Why a one-time purchase budget app makes sense
There's an irony in budgeting: the app that's meant to help you cut recurring costs is often a recurring cost itself. Many budget apps are sold only as a subscription, and that subscription quietly renews long after you've stopped opening the app.
HonestExpenses works differently. Lifetime is a single payment that unlocks the full app for good. A quick way to judge it: put 19 $ next to what any subscription you're considering would cost over two years. If you plan to keep tracking your money for years — which is the whole point — one payment is the simpler deal.
What the lifetime budget app includes
- Unlimited accounts — current account, cash, savings, cards in different banks.
- Unlimited history — every month you've ever logged stays visible.
- Unlimited analytics — charts by category and period, month against month.
- CSV import and export — bring your history in, take it out whenever you like.
- Custom styles — change how the app looks.
- MCP server — connect Claude or ChatGPT to ask about your numbers; changes happen only after you confirm them.
- Apple Pay connection — on iPhone, a Shortcut records each Apple Pay purchase as you pay.
- 50 AI actions to try — voice, receipt photos and the AI assistant.
On top of that, everything the app does anyway: the Telegram bot and Mini App on the same account, budgets, goals, debts, recurring operations, the web app you can install on your phone, five languages and any currency sign. There's no bank connection — here's why that's on purpose.
What the optional AI plan adds
Lifetime's AI actions are there to try the AI features, not for daily use. If you'd like to log everything by voice or photograph every receipt, there's the AI plan: 5,99 $ a month or 47,88 $ a year.
- Everything in Lifetime.
- Extended AI credits for every day.
- AI voice: say several purchases at once and get them as drafts. Logging by voice.
- AI receipt recognition: a photo becomes lines in their categories. Receipt photos.
- AI commands and the AI assistant, which answers in numbers and changes nothing without your “yes”.
It's the only subscription, and it's optional. You can cancel any time in Settings → Plan; it stays active until the end of the period you've paid for. Then your account goes back to Lifetime if you bought it, or to Free. Nothing is deleted.
Start free, decide later
- Create an account — no card needed.
- For the first 7 days you get Pro: everything in Lifetime, plus 20 AI actions of your own.
- When the trial ends, the account moves to Free. You keep logging, and nothing you entered is deleted.
- Buy Lifetime whenever you're ready — everything you logged during the trial is still there.
Nobody switches you to a paid plan automatically: there's no card on file to charge. The quickest way to try it is the Telegram bot @honestexp_bot: send an amount, tap a category, and the entry is already in the web app too. How the bot works.
Changed your mind? 7 days for a full refund
If Lifetime isn't right for you, ask for a refund within 7 calendar days of the payment and you get the full amount back — no questions asked. Write to support on Telegram or by email; refunds are processed within 5 business days to the original payment method.
After a refund your account goes back to Free. Your accounts, transactions and categories stay where they were.
The AI plan works like any subscription: cancel any time, and it ends with the current period. There are no partial refunds for the unused part of a period, and renewal payments aren't refunded.
What Lifetime doesn't do
- It doesn't connect to your bank. You log spending yourself — by voice, photo, the bot or Apple Pay.
- It doesn't convert currencies. You pick one currency sign, and amounts are shown with it.
- It isn't unlimited AI. For daily voice and receipt logging, the AI plan is the honest answer.
If those suit you, Lifetime is the whole app for one payment. Plans and prices are also on the home page.
Questions
Is Lifetime really a single payment?
Yes. You pay 19 $ once; there's no renewal and no hidden subscription.
Do I need the AI plan?
No. The app works fully without it. The AI plan is for people who log by voice or receipt photos every day; Lifetime includes 50 AI actions to try those features.
What happens when the free trial ends?
Your account moves to Free and keeps all your data. You can buy Lifetime at any time later.
Can I get my money back?
For Lifetime, yes: ask within 7 days of paying for a full refund. The AI plan can be cancelled any time and runs until the end of the paid period.
Can I add the AI plan to Lifetime later?
Yes. When the AI subscription ends, your account returns to Lifetime.