# Kosh vs Walnut and Expense Tracker Apps (2026) > Walnut is now part of axio. How Kosh compares with SMS and manual expense trackers: where your data comes from, tax, leaks, and who should use which. Source: https://trykosh.com/compare/kosh-vs-expense-tracker-apps Compare - Kosh and expense tracker apps (Walnut, Money Manager and similar) # Kosh vs expense tracker apps (Walnut, Money Manager and similar) Expense trackers such as Walnut and Money Manager help you see where money goes. Kosh starts from the same place, then plans tax, goals and next steps. Here's how they differ. Updated 25 October 2026Written by Kosh, so read with that in mind On this page[In short](#in-short)[Side by side](#side-by-side)[What happened to Walnut](#what-happened-to-walnut)[What manual trackers like Money Manager do](#manual-trackers)[What Kosh does differently](#what-kosh-does)[Why statements, not SMS](#statements-not-sms)[How each one earns money](#how-they-earn)[Who should use which](#who-should-use-which)[FAQs](#faq) **In short** - Walnut is now part of axio, the brand of CapFloat Financial Services, an RBI-registered NBFC that also offers pay-later and personal loans. - Money Manager by Realbyte is a manual-entry tracker with budgets, charts and double-entry bookkeeping. - Trackers record what you spent. Kosh reads your statements and goes further: leaks, tax under both regimes, goal plans and reminders. - Kosh reads statements you upload, not your SMS inbox, and never asks for bank logins. - If you love logging every rupee, a manual tracker is great. If you never keep it up, Kosh does the sorting for you. ## Side by side Kosh Expense trackers (Walnut/axio, Money Manager) What it is An AI CFO for your whole financial life Apps that record and categorise your spending How it gets your data Statements you upload (PDF, CSV, photo, CAMS/NSDL CAS). Never asks for bank logins, OTPs or card numbers axio: transaction SMS on your phone, per its app listing. Money Manager: entries you type in Tax under both regimes Yes: tax under both regimes from your real salary, rent and investments Not a feature of these apps Leaks and next steps Yes: forgotten subscriptions, card interest, delivery creep, idle cash, with one top fix Categories, budgets and charts Executes trades or payments No. Can't move money, hold money or execute trades axio: pay-later, credit lines and personal loans through the app. Money Manager: no How it makes money Subscriptions only. No commissions from banks, funds or insurers axio is the brand of an RBI-registered NBFC offering credit. Money Manager: check its app store listing Regulator or licence Not a SEBI-registered adviser; an educational planning tool axio: CapFloat Financial Services Private Limited, NBFC registered with the RBI. Money Manager: none needed Price Free Starter; Pro INR 2,000 a month or INR 19,999 a year, starting with a free 7-day trial Free to download; check each app's store listing for paid tiers ## What happened to Walnut Walnut was one of India's best-known expense trackers, reading bank SMS to log spends automatically. It is now part of **axio**. [axio's website](https://www.axio.co.in/) says axio, formerly known as Capital Float, Walnut and Walnut 369, is the brand name of CapFloat Financial Services Private Limited, an NBFC registered with the RBI. Alongside a personal finance manager that tracks and categorises spending, axio offers buy now pay later, credit lines, EMI financing and personal loans, including for Amazon Pay Later users. ## What manual trackers like Money Manager do [Money Manager by Realbyte](https://www.realbyteapps.com/) takes the opposite approach: you enter transactions yourself. It offers weekly and monthly totals, category budgets, a calendar view, charts, receipt photos, asset trend graphs and double-entry bookkeeping for savings, insurance and loans. Manual tracking is precise and private, and some people find the habit itself useful. The catch is that it only works while you keep it up. ## What Kosh does differently Kosh doesn't read your SMS or ask you to type anything. You upload the statements your bank and card issuer already send you, from any Indian bank, as PDF, CSV or a photo. Locked PDFs open in your browser, so the password never leaves your device. Kosh sorts every transaction, merges overlapping statements and then does the work a tracker leaves to you: 1. **Maps your money:** income, fixed costs, discretionary spending, debt and savings, month by month. 2. **Finds leaks:** forgotten subscriptions, card interest, delivery creep and idle cash, and picks the one to fix first. 3. **Works out your tax:** under both regimes, from your real salary, rent and investments. 