Self-Employed
Best expense tracker app for self-employed and freelancers
March 2026 · 5 min read
When you work for yourself, tracking income and expenses shouldn't be a second job. Here's why simple wins.
The freelancer's money problem
When you're self-employed, your financial life is messier than a salaried employee's. Income is irregular. Expenses are mixed — some personal, some professional. And most accounting tools are built for businesses with teams, invoices, and quarterly reporting, not for a single person who just needs to know if they're spending more than they earn.
The result? Most freelancers either use a spreadsheet they forget to update, or they download a full-featured accounting app, get overwhelmed in the first ten minutes, and give up entirely.
There's a better way.
What self-employed people actually need
After talking to dozens of freelancers, the requirements are surprisingly consistent:
Income tracking
Know what's coming in
Log client payments quickly, in any currency, without connecting to a bank.
Expense tracking
Know what's going out
Log expenses fast — tools, subscriptions, meals, travel — without a 10-step process.
Overview
See the balance at a glance
Total in, total out, net result. No charts needed.
Privacy
No bank credentials, ever
Freelancers deal with sensitive client data daily. Their finances should stay private too.
Why Skei works perfectly for self-employed people
Skei is an income and expense tracker with a single screen. You see your total income, total expenses, balance, and categories — all at once. No tabs, no menus, no onboarding wizard.
To add a transaction, you swipe right. You enter the amount, pick a category, and you're done in under five seconds. That's the entire workflow.
There's no account to create. No password. No subscription. You pay once and it's yours forever — which, for a freelancer already paying for ten SaaS tools, is a breath of fresh air.
"I tried three different budgeting apps. They all wanted me to connect my bank or set up a monthly budget. I just wanted to log a €200 expense. Skei was the only one that let me do that in five seconds."
Multiple currencies are supported natively — ideal if you invoice international clients. And since everything syncs via iCloud, your data is available on all your Apple devices without any account setup.
Simple is not the same as limited
Skei isn't a toy. It has monthly and yearly views, category breakdowns, Face ID protection, custom themes, and iCloud sync. It does everything a freelancer needs to stay financially aware — without the complexity that makes most apps unusable.
The goal isn't to replace your accountant. It's to make sure you always know, at a glance, whether this month is going well or not.
Try Skei — no account required
One-time purchase · iCloud sync · Privacy first · iOS only
Download on theApp Store