Should I Build It Should I Build It
28 May 2025
Travel

A comprehensive travel expense tracker app that integrates advanced ...

...mapping functionalities, real-time currency conversion, automated expense categorization, and collaboration features for groups or teams traveling together.

Confidence
Engagement
Net use signal
Net buy signal

Idea type: Freemium

People love using similar products but resist paying. You’ll need to either find who will pay or create additional value that’s worth paying for.

Should You Build It?

Build but think about differentiation and monetization.

Your are here

You're entering a market for travel expense trackers where there's already a good amount of activity, signified by 14 similar products. This means there's demonstrated interest, but also established competition. The engagement with these existing products is medium, averaging 6 comments per launch, suggesting users are interested but not overwhelmingly enthusiastic. Given the 'Freemium' category, people like using these tools but often resist paying for them. The comments on similar products reveal that users desire ease of use, automation (like receipt scanning and bank integration), and multi-currency support. Differentiating your app and figuring out a solid monetization strategy are critical for success. Since there are already many similar products out there you should think carefully on how to make yours stand out.

Recommendations

  1. Focus on user experience: Given the criticism around manual entry in similar apps, prioritize features like auto-import, bank integration, and auto-categorization from the start. Make the app as frictionless as possible to use. Think about using AI for receipt scanning. Build a great AI model that can understand all the necessary information from receipts, even in different languages.
  2. Identify high-value users: Determine which user segments benefit most from a free version of your app. Are they solo travelers, digital nomads, or small groups? Understand their needs and pain points to tailor premium features effectively. Given the feedback for group travel applications, this may be a worthwhile segment to double down on.
  3. Develop compelling premium features: Based on the needs of your target users, create premium features that significantly enhance their experience. This could include advanced reporting, deeper integration with financial tools, personalized travel tips, or enhanced collaboration features for teams. Real-time currency conversion is a feature multiple users requested. Don't forget that.
  4. Explore team-based pricing: Given the collaborative nature of travel, consider charging teams or groups instead of individuals. This can be an easier sell if you provide features that simplify expense management and reconciliation for groups. Focus on this feature and make it better than all the competition has to offer.
  5. Offer personalized support: Provide personalized help or consulting services to premium users. This could include assistance with setting up the app, creating custom reports, or resolving complex expense-related issues. Also include personalized travel tips in this support (local restaurants, travel planning advice, etc.).
  6. Test different pricing models: Before a full launch, experiment with different pricing approaches with small user groups. See what resonates best with your target audience and what they're willing to pay for specific features. You could use a survey tool and ask users which features they value most and how much they would be willing to pay for them.
  7. Address multi-currency support early: Many users of similar apps have requested multi-currency support. Ensure your app handles this seamlessly from the beginning. Build this into the core functionality and test it thoroughly. Don't make this an afterthought.
  8. Iterate based on feedback: Actively solicit and incorporate user feedback to continuously improve your app. Pay close attention to reviews and comments on app stores and social media, and use this information to guide your development efforts.

Questions

  1. Considering the existing competition and the 'Freemium' model, what specific, unique value proposition will your app offer that compels users to upgrade to a paid version?
  2. How will you balance catering to both budget and luxury travelers, given the potential for conflicting needs and expectations?
  3. Given the user desire for automated features, how will you ensure data privacy and security when integrating with bank accounts and other financial services?

Your are here

You're entering a market for travel expense trackers where there's already a good amount of activity, signified by 14 similar products. This means there's demonstrated interest, but also established competition. The engagement with these existing products is medium, averaging 6 comments per launch, suggesting users are interested but not overwhelmingly enthusiastic. Given the 'Freemium' category, people like using these tools but often resist paying for them. The comments on similar products reveal that users desire ease of use, automation (like receipt scanning and bank integration), and multi-currency support. Differentiating your app and figuring out a solid monetization strategy are critical for success. Since there are already many similar products out there you should think carefully on how to make yours stand out.

