Expense Tracker App for the UAE
Track AED spending across cash, bank accounts and credit cards in one place. Vyaya is a free expense tracker app for the UAE — no ads, no subscription and no bank login required.
Track your everyday spending in AED
Salary, cash, bank accounts, credit cards, transfers and recurring bills sit side by side, with category spending and monthly budgets on top — money management in the UAE in one view.
Income
Log your salary, bonuses and side income as they land.
Cash
Keep a Cash account for taxis, cafeterias and the fruit market.
Bank accounts
Add your salary account, savings account and any others you use.
Credit cards
Track each card on its own, purchase by purchase.
Transfers
Move money between your own accounts without calling it spending.
Recurring bills
Rent instalments, utilities, phone plans and subscriptions.
Categories & budgets
See spending by category and set a monthly limit for each.
All in AED
Set AED as your base currency and every balance, budget and total reads in dirhams.
Track expenses without linking your bank
Vyaya doesn't connect to your bank. You add the accounts you actually use — a salary account, a savings account, a credit card, a cash wallet — and record spending against them yourself.
- No bank login or open-banking connection is needed to use Vyaya.
- Create each account by hand, with its balance in AED.
- Record spending against the account it really came from: cash, bank or card.
- Keep every payment method in one place without handing over banking credentials.
Here is a step-by-step setup to track AED spending without linking your bank.
Keep cash spending visible
Cash still covers a lot of small spending in the UAE — taxis, cafeterias, laundry, the fruit market. Left untracked, a slice of every month simply goes missing.
- Give Cash its own account, next to your bank accounts and cards.
- Record an ATM withdrawal as a transfer from Bank to Cash — the money has only moved.
- Log the expense when you hand the cash over, so it is counted once.
- Cash, card and bank spending then add up in the same monthly view.
For habits that make it stick, read how to track cash spending in the UAE.
Track credit-card spending without counting it twice
Spending on a card happens when you tap it, not when the statement is paid. Record it then, and the bill payment simply settles what you already counted.
- Add each credit card as a separate account.
- Record each card purchase as an expense on the day you make it.
- Record paying the card bill as a transfer from your bank account to the card — not a second expense.
- Your monthly spending stays right whichever day the bill is paid.
Turn your salary into a realistic monthly budget
Many UAE costs don't arrive monthly. Rent is often paid yearly or in a few large cheques, and some fees come round once a year. A budget that ignores them looks fine until the big payment lands.
- Divide annual rent by 12 and treat that amount as committed every month.
- Do the same for yearly costs such as school fees, insurance, renewals or flights home.
- Plan regular remittances as a fixed line, not whatever is left at month-end.
- Keep savings apart from everyday spending so they don't get spent by accident.
- Use monthly category budgets to keep the flexible spending in check.
The method works across the UAE; the full walkthrough is our guide on how to budget your salary in Dubai.
See where you can actually save
Skipping the odd coffee rarely changes much. The savings that matter usually sit in the biggest categories — and you only see which ones once your spending is tracked.
- Housing and transport are often the largest lines, and the easiest to underestimate.
- Food delivery, shopping and subscriptions tend to creep up quietly.
- Spreading annual expenses across the year shows what a month really costs.
- Category totals point to the change that would make a real difference.
Wondering how to save money in the UAE? Start with our guide on how to save money in Dubai — the same changes work across the Emirates.
Where a month went
Housing
AED 6,000Rent, monthly share
Transport
AED 1,400Taxis, fuel, metro
Food delivery
AED 1,100Apps and takeaway
Shopping
AED 900Clothes, home, online
Subscriptions
AED 250Streaming, apps, gym
Plan remittances without losing sight of your own budget
For many people in the UAE, sending money home is one of the largest monthly commitments. Planned as a line of its own, it stops being an afterthought that squeezes everything else.
- Give remittances their own category and plan the amount at the start of the month.
- Separate family support, which is spending, from money going into your own savings back home.
- Keep your savings in the UAE visible on their own.
- See the remittance next to your everyday UAE spending in the same month.
- Vyaya doesn't send money — you record the transfers you make through your bank or exchange house.
Money sent home
Family support
Bank
AED 1,500ExpenseSavings back home
Bank → Own account at home
AED 1,000Transfer
Scan receipts instead of typing every detail
Photograph the receipt from a supermarket shop or a bigger purchase and Vyaya pulls out the details for you to check.
- The amount, merchant and date are read from the photo.
- You check them and correct anything before saving — some printed receipts are hard to read.
- Small everyday spends are still quickest to add by hand or with Quick Add.
Read from your receipt
- Merchant
- Hypermarket
- Amount
- AED 186.50
- Date
- 9 Oct
- Category
- Groceries
Set budgets and keep recurring expenses visible
Fixed costs repeat every month; flexible ones drift. Seeing both in one place is what makes a budget hold.