4. **Plans and reminds:** goals as monthly SIP amounts, email reminders before card due dates, SIPs, renewals and tax deadlines, and a Sunday digest. ## Why statements, not SMS SMS tracking feels effortless, but it has gaps. Not every transaction sends a message, messages vary from bank to bank, and an SMS-reading app needs access to your inbox, which also holds OTPs and personal messages. A bank statement is the complete record: every debit and credit, with the bank's own description and running balance. The trade-off is that you download it once a month instead of it arriving on its own. Kosh's email reminders help with that, and overlapping statements merge, so uploading a few extra days twice does no harm. Our guide to [tracking expenses from bank statements](/learn/how-to-track-expenses-from-bank-statements) walks through it. ## How each one earns money Kosh earns only from subscriptions and doesn't offer credit, sell data or take commissions. axio's own site describes it as the brand of an RBI-registered NBFC that offers loans and pay-later credit, so the tracker sits alongside lending products. A manual tracker like Money Manager is a standalone app; check its store listing for any paid features. ## Who should use which If you Consider Enjoy logging every expense by hand A manual tracker such as Money Manager Want automatic logging and are also looking for pay-later credit axio Want spending sorted without daily effort, plus tax and goals Kosh Track by hand but want a monthly check on tax and leaks Both: your tracker daily, Kosh monthly Want to start by hand? Our guide to [building a monthly budget](/learn/how-to-build-a-monthly-budget) and these free tools are a good base: [Free tool**Monthly budget planner**List what comes in and what goes out each month, in the categories Indian households actually spend on. The planner shows your savings rate, ranks your expenses and checks them against the 50/30/20 rule.](/tools/budget-planner)[Free tool**50/30/20 budget calculator**The 50/30/20 rule splits take-home pay into three buckets: half for needs, 30% for wants and 20% for savings. Enter your salary to see the rupee amounts, adjust the split for your city, and check how your current spending measures up.](/tools/50-30-20-budget-calculator)[Free tool**Subscription cost calculator**Small monthly plans are easy to forget and easy to keep paying. Add them up, flag the ones you barely use, and see what that money could become if it were invested instead.](/tools/subscription-cost-calculator)[Free tool**Savings goal calculator**Pick a goal, a date and an expected return, and see the monthly saving that gets you there. Or flip it: enter what you can save each month and find out how long it will take.](/tools/savings-goal-calculator) ## Free tools to try first [Free tool**Monthly budget planner**List what comes in and what goes out each month, in the categories Indian households actually spend on. The planner shows your savings rate, ranks your expenses and checks them against the 50/30/20 rule.](/tools/budget-planner)[Free tool**50/30/20 budget calculator**The 50/30/20 rule splits take-home pay into three buckets: half for needs, 30% for wants and 20% for savings. Enter your salary to see the rupee amounts, adjust the split for your city, and check how your current spending measures up.](/tools/50-30-20-budget-calculator)[Free tool**Subscription cost calculator**Small monthly plans are easy to forget and easy to keep paying. Add them up, flag the ones you barely use, and see what that money could become if it were invested instead.](/tools/subscription-cost-calculator)[Free tool**Savings goal calculator**Pick a goal, a date and an expected return, and see the monthly saving that gets you there. Or flip it: enter what you can save each month and find out how long it will take.](/tools/savings-goal-calculator) ## Frequently asked questions Does the Walnut app still exist? Walnut is now part of axio. axio's website says it was formerly known as Capital Float, Walnut and Walnut 369, and is the brand of CapFloat Financial Services Private Limited, an RBI-registered NBFC. The app offers spend tracking alongside pay-later and loan products. What is a good Walnut alternative? It depends on how you like to track. Manual apps such as Money Manager suit people who enjoy logging each expense. An AI CFO like Kosh reads the statements you upload, sorts every transaction and adds tax and goal planning. Does Kosh read my SMS? No. Kosh works only from statements you upload, such as bank and card PDFs, CSVs or photos and your CAMS or NSDL CAS. It never asks for bank logins, OTPs or card numbers. Is Kosh just an expense tracker? No. Kosh tracks spending, but it also finds leaks, works out your income tax under both regimes, turns goals into monthly SIP amounts and reminds you before due dates. ## Sources - [axio: home page and footer (formerly Capital Float and Walnut)](https://www.axio.co.in/) - [Realbyte: Money Manager](https://www.realbyteapps.com/) Descriptions of other products come from their public websites as of 25 October 2026 and may have changed since. Kosh is our product. Product names belong to their owners. Kosh is an educational financial planning tool by Primedepth Labs. It is not a SEBI-registered investment adviser and does not offer personalised investment advice, hold your money or execute trades. Markets carry risk; read scheme documents carefully and consult a registered adviser before acting. ## See what Kosh finds in your statements. Upload one bank or card statement. Kosh maps your money, works out your tax under both regimes and shows the one thing to fix first. It never asks for bank logins and can't move money. [Start free](/signup?via=compare-kosh-vs-expense-tracker-apps)