The AI budgeting app that never uploads your data
Share a bank message, snap a receipt, ask "how much on food this month?" — read and answered on your phone. No bank linking, nothing sent to a server.
Opt-in Beta, off until you turn it on. Free for everyone until 31 December 2026, then part of Pro.
The trade every other AI money app asks for
"AI-powered" budgeting apps remove the typing in one of two ways: they link your bank and pull your whole history onto their servers, or they send your receipt and your message to a model running in a data centre. Either way, the most detailed record of your life leaves your phone to save you thirty seconds.
The third option: run the model on the phone
Pocket Clear uses Apple's on-device Foundation Models on iPhone 15 Pro and later, Gemini Nano on Android phones that have it, and a built-in rules parser everywhere else. Whichever path a capture takes, it happens on the phone it was shared to. There is no cloud fallback.
What it does
Capture
Share or paste a bank SMS, card alert, order email or receipt photo. It becomes an expense with the amount, merchant, date and category filled in — you confirm, it saves.
Ask
"How much on food this month?" "Am I over budget?" "When did I last pay Uber?" Exact answers computed from your own ledger, linked to the transactions behind them.
No cloud, no fallback
Nothing about the message, receipt or question reaches Pocket Clear or any AI provider. If no model is available, the rules parser tries; if it can't read it, you get the normal form.
No bank linking, no training
Pocket Clear never asks for banking credentials, and your captures and questions are never used to train any model. There is nothing collected to train on.
Where the AI runs, and what it needs from you
| App | Pocket Clear | Copilot Money | Cleo | Monarch | Finny |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| What the AI does | Reads receipts & bank messages into expenses; answers questions from your ledger | Learns and tags every transaction automatically | Chat assistant about your money | Assistant over your linked accounts | Type, speak or scan receipts; AI extracts the details |
| Bank linking | Never | Required for full use | Required | Required | Never |
| Where your data is processed | On your phone — nothing uploaded | On their servers (linked accounts) | On their servers | On their servers | Data on device by default; AI input is a credit-metered Pro feature and the site does not say the model runs on the phone |
| Android | Yes | No (web, iPhone, Mac, iPad) | Yes | Yes | No (iPhone only) |
| Couples / shared tracking | Partner Mode | Household sharing | No | Household sharing | No |
| Free plan | Free forever; AI free until 31 Dec 2026 | Trial, then subscription | Free tier + paid | Trial, then subscription | Free core; AI on Pro |
Competitor rows reflect each product's own website as of 24 September 2026; see the full comparison for sources and detail.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Pocket Clear's AI send my receipts or bank messages anywhere?
No. Capture reads the message, receipt or email on your phone — Apple's on-device Foundation Models on an iPhone 15 Pro or later with Apple Intelligence on, Gemini Nano on an Android phone that has it, and a built-in rules parser everywhere else. Nothing about the capture is uploaded to Pocket Clear or to any AI provider. The expense you confirm is saved like any other transaction and only leaves the phone if you have Pro Cloud Sync switched on.
What can I ask?
Ask answers from your own ledger, on your phone: totals ("how much on food this month?"), comparisons ("am I spending more than last month?"), top lists ("biggest merchant this year?"), lookups ("when did I last pay Uber?") and budget checks. Those come back exact — the number is computed from your transactions, never guessed by a model. Open-ended questions get a short on-device answer with every number checked against your data first.
Is on-device AI on by default?
No. Both Capture and Ask sit behind one opt-in switch on the On-Device AI tab, marked Beta, and are off until you turn them on. The app is a complete expense tracker without them.
Is it free?
Yes, for everyone until 31 December 2026; after that it becomes part of Pro. Running the model on the phone has no per-use cost, which is what makes that possible.
Which phones support it?
The system models are available on iPhone 15 Pro and newer with Apple Intelligence enabled, and on Android phones that ship Gemini Nano. On every other phone Capture still works through the rules parser, which reads bank SMS and card alerts without a model, and Ask still answers the exact question types.
Does it link to my bank?
Never. Pocket Clear has no bank linking and no aggregator. Capture reads what you hand it — a message you share, a receipt you photograph, a line you type — and turns it into a transaction you confirm.
Let your phone do the typing
Free forever. On-device AI free for everyone until 31 December 2026.