Off Finance vs a spreadsheet for tracking expenses
I also tried spreadsheets. On a computer, they worked well. The hard part was keeping one sheet up to date together with my girlfriend, and using it on a phone. I also had to teach her how the sheet worked. I built Off Finance so nobody needs a tutorial: open the app, add the expense, done.
Spreadsheets are still great for a lot of things. This page is about one job: keeping track of everyday spending, alone or with a partner.
| What you need | Spreadsheet | Off Finance |
|---|---|---|
| Adding an expense on your phone | Small cells on a small screen, and it’s easy to type in the wrong row. | Type the amount, pick a category, save. It takes a few seconds. |
| Monthly and yearly totals | SUM and other formulas you write and keep working, even after someone adds a row in the wrong place. | The month opens with income, spending, and what’s left. Performance shows how the months and the year add up. |
| Recurring bills | Copy the rows every month, or build formulas for it. | Set the amount and the day once. Each month gets its entry, and you can pause or stop it. |
| Installments | One row per payment, or formulas you set up. | Enter the total and the number of payments. Each one shows up in its own month. |
| Budgets | More formulas and conditional formatting. | Monthly budgets by category and payment method, with what’s left to spend. |
| Sharing with a partner | Share the file. Both of you need to follow the same structure. | A shared vault by invitation. You see who added what, and only the vault’s owner pays for sync. |
| Without internet | Depends on the app. Excel opens files saved on the device. Google Sheets needs you to make a file available offline ahead of time. | Everything on your phone works offline. Sync catches up when you’re back online. |
| Learning to use it | You build the sheet, and anyone who shares it has to learn how it works. | No tutorial. Open the app, add the expense, done. |
| Price | Google Sheets is free. Excel comes with Microsoft 365, and its phone app is free on small screens. | Free on your phone. Sync is $3.00 a month, and only a shared vault’s owner pays. |
Spreadsheet app details checked on October 4, 2026.
When a spreadsheet is the better choice
- You like building your own formulas, charts, and reports.
- You want to analyze or export your data your own way.
- You track on a computer and don’t need it on your phone.
If you want to add an expense in seconds on your phone and see your month, alone or with your partner, that’s the job Off Finance does.
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