Recommendations

  1. Focus on user experience: Given the criticism around manual entry in similar apps, prioritize features like auto-import, bank integration, and auto-categorization from the start. Make the app as frictionless as possible to use. Think about using AI for receipt scanning. Build a great AI model that can understand all the necessary information from receipts, even in different languages.
  2. Identify high-value users: Determine which user segments benefit most from a free version of your app. Are they solo travelers, digital nomads, or small groups? Understand their needs and pain points to tailor premium features effectively. Given the feedback for group travel applications, this may be a worthwhile segment to double down on.
  3. Develop compelling premium features: Based on the needs of your target users, create premium features that significantly enhance their experience. This could include advanced reporting, deeper integration with financial tools, personalized travel tips, or enhanced collaboration features for teams. Real-time currency conversion is a feature multiple users requested. Don't forget that.
  4. Explore team-based pricing: Given the collaborative nature of travel, consider charging teams or groups instead of individuals. This can be an easier sell if you provide features that simplify expense management and reconciliation for groups. Focus on this feature and make it better than all the competition has to offer.
  5. Offer personalized support: Provide personalized help or consulting services to premium users. This could include assistance with setting up the app, creating custom reports, or resolving complex expense-related issues. Also include personalized travel tips in this support (local restaurants, travel planning advice, etc.).
  6. Test different pricing models: Before a full launch, experiment with different pricing approaches with small user groups. See what resonates best with your target audience and what they're willing to pay for specific features. You could use a survey tool and ask users which features they value most and how much they would be willing to pay for them.
  7. Address multi-currency support early: Many users of similar apps have requested multi-currency support. Ensure your app handles this seamlessly from the beginning. Build this into the core functionality and test it thoroughly. Don't make this an afterthought.
  8. Iterate based on feedback: Actively solicit and incorporate user feedback to continuously improve your app. Pay close attention to reviews and comments on app stores and social media, and use this information to guide your development efforts.

Questions

  1. Considering the existing competition and the 'Freemium' model, what specific, unique value proposition will your app offer that compels users to upgrade to a paid version?
  2. How will you balance catering to both budget and luxury travelers, given the potential for conflicting needs and expectations?
  3. Given the user desire for automated features, how will you ensure data privacy and security when integrating with bank accounts and other financial services?

  • Confidence: High
    • Number of similar products: 14
  • Engagement: Medium
    • Average number of comments: 6
  • Net use signal: 11.9%
    • Positive use signal: 17.8%
    • Negative use signal: 5.9%
  • Net buy signal: -1.5%
    • Positive buy signal: 0.7%
    • Negative buy signal: 2.2%

This chart summarizes all the similar products we found for your idea in a single plot.

The x-axis represents the overall feedback each product received. This is calculated from the net use and buy signals that were expressed in the comments. The maximum is +1, which means all comments (across all similar products) were positive, expressed a willingness to use & buy said product. The minimum is -1 and it means the exact opposite.

The y-axis captures the strength of the signal, i.e. how many people commented and how does this rank against other products in this category. The maximum is +1, which means these products were the most liked, upvoted and talked about launches recently. The minimum is 0, meaning zero engagement or feedback was received.

The sizes of the product dots are determined by the relevance to your idea, where 10 is the maximum.

Your idea is the big blueish dot, which should lie somewhere in the polygon defined by these products. It can be off-center because we use custom weighting to summarize these metrics.

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Designed to streamline the management and tracking of group expenses, especially during travel

Users are excited about Push App as a straightforward, simple solution for managing and splitting group expenses, particularly during travel, viewing it as a potential Splitwise alternative. Its easy four-step process is appreciated. Many are eager for future updates and express a need for the product. There are requests for Android or web versions and a currency conversion feature. The app name is well-received, and users wish the creator good luck. One user inquired about expense splitting patterns and future features.

Users criticized the Product Hunt launch for missing screenshots, a significant oversight. There is a sentiment that Splitwise requires upgrades. Additionally, users expressed a desire for Android and web versions of the product in the future.

