Expense splitting apps compared (2026): free limits, privacy, and who each is for

You want an app so the four of you stop doing the maths in a group chat. You ask around, get five names back, and every app-store page says the same three words: free, simple, fair.

The honest answer is that these apps are more alike than different. All of them log who paid, divide the cost and show a running balance; what separates them is a handful of specifics — the free plan’s limits, item-by-item splitting, whether your friends need an account, how the app makes its money. So: decide what your group actually does, then check the six apps against that, not against a ranking.

The checks that separate them

Is there a cap, and are there ads? Only Splitwise meters your expenses: its free plan allows around three a day, which a weekend away blows through on the first afternoon, and it shows ads between screens. Tricount and Settle Up show some ads; Donget, Splid and Splitser are ad-free and uncapped.

Can it read a receipt? The biggest practical difference between apps that otherwise look identical. Donget includes AI receipt scanning free: a photo becomes a draft expense with its items. Splitwise scans only in its paid tier. Settle Up attaches a photo that nothing reads. Tricount, Splid and Splitser don’t read receipts.

How many ways can it split? Equal, exact amounts, percentages and shares are in all six. Item by item is where the field thins: Donget includes it free, Splitwise puts it in Pro, Splitser does it partially, and Tricount, Splid and Settle Up don’t offer it. The five ways to split an expense explains when each is the right tool.

Does everyone need an account? Splid has no accounts at all: you share a code. Tricount lets you start without one. Donget lets anyone join from an invite link and try it as a guest with a couple of groups; signing in with Google or Apple keeps more. Splitwise and Settle Up expect an account from everyone. The person least keen to install things decides whether the group happens — what “no sign-up” honestly means covers that trade-off.

Does it settle in the fewest payments, in any currency? All six net balances down rather than repaying every expense one by one, and all six handle multi-currency groups — Splitwise behind Pro, the other five free. What differs is whether you see everyone’s net position at a glance and record a payment in the same place; settling up without awkwardness covers the asking.

What does the free plan run on? Read the privacy policy for data selling and ad profiling. Donget, Splid and Splitser state that they don’t sell data; Splitwise, Tricount and Settle Up run ads. Is Splitwise safe? is about one app, but its checks apply to any of them.

At a glance

The row that matters is the one that will annoy you in week three.

The six apps, one by one

Donget

Unlimited expenses, no ads, AI receipt scanning included, and five ways to split: Equal, Amount, Percentage, Multiplier and item by item through Items and Costs. Multi-currency is free, Settle up suggests the fewest transfers, and a group is joined from an Invite link or QR code. Persian and Arabic lay out right-to-left, and it states that it doesn’t sell data or build ad profiles.

Where it loses: mobile-first, so there is no mature web app if you keep the accounts on a laptop. A far smaller network than Splitwise’s, which is real inertia if everyone you split with is already there. And beyond the guest mode’s two groups, you need a Google or Apple account. Full breakdown: Donget vs Splitwise.

Tricount

Genuinely free with no cap, and you can start a “tricount” without making an account. Multi-currency, realtime sync, join by link, and especially popular across Europe.

Where it loses: no receipt scanning and no itemized splitting, so everything is typed and divided as a whole. Some ads; no right-to-left layout. Full breakdown: Donget vs Tricount, or head to head in Splitwise vs Tricount.

Splid

No sign-up at all: you share a code and everyone joins. Free, no cap, no ads, multi-currency, privacy-friendly by design — the lowest-friction option for a one-off trip.

Where it loses: the no-account model is also its ceiling. Sync is code-based rather than truly realtime, there is no receipt scanning or item split, and a lost phone has no clean recovery path. No right-to-left layout. Full breakdown: Donget vs Splid.

Settle Up

Solid fundamentals — group expenses, running balances, optimized settlements, multi-currency, realtime sync, join by link — plus voice entry, which is quick at a till.

Where it loses: a receipt photo can be attached, but nothing reads it. No item-by-item split, some ads, and everyone needs an account. Full breakdown: Donget vs Settle Up.

Splitser

A clean, Splitwise-style splitter with a strong following in the Netherlands. Free, no cap, no ads, multi-currency, realtime sync, and it states that it doesn’t sell data.

