Built by a 14-year-old Indian coder, this free AI app scans receipts and helps you save money

“If you’ve ever used a receipt manager app before, you probably know that most of them either require you to manually enter prices and items, or if they do scan receipts, their OCR and item recognition often aren’t very accurate,” Shaurya said while introducing the app in a short video.

According to the teen, Spendsmart solves both of these problems. As part of the demo, he logged into the app to demonstrate how easy it was to use. Once logged in, users are to click on New Expense; thereafter, they can either scan a receipt or upload an image from their phone’s gallery or even take a photo. In the demo, Shaurya opted for the camera, saying that one could take multiple images as needed, as often the receipts could be long or may have multiple parts. After snapping the pictures, he proceeds to click on the Process Receipt option.

With just one click, the SpendSmart app automatically extracts all the prices, categorises all the items, and populates the dashboard with all the key information. “If you keep adding more, it updates the total, shows your savings, and breaks down your monthly spending,” he said.

Later, in the History section, users can see that the app has also fetched the brand logo from the receipt. Upon clicking the logo, one can view the pictures they clicked. “So, if you ever need to return something—say at Costco—you don’t need to bring the physical receipt. You can just show the image.”

Many users on X asked the teen about an Android version of the app, to which he responded by saying that currently the app is only available on iOS. The app also records the payment method, currency, and location and categorises every item individually, including their prices and any discounts applied. Shaurya said that the application is still in its initial stages, and he will continue to add more features.

The app is named SpendSmart – AI Receipt Tool with the caption “Less clutter, More Clarity”. As per the App Store, the app does not collect any form of user data. The app eliminates the need for typing, as it automatically reads, extracts, and organises receipt details. It doubles as a digital archive, as it lets users store all their receipts securely. The highlight of the app for now is that it does not require a subscription, has no ads and there are no hidden fees.

Gupta is an Indian programmer, and in his blog, he claims he began coding journey at nine. He started with block-based platforms such as Code.org and Scratch. Over the years, he moved to web development, teaching himself HTML, CSS, and JavaScript through various online resources, including YouTube and Udemy. Reportedly, at 11 he got his first MacBook, and he embarked on iOS development, learning Swift and SwiftUI on his own. In 2024, he made headlines after he met Apple CEO Tim Cook at the annual developer conference WWDC 2024.

Gupta had participated in the Apple Student Swift Challenge and was adjudged among the 350 winners. His win earned him a meeting with Cook, following which he posted a selfie. His notable projects include Fizzix, an interactive app designed to help users understand Newton’s three laws of motion, and this eventually won him the Swift Student Challenge. As per his website, he is currently building more projects and learning new skills such as Next.js and Python.