UK renewal tracking apps compared (2026)

This is a comparison written by the people who make one of the apps in it. We have tried to keep it factual: prices and features are taken from each product’s own website or App Store page on 17 September 2026 and are linked in the sources. If something has changed, tell us and we will fix it.

The options at a glance

Where each one fits

A calendar or spreadsheet. Genuinely fine if you have five or six renewals and one person who reliably owns them. Set the alert far enough ahead to act (a month for insurance, six for a passport) and put the policy number in the event notes. What it can’t do: hold the document, remember last year’s price, or tell the other adult in the house what’s going on. Our calendar vs to-do app vs tracker guide goes deeper, and the free .ics renewal calendar generator builds the events for you.

Renewa. Closer to a personal-finance app than a document tracker: mortgages, loans, credit cards, insurance and utilities in one list with a traffic-light urgency view, plus salary, debt, budget and pension calculators. Free with no ads, which is unusual. iOS now, Android promised. If your problem is “what do all my financial products cost me” more than “where is the policy PDF”, start here.

RenewHub. The privacy purist’s choice: nothing leaves the phone, no account, no sync. UK templates for MOT, car tax, council tax, TV Licence, boiler service and the like, file attachments, voice input, CSV/JSON export. The flip side of “no sync” is that it is one person, one device: no partner view and no automatic backup beyond your own iPhone backup. Pro is £4.99 a month.

AnnualVault. Built for people “responsible for renewals and compliance, not just their own”: landlords tracking Gas Safety, EICR and EPC across properties, fleet managers, and busy professionals. Web-based with a document vault and fixed 60/30/7-day reminders. The free tier is real but small (5 services); Pro is £4 a month. Partner sharing isn’t described on the site, so ask if that matters to you.

DueOwl. Ours. The design decision that shapes everything else: a renewal isn’t a date, it’s a date plus the document, the cost and the person dealing with it, visible to both partners. Scan a renewal letter and the dates are read on the device; renew and the old document is archived, not lost. Reminders are sized to the renewal type and reach both phones. Since version 1.0.8 (September 2026) it’s built documents-first: one search finds any document by name, provider, policy number or a word inside the PDF, and any file goes out by WhatsApp, email or AirDrop in one tap. Documents stay in your own iCloud and never reach DueOwl, and everything exports as a ZIP. From version 1.0.5 (September 2026) any item can be tagged Personal or Business, so a photographer’s public liability insurance and the family car’s MOT can live in the same app without mixing. It is iPhone only and UK only, and it is a household tool, not a compliance system for portfolios.

How to choose in two minutes

1. Does anyone else need to see these renewals? If yes, shortlist DueOwl or a shared calendar. If no, all five are open.
2. Do you need the document with the date? If yes, drop the plain calendar. If no, a calendar with long alerts may be all you need.
3. Is it home, or properties you’re responsible for? Home: Renewa, RenewHub or DueOwl. Properties: AnnualVault.
4. Where do you want the data? On the phone only: RenewHub. In your own iCloud: DueOwl. On the provider’s servers: Renewa, AnnualVault.
5. Budget. £0: calendar, Renewa, AnnualVault free tier. Under £3 a month for two people: DueOwl. Otherwise RenewHub or AnnualVault Pro.

Whichever you pick, the thing that actually saves money is the same: a reminder early enough to get a quote before the auto-renewal goes through. Our one-hour renewal audit is the place to start if you have never listed your renewals at all.