Best Bill Splitting Apps Compared: Which One Suits You?

A bill splitting app keeps track of who paid for what in a group, then tells everyone who owes whom. It saves you from keeping score in your head on a trip, in a shared flat or after a run of dinners. The main bill splitting apps all do this core job. They differ in where they run, whether everyone needs an account, how they handle currencies and what they keep for a paid tier. This guide compares Splitwise, Tricount, Settle Up, Splid and Expense Split, the EveryApp bill splitting app.

There is no single best bill splitting app. The right one is the one your group will actually use. That often depends on what your friends already have on their phones.

This comparison is based on what each product is designed for and what its own site says. Plans and features change, so check each app's site before you decide.

The short version

App	Suits	Platforms	Works offline	Free to use
Splitwise	Groups whose friends already use it; receipt scanning and charts on Pro	Web, iPhone, Android	Check their site	Has a free version
Tricount	Trips abroad with several currencies	iPhone, Android; check their site for web	Yes, per their site	Yes, per their site
Settle Up	Groups that want the same group on phones and the web	Web, iPhone, Android	Yes, per their site	Has a free version
Splid	Quick groups with no sign-up, several currencies	iPhone, Android	Yes, per their site	Yes, per their site
Expense Split	Flexible splits and fewest payments, no app store, private by default	Any browser; installs on iPhone, Android and computers	Yes	Yes

Who each one suits

Splitwise

Splitwise is a widely used bill splitting app. Each person has an account, so balances follow you from group to group and between friends. You can split equally or unequally, by percentage or by shares, and it can simplify debts so fewer payments are needed. It runs on the web, iPhone and Android. A paid Pro tier adds features such as receipt scanning and currency conversion.

Choose Splitwise if your friends already use it, or if you want one account that tracks what you owe across many groups over the years. It also suits people who want to scan receipts on Pro. We cover the two side by side in our Splitwise alternative guide.

Tricount

Tricount is a group expense app for phones. Its site says it is free, with currency conversion included and offline use available. Everyone in a group can add expenses, and balances update for all of them.

Choose Tricount if you travel often and spend in more than one currency on the same trip, and you want currency conversion without paying for it.

Settle Up

Settle Up tracks shared costs for travellers, flatmates and couples. It syncs each group so every member sees the same expenses. It keeps the number of payments needed to settle low. It has apps for iPhone and Android and a web app, so people can use whichever device they have. It supports several currencies and works without internet, syncing later.

Choose Settle Up if your group mixes phones and computers and wants a shared group that everyone can open. It is free to download, and a paid premium version adds extras; check their site for what it includes.

Splid

Splid keeps things light. Its site says it is free, needs no sign-up and works offline. It supports several currencies with conversion, and you can sync a group so others can add expenses too.

Choose Splid if you want to start a group in seconds with nobody making an account, and you need currency conversion on the road. It runs on iPhone and Android.

Expense Split

Expense Split is the EveryApp bill splitting app. You make a group, pick its currency and add the people in it. Then you add each cost: what it was, how much, who paid and how to split it. Balances shows what each person owes or is owed, and a short list of payments that settles everyone. It runs in any browser and installs from there on iPhone, Android and computers, with no app store.

Choose Expense Split if you want flexible splits and a clear settle-up list for free, and you'd rather not install anything from an app store. It suits trips with patchy signal, shared flats with a running list of bills, and couples who want one simple balance. It also suits people who want their groups to stay on their own device.

What Expense Split does well

• Four ways to split. Equally between the people you tick, by shares, by percentage or by exact amounts. Before you save, it shows what's still left to assign.
• The fewest payments. Balances turns a tangle of who paid what into a short list. The person who owes most pays the person owed most, and so on.
• Exact to the cent. Amounts are kept in whole cents, or the smallest unit of the group's currency, so every split adds up to the full cost.
• A record of repayments. Tap Record when someone pays back and their balance updates. Each expense and payment has a date and an optional note.
• Works offline. Once installed, you can add expenses with no signal. They're saved on your device. If you've turned on sync, they sync when you're back online.
• Installs from the browser. On iPhone, open it in Safari, tap Share, then Add to Home Screen. On Android, open it in Chrome and tap Install. On a computer, it runs in the browser. Our guide to installing Expense Split on iPhone and Android has the steps.
• Share a group, or don't. One person can keep the group and paste a plain summary of who owes whom into the group chat. Or sign in and share the group by link, so each person adds costs on their own phone. Each person you invite can edit or only view.
• A weekly nudge. Signed in, you can turn on a weekly "time to settle up" reminder for the day and time you choose.
• Private by design. Your groups stay on your device unless you choose to sync them to your EveryApp account. They're never sold, and you can download or delete them any time.

What Expense Split doesn't do

Be clear about the limits. Expense Split has one currency per group and doesn't convert between currencies. If one trip spans several currencies, Tricount, Splid or Splitwise Pro fit that better. It doesn't scan receipts, which Splitwise offers on Pro. It has no categories, charts or search. It can't import groups from another app. It has no app store listing, so if your group expects a native app, the others have one.

It is also not a payments app. It tells you who owes what, and you pay each other however you like.

The free version keeps up to 3 groups at once, and a shared group holds up to five people. Expenses and payments are never capped. A paid plan adds more groups, more people in a shared group and CSV export of a group's expenses. You never need it to split a bill.

How to choose

Start with your group. Features come second. Ask yourself these questions.

What do your friends already use? A bill splitting app works best when everyone checks the same numbers. If your group already has Splitwise or Tricount, joining them is often the easiest path.

Does everyone need to add costs? If one person can keep the group, any of these apps will do, and nobody else needs to install anything with Expense Split. If everyone wants to add their own costs, pick an app with shared groups. All five offer that, though some ask each person to sign in.

Will you spend in more than one currency? If one trip crosses borders, choose an app that converts currencies, such as Tricount, Splid or Splitwise on Pro. Expense Split keeps one currency per group, so you'd make a group per currency.

Will you have signal? On a hike, a ferry or a trip abroad without data, offline use matters. Tricount, Settle Up and Splid say they work offline, and Expense Split works offline once installed. For Splitwise, check its site for how it handles no signal.

Do you want to avoid accounts and app stores? Splid needs no sign-up. Expense Split needs no app store and no account unless you want to sync, share a group or set a reminder. Splitwise is built around each person having an account.

How do you want to split? For a restaurant bill split evenly, almost any app works. For a flat where one person has the big room, splitting by shares or exact amounts matters. Expense Split, Splitwise and others let you split unevenly.

How will you pay each other? Bill splitting apps track debts. Most leave the payment to you. Use the bank transfer or payments app your group already uses, then record the payment in the app so the balances stay right.

If you need to split one restaurant bill and never again, you may not need an app at all. Our guide to splitting a bill evenly walks through the maths.

Other EveryApp tools for shared costs

• The tip calculator splits a single bill with tip and tax between any number of people.
• The currency converter helps when you pay in one currency and settle in another.
• The Budget & Expense Tracker keeps your own spending and monthly budgets, separate from what friends owe you.
• The bill tracker keeps due dates for rent, utilities and subscriptions in a shared flat.

For a closer look at how splitting works in Expense Split, read the free expense split app guide.