- A card works only if the issuing bank supports Apple Pay, and banks may charge their own overseas usage fees
Pricing, plan by plan
Spendee
Free- FreeFree
- Expense tracking
- Budget creation
- 3 wallets
- Premium$6.99/month
- Unlimited wallets
- Advanced analytics
- Investment tracking
Apple Pay
Free- FreeFree
- Secure payments
- P2P transfers
- Transit passes
Which should you pick?
Choose Spendee if
- You need expense tracking.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, IOS, Android.
- You also want budget management.
Choose Apple Pay if
- You need digital wallet.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on IOS, WatchOS, MacOS.
- You also want secure payments.
Questions people ask
- Is Spendee or Apple Pay better?
- Neither clearly leads. Spendee starts at Free and Apple Pay at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Spendee or Apple Pay?
- Spendee starts at Free and Apple Pay at Free.
- Does Spendee or Apple Pay run on more platforms?
- Spendee runs on Web, IOS, Android. Apple Pay runs on IOS, WatchOS, MacOS.
- Can I use Spendee for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- What is Spendee best used for?
- Spendee is most often used for tracking personal spending across cash and bank accounts, sharing a budget or wallet with a partner or household. Of those, tracking personal spending across cash and bank accounts and sharing a budget or wallet with a partner or household are not what Apple Pay is typically brought in for.
- What can Spendee do that Apple Pay cannot?
- Spendee covers Expense tracking, Budget management, Shared wallets, Financial analytics. Apple Pay covers Digital wallet, Secure payments, Contactless transactions, P2P money transfers. Both handle Bank accounts, IOS support.