The best Splitwise alternative for your group
compared honestly.

Why people look for a Splitwise alternative

Splitwise has been the default way to track shared costs for years, and for a lot of groups it still works. People usually start looking elsewhere for one of three reasons.

• Free-plan changes. Splitwise has moved some features behind its Pro plan over time. Limits change, so check their current free limits before deciding anything based on what a friend told you last year.
• Tracking and paying live in different apps. Splitwise tells you that Jordan owes you $64. Getting the $64 still means opening Venmo or your bank, typing the amount, and then going back to record it.
• The group has changed. A trip app that worked for a weekend away is not always right for a flat with rent, utilities and a shared grocery run every week.

None of these mean Splitwise is bad. They mean it is worth checking whether something else fits the way your group actually lives.

What to look for in a shared-expense app

Before comparing names, decide what your group needs. Run through this list with whoever you split with most.

1. Does everyone have to install it? Some apps let people view or join from a link. Others need an account for every member.
2. Can you settle inside the app? Look for one-tap payment through the apps people already use, not just a "mark as paid" button.
3. Recurring bills. If you split rent or utilities, you want expenses that repeat monthly on their own.
4. Receipts. Scanning a receipt and assigning items to people saves real time after dinners and grocery runs.
5. Reminders. A neutral nudge from the app is easier than a text from you.
6. Currencies and countries. Trips abroad need multiple currencies. Venmo, for example, is US-only.
7. Getting your history out and in. Check that you can export, and that the new app can take your existing balances.
8. Cost. Most of these apps have a free tier and a paid tier. Compare what you will actually use, not the full feature list.

Five options, with honest pros and cons

Chipp. Groups with live balances and a group chat, receipt scanning with item assignment, reminders, and settle-up in one tap through Venmo, Cash App, Zelle, PayPal, your bank or Chipp Balance. There is an AI assistant that answers "who owes what" and adds expenses from a sentence like "I paid $84 for groceries, split with Sam and Ava". It can import balances from Splitwise using screenshots or Splitwise's spreadsheet export. Free to download on iOS and Android.

• Pros: tracking and paying in one place; receipt item splitting; built-in Splitwise import.
• Cons: newer, so your friends are less likely to have it already; recurring bills such as monthly rent are part of Chipp+; Chipp is not a bank.

Tricount. A long-running, free expense-sharing app owned by bunq, popular for trips in Europe. You share a tricount with a link and people pick their name, and it handles multiple currencies.

• Pros: simple, quick to start, good for one-off trips and events.
• Cons: built around trips and events more than ongoing household bills; you generally pay each other outside the app. Check their current plan for any paid extras.

Settle Up. A cross-platform group expense tracker with multiple currencies and a free version plus a paid upgrade.

• Pros: works across Android, iOS and the web; good for mixed-phone groups.
• Cons: payments usually happen in another app; check their current plan to see which features are paid.

Venmo groups. Venmo lets friends set up a group, log shared expenses and pay each other in the same app.

• Pros: if everyone already uses Venmo, there is nothing new to install, and paying is built in.
• Cons: US-only, everyone needs a Venmo account, and it does not help the friend who uses Zelle or Cash App. Expense tracking is lighter than in dedicated apps. Check your privacy settings, since Venmo payments have historically defaulted to public.

A shared spreadsheet. Google Sheets or Excel with a column per person.

• Pros: free, fully flexible, nothing to install.
• Cons: someone becomes the group accountant; formulas break; no reminders; no receipt scanning; settling is fully manual.

A worked example: one month in a three-person flat

Maya, Jordan and Sam share a flat. This month Maya paid rent of $2,100, Jordan paid internet of $60, and Sam paid $135 for groceries. Everything is split equally.

• Total spent: $2,100 + $60 + $135 = $2,295
• Each person's share: $2,295 / 3 = $765
• Maya paid $2,100, so she is owed $2,100 − $765 = $1,335
• Jordan paid $60, so he owes $765 − $60 = $705
• Sam paid $135, so he owes $765 − $135 = $630

Check: $705 + $630 = $1,335. Two payments settle the month: Jordan sends Maya $705 and Sam sends Maya $630.

In a spreadsheet you do this math yourself each month, which is fine until someone pays a bill late or adds a receipt twice. In any of the apps above, the balance updates as each expense goes in. The difference between them is what happens next: in Tricount, Settle Up or Splitwise, Jordan opens a payment app and then marks the debt as paid. In Venmo groups, he pays inside Venmo if Maya uses Venmo. In Chipp, he taps Settle up and picks Venmo, Zelle or whatever Maya uses, and the balance clears.

Which alternative fits your group

• Roommates with rent and utilities: pick something with recurring bills and reminders. Chipp (recurring bills with Chipp+) or a well-kept spreadsheet if your household likes control.
• One trip with friends, especially abroad: Tricount or Settle Up are quick to start and handle currencies. Chipp also works if you want receipt scanning and in-app settling.
• Everyone is in the US and already lives on Venmo: Venmo groups may be enough, as long as nobody in the group prefers another payment app.
• A couple splitting some costs: any of these works. Choose based on how you settle, since you will do it often. See how to split expenses with a partner.
• You just want it free and simple: start with the free tier of any app and only upgrade if a paid feature saves you real effort.

If your choice is between two specific apps, these comparisons go deeper: Splitwise vs Venmo and Splitwise vs Tricount.

How to move your balances over

You do not need to re-enter months of history. What matters is where each person stands today.

1. Settle any tiny balances in Splitwise first, so you move less.
2. Create the new group with the same people.
3. Take a screenshot of the group's Balances screen, or use Splitwise's group settings to export the group as a spreadsheet.
4. Bring those balances into the new app. In Chipp, go to Profile, then Move from Splitwise, pick the group and add the screenshots or the file. Review and import.
5. Post one message in the old group saying balances moved on a specific date, so nobody adds new expenses there.

The full walkthrough, including what simplify debts changes, is in how to import from Splitwise.

A switching checklist you can copy

Paste this into your group chat before you switch:

• "We're moving our shared expenses to [app] from [date]."
• "Balances as of today: [paste the list]. Shout if anything looks wrong before Friday."
• "From now on, add new expenses in [app] only."
• "Splitwise stays as a read-only record. Please don't add anything there."

Give it a week before deleting anything. Keep your Splitwise export somewhere safe; it is your record if a question comes up later.