Since I got my first iPhone three years ago, I’ve used iXpenseIt to keep track of where my money goes. iXpenseIt is a personal finance app that lets you input and save your daily expenditures, helping you to see just how much you’ve spent on what over time.
iXpenseIt is a great app, with a lot of functionality, but there were always bits about it I didn’t like. Ever the geek, I kept my eye out for other personal finance apps, but none caught my eye until Saver. I’ve been using Saver for the past month, and since then I’ve deleted iXpenseIt off my iPhone.
Like the comparison between Things & Omnifocus, iXpenseIt and Saver sit on opposite ends of the spectrum. iXpenseIt is complex but powerful, Saver is simple but easy to use. But whereas I chose complexity over simplicity in the case of Things and Omnifocus, I chose simplicity over complexity in the case of iXpenseIt and Saver.
Using Saver is just easier. It feels like Saver’s designer has put more thought into making the app as frictionless as possible. To enter a ‘Food’ entry for a lunch of $5, for example, takes six steps in Saver, but takes eight steps in iXpenseIt. Two extra steps may not sound like a lot, but add that up over the multiple times you’re using the app in a day, and that’s a good number of steps you shave off.
The second reason ties in with the first, and it’s that Saver is just so much more visually polished. It’s a visual delight to use, something that iXpenseIt never was.
Saver's entry screen (left) and iXpenseIt's (right).
When I first installed iXpenseIt, I figured the confusing app icon and silly expenditure icons were birthing oversights which would be overcome, but they never were. Instead, the app icon got more and more confusing over the years – if you took a look at iXpenseIt’s icon (the icon on the right in the opening graphic) without being told what it was, could you have guessed what the app does? In contrast, Saver’s icon makes it obvious what the app is about.
In general, iXpenseIt feels like an app made by engineers, while Saver feels like an app made by designers. I appreciate iXpenseIt‘s flexibility, but I’d always hoped that they’d overhaul the fit and finish of their app, and they never did. Saver, while not as complex, does just enough to satisfy my needs in a more pleasant way, so it gets my vote.