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Hey! I made (yet another) currency conversion app. It has some extra features I find useful for my traveling.Currently it's iOS only (I've ended up going with SwiftUI and focusing on Apple's eco-system, mostly because their locale API was great with currencies and their reverse geolocation is simple and reliable)Features: - I uses device locale to try and set your "home" currency. - When abroad (home != foreign), it uses location to set the "foreign" currency.- Tax: Living outside of north-america, I find "tax exclusive" tricky. So, it provides rough estimation of sale taxes based on your location. (I expect this feature to require more tweaking in the US with counties name might differ between geolocation services and my json database)- Tipping: based on many sources I've composed a simplified global tipping customs json. I guess it's a mixed bag but it should be in the ballpark for the most common scenarios (dining, taxing, staying).Monetization: - It's free with banner ads on currency/country selection views and a interstitial ad every N clicks. - It has a yearly subscription for 1.99$ - I plan adding more "premium" features such as an Apple Watch app that'll be premium exclusive.HN Technical:- From my limited app dev experience, I've yet to see any of my apps profitable (for iOS, this is my first ad/subscription-supported). So it's nice there are free tiers for services that allows you to make simple backends and websites.- The app data is open-source repo I've made on GitHub [1] - Tax: global tax database fused with scrapped US sale tax for state and counties. - Currency: I use a free tier to hourly 'cache' on the repo, latest rates based on https://exchangeratesapi.io [2] (for basic traveler's currency I find this a reasonable balance)- The landing page website [3] is made with SvelteKit, Tailwind and uses Cloudflare Pages.- I hope getting an Android app also, but still confused about the best stack. (CapacitorJS, Kotlin)[1] https://github.com/talaviram/currency_utils [2] https://exchangeratesapi.io [3] https://www.smartercurrency.app

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My Expenses is a very simple app to track expenses for one-time budgets.Let's say you're going on vacations in Italy and you want to allocate $1.500 to this trip. You create a budget "Italy" in 30 seconds and you're ready to go. Each time you make an expense in Italy, you add it to the app in a few seconds and you instantly know you're remaining budget.I'm bored of super complex apps. Yes, they do a lot of things, but it often takes a while to get used to the app and understand all its features.That's why I created this app. I want people to be able to track their expenses in seconds, as quickly and simply as possible.It's available on iPhone, iPad and Mac.

Users discuss the challenges of manual expense tracking and the importance of features like auto-imports, bank integration, and auto-categorization. Many use or have built their own solutions, including Django apps, GnuCash, Tasker, and custom spreadsheets. Some recommend existing apps like YNAB, Lunch Money, and Splid for their automation and multi-currency support, though YNAB's lack of native multi-currency support is noted. Questions about manual entry in YNAB are answered with mentions of Plaid and MX integrations. Users also suggest improvements like voice and location-aware features, parsing bank notifications, and data export options. Design and UI are praised in some apps, and there's interest in multi-platform support and subscription costs. Concerns about app size are raised but countered by the observation that iOS apps generally have large file sizes.

Users criticize the product for requiring manual entry, which is seen as tedious and exhausting, with a lack of automatic input and bank connections exacerbating the issue. The app's purpose is unclear, and the interface is considered cluttered. There's dissatisfaction with the handling of transactions, lack of multi-currency support, and poor integration with other apps. The recent price increase and subscription model have also been met with disapproval. Some users find the app lacks originality and is too similar to existing apps, while others struggle with the complexity and size of the app.

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Hi!More than 20-year backend dev here, trying to dive into mobile development and LLMs :-)I’ve always wanted to explore practical use cases for LLMs and I came up with ReceiptiX. It's a simple expense tracking mobile app. I'm trying to design it to be different from other complex budgeting apps by focusing on simplicity. The main idea is to minimize manual input involved in expense tracking.Main features: - Receipt scanning (this is where I started from) - Voice input - Telegram integration (you can send your expenses to a bot)The app is built with Flutter and Firebase. I use Google Document AI for OCR and then send the extracted text to Claude 3 Haiku for parsing and categorization. This is cheaper than giving an LLM an image as is.Right now I’m struggling a lot with traction. ASO is a nightmare :-) I think the niche I chose is very saturated, which was probably my biggest mistake. Still I want to keep going :-)Please try the app. It’s free for the first 5 receipts. You can even delete old receipts to stay under the 5-receipt limit and use the app for free indefinitely :-)

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