ReceiptIQ AI vs ReceiptIQ Lite: Which One Should You Get?
Short answer: get ReceiptIQ AI: AI receipt scanner if you have paper receipts and want AI to read them — every line item and price, on any supported iPhone. Get ReceiptIQ Lite if you mostly type expenses in yourself and prefer a one-time $2.99 purchase over a subscription. Neither needs an account, both track budgets, and both now share one of our favorite features: family sharing that syncs device-to-device with no cloud.
The two apps in one view
| ReceiptIQ AI | ReceiptIQ Lite | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Subscription — $14.99/year (or monthly); first 30 receipts free | One-time $2.99 forever; first 30 transactions free |
| Receipt scanning | Yes, on every supported iPhone — store, date, every line item and its price. An optional on-device mode (Beta, iPhone 16 or newer, English only) is less accurate than the default | No. ReceiptIQ Lite never scans — manual entry only; use ReceiptIQ AI for scanning |
| Entry methods | Scan with the camera, share an image in, import a bank statement (PDF or photo), voice input (in the app's language), or type it | Manual entry only |
| Family sharing (no cloud) | One subscription covers up to 4 devices | One $2.99 purchase covers the family — members join free |
| Reports | Audit-ready PDF (every scanned receipt on its own page) + CSV | CSV export |
| Extras | Apple Watch app, receipts in other currencies converted at that day’s rate, 16 languages | Lean and fast; 4 languages |
| Privacy | No account; the receipt photo and its text are sent to be read and not kept, receipts are stored only on your phone; family sync has no server | No account; nothing leaves your phone |
The full, always-current version of this table — 23 rows, checked against both apps — is on the Features page.
Choose ReceiptIQ AI if…
- Paper receipts are your reality — groceries, pharmacy, restaurants — and you want them read for you, item by item, with serious accuracy engineering behind the parsing.
- You want voice entry ("coffee four fifty at Blue Bottle", in any of the app's 16 languages), to import a bank statement PDF and get every transaction at once, or the Apple Watch app.
- You need audit-ready PDF reports with the scans included — for taxes, reimbursement, or an accountant.
- You have any supported iPhone — ReceiptIQ AI's scanning works on all of them, not just the newest.
Choose Lite if…
- You enter most expenses by hand and want it fast, clean, and permanently yours for $2.99 — no subscription, ever.
- You want family sharing at a one-time price: the buyer hosts, up to three family members join free and share premium.
- You still want CSV export and recurring-entry tracking, without paying a subscription.
What they share
The same philosophy: your financial data belongs on your devices. Neither app requires an account. Both track category budgets with monthly charts. And both use our device-to-device family sync — receipts and budgets move between your family's phones over your home WiFi, verified by Apple's own cryptographic signatures, with no server anywhere in the picture (here's how that works under the hood).
Can I switch later?
Yes in spirit — both apps export CSV, and both start free (30 receipts/transactions), so the cheapest path is simply: try the one that sounds like you. If you start in Lite and find yourself photographing stacks of receipts, that's the sign you want ReceiptIQ AI.
Try ReceiptIQ AI free — scan your first 30 receipts, no account required.
Download on the App Store