The best expense tracker app in India, by what you need it for
Five apps that track expenses in India: axio (formerly Walnut), MoneyView, ET Money, Jupiter and Spenrol. They aren't all trying to do the same thing, so this guide sorts them by the job you want done.
Spenrol makes one of the apps compared here. Claims about other apps come from their own store listings, FAQs, and public pricing.
In this comparison
- 1axio (formerly Walnut)Best for automatic SMS tracking
- 2MoneyViewBest for credit score tracking
- 3ET MoneyBest for mutual fund investors
- 4JupiterBest neo-bank with budgeting pots
- 5SpenrolBest for a monthly budget without SMS access
There isn't one best expense tracker for everyone. It comes down to four questions: do you want tracking to be automatic or manual, do you care about your credit score, would you switch banks, and do you want a record of what you spent or a budget for what you're about to spend?
So instead of counting features, the sections below say what each app is built for and who it suits.
Five apps compared
| Feature | axio (Walnut) | MoneyView | ET Money | Jupiter | Spenrol |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Expense tracking | Partial | Partial | |||
| SMS access | Required | Required | Required | Not needed | Not needed |
| Zero-based budgeting | — | — | — | — | |
| Intent tags (required/optional/impulsive) | — | — | — | — | |
| Credit score | — | — | — | ||
| BNPL / personal loans | — | — | — | ||
| Investments / SIPs | — | — | Partial | — | |
| Savings account / bank | — | — | — | — | |
| Pricing | Free | Free | Free | Free | Free |
Scroll right on mobile.
Free on Android.
No SMS access, no card required.
What each app is for
- 1
axio (formerly Walnut)
Best for automatic SMS tracking
Walnut was one of the first expense trackers most people in India used: it read your bank SMS and sorted spending automatically. Capital Float bought it in 2018, and in 2022 the combined company renamed itself axio. The tracker now lives inside axio's wider financial app.
Today axio is about as much a credit product as a tracker. Pay Later, personal loans and credit score tracking sit next to the SMS-based expense history. If you want a plain expense log with no lending offers, that's no longer quite what you get.
Who it's for: people who want spending tracked automatically from SMS and don't mind, or want, Pay Later and loans in the same app.
Spenrol vs axio/Walnut - 2
MoneyView
Best for credit score tracking
MoneyView also tracks spending from SMS, but inside a credit and lending app. You get your CIBIL score, loan comparisons and insurance alongside the expense history. If credit is part of what you're managing, that's useful.
The trade-off is that MoneyView makes its money from credit, and it shows. The tracker works, but you'll see loan offers often. If you're not looking to borrow, expect to scroll past them.
Who it's for: people who want automatic expense tracking and credit monitoring together, and don't mind loan offers along the way.
Spenrol vs MoneyView - 3
ET Money
Best for mutual fund investors
ET Money is an investment app first: direct mutual funds with zero commission, SIP management, term insurance comparisons and ITR filing. 360 ONE (formerly IIFL Wealth) bought it in June 2024, and it still runs under the ET Money name with the same features.
Expense tracking is there, read from SMS, but it's a side feature. There's no intent tagging and no zero-based budget.
Who it's for: salaried people whose spending is already roughly under control and who want SIPs, tax-saving investments and insurance in one place.
Spenrol vs ET Money - 4
Jupiter
Best neo-bank with budgeting pots
Jupiter is a Federal Bank savings account with extras on top: pots for saving toward goals, automatic categories for spending on its card and UPI, and rewards. If you want your bank and your budget in one app and you're willing to switch banks, it's the most polished option here.
The limit is that Jupiter only sees money that goes through Jupiter. If your salary lands in HDFC and you pay with PhonePe, none of that shows up.
Who it's for: people who want a modern bank account with budgeting built in, and are willing to move their salary account to get it.
Spenrol vs Jupiter - 5
Spenrol
Best for a monthly budget without SMS access
Spenrol is ours, so weigh this accordingly. It's a zero-based budget: you split your salary across categories before the month starts, then log each spend by sharing the payment screenshot or typing it in. Every spend gets a tag, required, optional or impulsive, and the month's tags make up a Smart Spending Score.
It's free on Android with no SMS access and no bank login. The trade-off is that nothing is logged for you, and it's the newest app here. We're also working on a check that shows your budget before a UPI payment goes through, but that needs a UPI licence and isn't in the app yet.
Who it's for: people trying to cut impulse spending who'd rather plan the month in advance than review it afterwards, and who don't want to give an app their SMS.
How Spenrol works
Why we built Spenrol
Every tracker we tried, Walnut and MoneyView included, showed us what had already happened. We'd open it at the end of the month, see the food delivery total, feel bad about it for a minute, and close it. The next month looked the same.
The feedback came too late to change anything. By the time you see a ₹4,200 food month, the orders are eaten.
So Spenrol moves the thinking earlier. You plan the month before it starts, and you tag each spend when you log it, while you still remember why you made it. Over a few weeks the tags show a pattern you can do something about.
- downloads
- 200+
- expenses logged
- 1,500+
- of spending tracked
- ₹9.5L+
“Being able to classify expenses as Required, Optional, or Impulsive makes it easier for me to understand my spending habits. It also makes me think twice before spending on something impulsively.”
Try planning the month instead
Spenrol is free on Android, with no SMS access and no bank login.
Scan to download on your phone