- Set a monthly budget for each category you want to watch.
- See what is left in every category as the month goes on.
- Add recurring transactions for subscriptions, phone plans, utilities and other regular bills.
- See upcoming recurring payments and your total monthly commitment.
Track money lent and borrowed separately
Covering a colleague's share of a flight or a housemate's deposit isn't spending — the money is coming back. Track it as what it is.
- Log a loan to a friend or colleague as money owed, not as spending.
- See what is owed to you and what you owe, person by person.
- Record partial repayments and the balance updates.
- Your spending categories stay accurate.
A simple expense tracker for the UAE
Free, with nothing to unlock — and no request for your bank credentials.
Free
Every feature, at no cost.
No ads
Nothing to scroll past.
No subscription
Nothing to renew or cancel.
No bank login
You add your accounts yourself.
Android
Available on Google Play.
AED as base currency
Balances and budgets in dirhams.
Multiple accounts
Cash, cards and bank accounts together.
Budgets & recurring
Category limits and repeating bills.
Receipt scanning
Details read from a photo, checked by you.
Money lent & borrowed
Kept apart from your spending.
Data export
Your history goes with you.
Multiple currencies
INR, USD, GBP, EUR and more besides AED.
Built for everyday money management in the UAE
Money in the UAE has its own rhythm: a monthly salary in AED, rent paid yearly or in a few cheques, cash for taxis and cafeterias, a credit card or two, and often money sent home to family every month. Vyaya keeps all of it in one place — without asking for your bank credentials.
Vyaya works globally, while UAE users can set AED as their base currency and manage cash, cards, bank accounts, budgets and recurring expenses in one place — whether you are settling in as a new expat or have lived here for years.
- AED base currency
- Annual rent planning
- Cash spending
- Credit cards
- Multiple bank accounts
- Remittances
- Recurring bills
- Expat budgeting
- Savings
- No bank login
Vyaya vs other expense tracker apps in the UAE
How Vyaya's approach compares with bank-linked tracker apps and a spreadsheet.
Bank-linked apps differ in what they connect to and what they charge, so check each one. Want a broader comparison?
See our guide to the best expense tracker apps for the UAEWho is Vyaya useful for in the UAE?
Salaried professionals
Plan each month's salary around rent, bills and savings before you spend it.
Expats
Get your money organised from your first month in the country.
A money plan for your first 30 daysCouples
Keep shared costs in view and note who covered what.
Families
See household spending, school costs and annual bills in one budget.
Plan a realistic Abu Dhabi budgetPeople sending money home
Make remittances a planned part of the month, not what is left over.
Cash and card users
Keep cash and card spending in one monthly total.
People who won't link a bank
Track everything without sharing a bank login.
Anyone tired of ads
No ads, no upsells and no subscription prompts.
- Get it onGoogle Play
Sounds like you?
Free on Google Play.
Frequently asked questions
Straight answers about tracking expenses in the UAE with Vyaya.
What is the best expense tracker app in the UAE?
The best app depends on how you prefer to track money. If you want to manage AED spending across cash, bank accounts and credit cards without linking your bank, Vyaya is one option built around that workflow.
Is there a free expense tracker app in the UAE?
Yes. Vyaya is free on Google Play, with no ads and no subscription, and nothing to upgrade to.
Can I use an expense tracker without linking my UAE bank?
Yes. In Vyaya you add your accounts yourself — a salary account, a savings account, a credit card, cash — and record transactions against them. Nothing connects to your bank.
Can I track cash and card spending together?
Yes. Cash and each card are separate accounts, and their spending adds up in the same categories, budgets and monthly totals. An ATM withdrawal is a transfer to Cash, so nothing is counted twice.
Does Vyaya support AED?
Yes. You can set AED as your base currency, so balances, transactions and budgets show in dirhams. Vyaya also supports other currencies, including INR, USD, GBP and EUR.
Does Vyaya need my bank login?
No. A bank login is not required to use Vyaya. It does not connect to your bank, so there are no banking credentials to share.
Can I track rent and annual expenses?
Yes. Divide annual rent and other yearly costs by 12 and plan that amount every month, as a recurring transaction or a budget category, so a large payment doesn't distort the month it lands in.
Can I track remittances?
Yes, as transactions you record. Give remittances their own category and plan the amount each month. Vyaya does not send money — it tracks the transfers you make through your bank or exchange house.
Is Vyaya available on Android?
Yes, on Google Play. There is no iPhone or web version yet.
Does Vyaya have ads?
No. There are no ads in Vyaya.
Does Vyaya require a subscription?
No. Vyaya is free, with no subscription and nothing to upgrade to.
Start tracking your spending in AED.
Free on Google Play. No ads, no subscription and no bank login — just your money, in dirhams.