Where it loses: no receipt scanning, only partial itemized splitting, and a narrower language range aimed mainly at a European audience. Full breakdown: Donget vs Splitser.

Splitwise

The one most people have heard of, with the largest network and a mature web app — if you do your accounting at a desk, none of the others match that.

Where it loses: the free plan is capped at around three expenses a day and shows ads, and receipt scanning, currency conversion and itemized splitting sit in the $4.99/month Pro tier. If that is the wall you have hit, five free Splitwise alternatives compared is the Splitwise-specific version of this page.

A small example: what settling up actually does

Four flatmates — Ana, Ben, Cem and Dara — share a weekend of costs, all split equally. Ana pays €120 for the big shop, Ben €60 for a takeaway and a taxi, Cem €20 for cleaning supplies, Dara nothing. Total €200, so €50 each. Ana paid 120 and owes 50, so she is +70; Ben +10; Cem −30; Dara −50. The nets sum to zero.

Repaid pair by pair, that is six transfers. Netted, it is three: Dara pays Ana €50, Cem pays Ana €20, Cem pays Ben €10. Ana receives 50 + 20 = 70, Ben receives 10, Cem pays 20 + 10 = 30, Dara pays 50 — every balance closes. How debt simplification works explains the mechanism.

Pick by situation

A trip abroad. Free multi-currency, realtime sync so everyone adds as they go, a settle-up that closes a week in a few transfers. Any of the five free apps works; Splitwise free hits its cap on day one.

A flatshare. Months of rent, bills and groceries with the odd unequal split. Item-by-item splitting earns its keep, and a long-lived group is where account recovery matters, which counts against the no-account apps.

A couple. Rarely 50/50. Percentage or exact-amount splits and a one-transfer settle at month end; every app qualifies, so pick on the account model and ads.

A one-off dinner, or a group that won’t install anything. Friction is the enemy. Go by the account row in the table: a shared code or a join link with no sign-up wall gets everyone in before the starters arrive, and receipt scanning saves typing a long bill.

Whichever row wins, switching takes about five minutes; how to switch from Splitwise gives the steps, and they work for leaving any of the others.

Where Donget comes in

Donget is one row of six, not the answer to all of them. It fits the group that wants the whole job done without a paid tier: Scan receipt with AI to get a long bill in, Items and Costs to assign each line to the person who had it, Settle up to turn a week of balances into the fewest transfers, and an Invite link so the group joins from WhatsApp. The case against it is just as plain: no mature web app, a smaller network than Splitwise, and an account beyond the guest mode.

Frequently asked questions

Which expense splitting app is completely free?

Donget, Tricount, Splid, Settle Up and Splitser all let you log unlimited expenses at no cost. Splitwise’s free plan caps you at around three a day and keeps scanning, currency conversion and itemized splitting in its $4.99/month Pro tier.

Do I need everyone in the group to create an account?

Not always. Splid uses a shared code and no accounts, Tricount lets you start without one, and Donget lets people join from an invite link and try it as a guest with a couple of groups. Splitwise and Settle Up expect an account from everyone.

Can I split a bill by item instead of equally?

Only in some apps. Donget includes it free, Splitwise puts it in Pro, Splitser does it partially, and Tricount, Splid and Settle Up divide each expense as a whole.

Which apps handle more than one currency?

All six; Splitwise keeps currency conversion in its paid tier, the other five include it free.

Is it safe to put shared expenses into an app?

Read the privacy policy for data selling and ad profiling. Donget, Splid and Splitser state that they don’t sell data; Splitwise, Tricount and Settle Up show ads to free users. Google or Apple sign-in means the app never stores a password.

Which app is right for just two people, or for a couple?

Any of them; what matters is unequal splits and a running balance. Percentage and exact-amount splits are in all six, and settle-up closes the month in one transfer.

The bottom line

Five of these six apps clear the bar that matters most — unlimited expenses at no cost — so the decision is about the rows that fit your group: receipt scanning if you eat out, item-by-item splits if orders are never equal, a no-account start if your friends won’t install anything, a web app if you work at a desk. Pick the row you’d miss and the app picks itself.

Download Donget free and see whether its row is the one your group needs — unlimited expenses, receipt scanning and item-by-item splits, with no paid tier behind them.