The Donget blog
Guides, tips and honest takes on sharing money without losing friends.
How to split rent and bills with roommates (without the awkwardness)
A practical guide to splitting rent, utilities and the weekly shop fairly with roommates — plus how an expense splitting app keeps everyone honest.
How couples split travel costs (without keeping score)
How do couples split travel expenses? Pick one rule before you book: 50/50, by income, one pays flights and the other the stay, or a shared trip pot. Then log the big costs and settle once, after you are home.
How to split chores with roommates (and the one-off jobs nobody counts)
How to split chores with roommates: list every job, weigh it in minutes, give each person an equal share, and rotate. Plus the one-off jobs nobody counts, and what to do when they cost money.
Group camping checklist: shared gear, who brings what, who pays
A group camping checklist splits into shared gear, personal gear, food and cooking, and safety. Each shared item gets one owner, bought gear and food are split among the people they were for, and borrowed gear costs nothing unless agreed.
Split evenly or itemize? When each one is fair
Split the bill evenly when orders are close and the group eats together often; itemize when one order is far bigger, someone skipped the drinks, or it is a one-off. A five-person example shows the difference in dollars.
Best apps for planning a group trip (who does what, who pays)
No single group trip planning app does everything: Wanderlog and TripIt handle itineraries and bookings, Splitwise and Tricount handle the money, Donget handles shared jobs and the money. Six options compared, with what each leaves out.
Best apps to split a bill by receipt (itemized, with scanning)
The best app to split receipts reads the bill from a photo, lets each person take their own items and spreads tax and tip in proportion. Six apps compared on scanning, itemizing, extras and cost.
How to plan a group trip with friends: who books, who drives, who pays
To plan a group trip, fix the dates and a budget range first, give every job one named owner, let whoever pays log it with the people it was for, and settle once at the end. A step-by-step plan with an example.
Who brings what list: organise a party or potluck without the chaos
A who brings what list works when it is grouped by category, every item has one name and a quantity, and anything bought for everyone is split among the people it was for. Here is how to build one, hand it out and settle the money.
Roommate moving out: how to settle shared costs before they go
Roommate moving out? Settle five things before they go: rent and bills to their last night, the bill that comes later, their deposit share, shared furniture, and one final transfer.
Travel kitty or split as you go? Handling group money on a trip
A travel kitty is a shared pot everyone pays into for small daily costs; splitting as you go logs each cost and settles at the end. Most groups do best with both. Here is how to run each fairly.
What does “going Dutch” mean? Bill-splitting customs around the world
Going Dutch means each person pays for their own share of a meal or outing, rather than one person paying for everyone. Where the phrase comes from, and how bill splitting works around the world.
How to split groceries with roommates (3 systems that work)
How to split groceries with roommates: buy your own food and share only staples, pool a food fund split equally, or itemize each receipt. How to pick one, and settle monthly.
Splitting expenses offline: what works with no signal (and what doesn't)
An expense splitting app offline can still log costs and work out balances, then sync when you reconnect. Inviting, joining and exchange-rate suggestions need a connection, so set up before you lose signal.
Should couples split bills 50/50? How to choose the split that fits
Should couples split bills 50/50? Yes, when your incomes and spending habits are close. When they are not, a proportional or hybrid split is usually fairer. Five questions help you choose.
How to split family vacation costs between households
To split family vacation costs between households, weight each household by who is in it (adults 2, children 1), split activities by who went, and settle household to household. Worked example.
Tricount changes explained: what's different and what your options are
The Tricount changes in short: Premium is gone with the new app, and with it CSV/PDF export, personal mode and sorting, while statistics and saved splits are planned to return. What still works, and your options.
Best apps to split bills with roommates (free options compared)
An app to split bills with roommates should log a whole month with no cap, handles unequal rooms and settles in a few transfers. Six free options for a shared home compared, with where each falls short.
The friend who never pays: how to handle it without losing the friendship
When a friend never pays, treat it as a pattern: split costs at the time, keep them where everyone can see, stop fronting money, then talk once, kindly. Scripts and a worked example included.
Roommate not paying utilities? What to do, step by step
Roommate not paying utilities? Work out why, show the actual bills, ask in writing with a date, offer a catch-up plan alongside the next bill, then change who holds which account.
How to split tax, tip and service charge fairly
How to split tax and tip: share them in proportion to what each person ordered, split a flat delivery fee per head, and take discounts off the same way. Formula and a worked example.
