Software · head to head
Wally vs Apple Pay
The short version
- Each has a real cost: 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.; 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: Wally covers Receipt OCR scanning, Apple Pay covers Digital wallet.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Wally and Apple Pay actually diverge.
Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Unknown).
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 Wally
- Receipt OCR scanning
- Expense tracking
- Receipt storage
- Category management
- Cloud storage
- Android support
Only in Apple Pay
- Digital wallet
- Secure payments
- Contactless transactions
- P2P money transfers
- Credit cards
- Debit cards
- Bank accounts
- WatchOS support
Both cover
- IOS support
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Wally
- Budget Managementnot Apple Pay
- Expense Trackingnot Apple Pay
- Investment Trackingnot Apple Pay
Apple Pay
- Contactless in store payment from iPhone and Apple Watchnot Wally
- Paying in apps and on the web without entering card detailsnot Wally
- Sending money between Apple users with Apple Cash and Tap to Cashnot Wally
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
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.
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
Wally
Free- FreeFree
- Receipt scanning
- Expense tracking
- Basic reports
- Premium$9.99/month
- Advanced analytics
- Unlimited storage
- Cloud sync
Apple Pay
Free- FreeFree
- Secure payments
- P2P transfers
- Transit passes
Which should you pick?
Choose Wally if
- You need receipt ocr scanning.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on IOS, Android.
- You also want expense tracking.
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 Wally or Apple Pay better?
- Neither clearly leads. Wally 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, Wally or Apple Pay?
- Wally starts at Free and Apple Pay at Free.
- Does Wally or Apple Pay run on more platforms?
- Wally runs on IOS, Android. Apple Pay runs on IOS, WatchOS, MacOS.
- Can I use Wally for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- What is Wally best used for?
- Wally is most often used for budget management, expense tracking, investment tracking. Of those, budget management and expense tracking are not what Apple Pay is typically brought in for.
- What can Wally do that Apple Pay cannot?
- Wally covers Receipt OCR scanning, Expense tracking, Receipt storage, Category management. Apple Pay covers Digital wallet, Secure payments, Contactless transactions, P2P money transfers. Both handle IOS support.