Both are apps for tracking your personal spending, and both start free. Monefy bets on logging an expense in two taps and on your data never leaving your phone or your own cloud. Kesef bets on what happens every day in Argentina: instalments, Mercado Pago, pesos and dollars in the same month, and shared expenses. The detail is below, with what Monefy says on its official site and where it's better.
The short answer
If you want to log expenses quickly, with no ads and nothing going through someone else's server, Monefy does that and does it well. Its help centre says the app has no ad SDKs and that your data stays on your phone or in your own cloud.
If your big purchases are in instalments, you pay with Mercado Pago, or you share expenses with your partner or flatmates, Kesef handles that on the free plan or with Kesef Pro, and recurring expenses are free.
Side by side
| Kesef | Monefy | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Uncapped logging, groups, recurring expenses and instalments. With ads | The core app is free; its help centre says it has no ad SDKs |
| Paid tier | Kesef Pro: USD 5 per month, USD 35 per year (14-day trial on the yearly plan) or USD 100 for life | An optional upgrade; the price isn't published on its site |
| Recurring expenses | Yes, free and uncapped | Yes, in the paid upgrade |
| Pesos and dollars | 150+ currencies, converted automatically at the rate when logged | 150+ currencies; you enter the exchange rate (with none set, it uses 1:1) |
| Month starts on payday | Yes | Yes: you pick the first day of the month |
| Budgets | Per category: 3 a month free, uncapped with Kesef Pro | A monthly limit (weekly, on Android only) |
| Instalments | Yes, free: each instalment in its month, with a reminder the day before | No data |
| Mercado Pago | Yes, with Kesef Pro: payments log themselves, in 7 countries | No data; its site says it doesn't connect to your bank |
| Voice logging | Yes, with Kesef Pro (3 free uses in total) | No data |
| Photo or PDF entry | Photo, screenshot or statement image: 3 free uploads in total. Unlimited and PDF, with Kesef Pro | No data |
| Shared expenses as a couple | Yes, free for both: a group with the balance of who owes whom | Share the same data by syncing to your own cloud; splitting expenses: no data |
| Where your data lives | On your phone; with an account, also on Kesef's server | On your phone, or in your own cloud if you turn on sync |
"No data" means Monefy's official site doesn't say, not that it lacks the feature. Monefy doesn't publish the price of its paid upgrade: check the App Store or Google Play.
The real difference: logging, or expenses that log themselves
Monefy is built for logging fast: pick the amount, the category and you're done. You enter everything yourself, and that's part of the pitch: its site says it doesn't ask for your bank login and that statements are imported by hand.
Kesef also logs by hand in seconds, but adds ways to avoid typing: dictating the whole day, a photo of the receipt, uploading your card statement or, with Kesef Pro, linking Mercado Pago or the Apple Pay automation so payments log themselves. Neither one connects to banks.
And two things weigh a lot in Argentina: instalments, which Kesef spreads into the month each one falls in, and the exchange rate, which Kesef takes automatically when you log an expense in another currency. In Monefy you enter the rate yourself.
Where Monefy is better
- No ads: its help centre says the app contains no ad SDKs. Kesef shows ads on the free plan, and removing them is part of Kesef Pro.
- Your data doesn't go through their servers: it stays on your phone, or in your own cloud if you turn on sync. In Kesef, without an account your transactions stay on the phone, and with one they're also stored on Kesef's server.
- It's very simple: it does few things and does them fast, with nothing to set up.
If what matters most to you is no ads and nothing leaving your phone, and you don't use instalments or groups, Monefy is a good choice.
Choose Kesef if…
- You buy in instalments and want to see each one in the month it falls.
- You pay with Mercado Pago or Apple Pay and want those payments to log themselves.
- You share expenses with your partner, flatmates or on a trip.
- You handle pesos and dollars and don't want to enter exchange rates by hand.
- You have fixed monthly expenses and want recurring entries to be free.
Choose Monefy if…
- You don't want ads and don't plan to pay for an upgrade.
- You'd rather keep your data on your phone or in your own cloud.
- You only want to log expenses quickly, without instalments or groups.
Frequently asked questions
Is Monefy free?
Yes, according to its site the core app is free, and an optional upgrade adds unlimited accounts, recurring transactions and advanced filters. The price isn't published on its website. Kesef is free too: logging, groups, instalments and recurring expenses have no cap, and Kesef Pro costs USD 5 per month, USD 35 per year or USD 100 for life.
Does Monefy have ads?
Its help centre says Monefy contains no ad SDKs. Kesef does show ads on its free plan; with Kesef Pro there are none.
Does Monefy convert currencies?
It handles 150+ currencies, but you enter the exchange rate yourself in the settings; with none set, it uses 1:1. Kesef converts automatically: it takes the rate when you log the expense and keeps it fixed.
Does Monefy work for sharing expenses with my partner?
Its site says you can sync to the same cloud to share the data with your partner, but it doesn't mention splitting expenses or balances. In Kesef you create a free group for the two of you and the app works out who owes whom.
Can I move my Monefy data to Kesef?
There's no automatic import from Monefy. Kesef imports its own Excel template or a Kesef backup, so the practical route is to start in Kesef from the current month.
Sources and review date
Checked on October 23, 2026. Other apps' features and prices change without notice: if you're deciding based on this, it's worth confirming on their own site.