Personal Finance · Apps
Best Free Expense Tracker App in India 2026
By Spentt
August 2026
9 min read
Finding a genuinely free expense tracker in India is harder than it sounds. Most apps call themselves free but lock key features behind a subscription, require you to link your bank account, or quietly monetise your spending data through advertising. After Mint shut down in 2024, millions of Indian users are still looking for a trustworthy replacement.
This guide covers the best free expense tracker apps available in India in 2026 — what each one does well, where it falls short, and which one is right for you depending on what you actually need.
Quick answer: If you want a completely free expense tracker with no bank linking and full data privacy, Spentt is the best option in India right now. If you want automatic bank import and don't mind sharing credentials, ET Money or Fi Money are alternatives — but come with trade-offs on privacy.
What to look for in a free expense tracker
Before comparing apps, it's worth being clear about what "free" actually means. A truly free expense tracker should have:
- No subscription fee — core features available without paying
- No mandatory bank linking — you should be able to use it without sharing banking credentials
- No data selling — your spending patterns shouldn't be monetised through advertising
- Data portability — you should be able to export or delete your data
- Works on your phone — Indian users primarily use Android and iPhone, not desktop
With that framework in mind, here are the best options available in India right now.
The best free expense trackers in India 2026
Spentt is a free expense tracker built specifically around privacy — your expense data is stored in your own Google Drive, not on any company server. No bank linking required. Log expenses in 5 seconds, get a weekly receipt every Sunday with a spending personality verdict.
✅ Pros
• Completely free, no premium tier
• Data stored in your Google Drive
• No bank linking ever required
• Works on any phone — no App Store
• Weekly receipt with personality
• 10 currencies including INR
• CSV export anytime
❌ Cons
• Manual logging only — no auto-import
• No bill payment reminders
• No investment tracking
• Newer app — smaller user base
Best for: Anyone who cares about data privacy, doesn't want to link their bank account, or wants a simple habit-based tracking system. Ex-Mint and ex-Walnut users will feel at home.
Money Manager is one of the most popular manual expense tracking apps globally, with a large Indian user base. It offers detailed categorisation, budget setting, and multiple account tracking. The free version is functional but the UI feels dated.
✅ Pros
• Very detailed category system
• Multiple account tracking
• No bank linking required
• Budget tracking built in
❌ Cons
• Free version has ads
• UI feels cluttered and outdated
• Data stored on their servers
• Paid version required for backup
Best for: Users who want very detailed expense categorisation and are comfortable with ads in the free version.
ET Money automatically imports transactions from your bank by reading SMS messages on your phone. This makes tracking effortless but raises privacy questions — ET Money reads all your financial SMS messages, not just transactions.
✅ Pros
• Automatic transaction import via SMS
• Investment tracking built in
• Good UPI integration
• Large established user base
❌ Cons
• Reads all your financial SMS
• Data on ET Money servers
• Pushes mutual fund products
• Less useful for cash spending
Best for: Users who want automatic tracking and are comfortable with SMS-based data access. Not recommended if data privacy is a concern.
Monefy has one of the cleanest interfaces of any expense tracker — a large circular chart that shows your spending breakdown at a glance. The free version is very limited (single currency, no sync), but the paid version is reasonably priced.
✅ Pros
• Beautiful, minimal interface
• Very quick to log expenses
• No bank linking required
• Passcode protection
❌ Cons
• Free version: single currency only
• No cloud sync on free version
• Limited categories on free
• Paid version needed for full use
Best for: Users who want the simplest possible interface and don't mind paying a one-time fee for full features.
Walnut was one of the most popular expense trackers in India — but it shut down in 2023 after being acquired by SBI Cards. If you're looking for a Walnut alternative, Spentt is the closest equivalent with a similar philosophy around simple, privacy-respecting expense tracking.
What Walnut had
• SMS-based auto tracking
• Clean Indian-focused UI
• Bill reminders
Why Spentt is better
• No SMS access needed
• Data in your Google Drive
• Won't shut down and take your data
Looking for a Walnut alternative? Spentt is the best replacement — manual logging with a 5-second flow, weekly receipt, and your data stored in your own Google Drive.
Side by side comparison
| Feature |
Spentt |
Money Manager |
ET Money |
Monefy |
| Truly free |
Yes |
Ads |
Yes |
Limited |
| Bank linking required |
Never |
Never |
SMS access |
Never |
| Data storage |
Your Drive |
Their servers |
Their servers |
Their servers |
| Works on any phone |
Yes — PWA |
Android/iOS |
Android/iOS |
Android/iOS |
| Weekly summary |
Yes — receipt |
Charts only |
Charts only |
Pie chart |
| CSV export |
Yes |
Paid only |
Yes |
Paid only |
| INR support |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Paid only |
| No ads |
Never |
Free has ads |
Products pushed |
Yes |
⚡
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Why most Indians should avoid bank-linking expense trackers
Several popular expense trackers in India — including ET Money, Fi Money, and the now-defunct Walnut — work by reading your SMS messages to automatically import transactions. While convenient, this approach has serious privacy implications:
- The app gains access to all your financial SMS, not just bank transactions
- Your complete spending history is stored on the company's servers
- If the company is acquired or shuts down, your data goes with it
- Your spending patterns can be used to push financial products
After Walnut was acquired by SBI Cards and effectively shut down, thousands of users lost access to years of spending history. This is a risk that's easy to avoid by choosing an app that stores data in your own account — like Spentt does with Google Drive.
Manual vs automatic expense tracking — which is better?
Automatic tracking (via SMS or bank import) is more convenient but less effective at building financial awareness. When your bank automatically imports a ₹450 Zomato order, you never consciously engage with that transaction.
Manual tracking — logging each expense yourself in 5 seconds — forces a brief moment of awareness at the point of spending. Research consistently shows that people who log expenses manually spend 15-20% less than people who rely on automatic imports, simply because the act of logging creates conscious engagement.
The best expense tracker isn't the one that does the most automatically — it's the one you actually use every day. And the one you'll use every day is the one with the least friction.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best free expense tracker app in India?
Spentt is the best free expense tracker in India for users who prioritise privacy and don't want to link their bank account. It stores your data in your own Google Drive, is completely free with no premium tier, and works on any phone without an App Store download. For automatic bank import, ET Money is an alternative — but requires SMS access.
Is there a free expense tracker that doesn't require bank linking?
Yes — Spentt and Money Manager both work without bank linking. Spentt stores your data in your Google Drive and logs expenses manually in 5 seconds. Money Manager is also manual but stores data on their servers and shows ads on the free version.
What happened to Walnut app?
Walnut was acquired by SBI Cards and effectively shut down in 2023. Users who hadn't exported their data lost access to years of spending history. Spentt is a direct alternative — similar simplicity and Indian focus, but with your data stored in your own Google Drive so it can never be taken away by a company decision.
Which expense tracker is best for UPI users in India?
Spentt works well for UPI users because the 5-second logging flow is designed to be used immediately after each UPI payment — before you put your phone away. Since UPI makes spending invisible (no physical cash changing hands), having a quick logging habit is especially important for UPI-heavy users.
The best free expense tracker — try it now
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