Best apps to split travel expenses with friends (free options compared)
A good app to split travel expenses is free, has no expense cap, handles currencies and settles in a few transfers. Six apps compared on receipts, offline use and joining.
How to work out who owes whom after a group trip (step by step)
To work out who owes whom, give each person one net balance (what they paid minus their share), then match the biggest debtor with the biggest creditor until everyone is at zero.
What is Tricount and how does it work? Free, no sign-up, and where it stops
Tricount is a free app for splitting group costs, owned by the bank bunq: start a tricount, share a link, log who paid, and it shows who owes whom. How it works, what it costs, and its limits.
Is Splitwise Pro worth it? Price, what it adds, and who should pay
Splitwise Pro costs $4.99 a month. It removes the daily expense cap and ads and adds receipt scanning, currency conversion and itemized splits. Worth it for some groups, not others — here's how to tell.
Splitwise Pay: fees, bank linking and whether it's safe
Splitwise Pay settles balances inside Splitwise for US residents only. Standard transfers are free; instant withdrawal costs 1.75%. What it asks for, who holds the money, and when you don't need it.
Splid vs Splitwise: no sign-up and no cap, or the bigger network?
Splid vs Splitwise: Splid is free, uncapped, ad-free and needs no account; Splitwise has the web app and the network, but caps free users at four expenses a day. Which fits your group.
A friend won't pay you back: what to do next, step by step
When a friend won't pay you back, go in order: make the number undeniable, ask once in writing with a date, offer a smaller way to pay, then decide whether it is a debt or a gift. Messages included.
How to split costs on a work trip or team offsite
A work trip has two ledgers: the company's and yours. Here is how to keep the team dinner, the taxis and the leaving gift out of each other's way, and settle a five-person offsite in four transfers.
How to work out rent when someone moves in or out mid-month
The daily rate is the monthly rent divided by the days in that month, not by 30. Here is the person-day method for rent and bills when a housemate arrives or leaves partway through, worked in full.
How to split a shared subscription without anyone forgetting
Shared subscriptions fail because each charge is too small to chase and it comes back every month. Three ways to handle recurring shared costs, and the one that ends in two transfers a year.
How to split bills when you earn different amounts
Fifty-fifty stops being fair when one income is half the other. Here are the two proportional methods households actually use, worked through in full, and where equal splitting still belongs.
Does everyone need to download the app? How to split expenses when not everyone will install one
One person can keep the ledger for a whole group. Here is how to split fairly when two people are happy to install something and the other four are not, and what each option costs you.
Do bill-splitting apps need your bank account? What each type actually asks for
Splitting apps come in two kinds: ones that only keep a record, and ones that also move money. Which one you have decides whether you are asked for a bank account, an ID, or a fee.
What is Splitwise and how does it work? The shared ledger, explained
Splitwise is an app that records shared expenses and keeps a running balance for each person. How it works, why you may pay someone who never paid for you, and why four friends with six IOUs settle in three transfers.
How to split festival and concert trip costs: tickets, camping, fuel and the tab
A phase-by-phase guide to splitting a festival or concert trip with friends: settle tickets early, log camping and fuel as they happen, close the trip in a few transfers.
Expense splitting apps compared (2026): free limits, privacy, and who each is for
Donget, Tricount, Splid, Settle Up, Splitser and Splitwise side by side: free limits, ads, receipt scanning, split modes, accounts and privacy, with a pick per situation.
How to split an Airbnb or villa with friends when rooms and nights aren't equal
Person-nights, a room premium agreed up front, and one settle-up for whoever booked: how to split an Airbnb or villa fairly between couples, singles and early leavers.
Splitting shared costs in a sports club or hobby group: pitch hire, kit and the kitty
How to split pitch hire, bulk kit orders and the club kitty fairly in a five-a-side team or hobby group: the no-show rule, a worked example, and one settle a month.
How to keep track of who owes you money — without a notebook, a group chat, or a spreadsheet
A simple system for tracking money between friends: one shared record both people can see, a running balance per person, and repayments logged in the same place.
How to split gas money on a road trip: fuel, tolls and who rode which leg
A fair way to split gas money and road trip costs: the fuel formula, tolls and parking, what to do when someone joins halfway, and an example settled in three transfers.
Splitwise vs Tricount: which one should your group use?
Splitwise vs Tricount, head to head: the daily cap and ads, accounts, split modes, receipts, currencies, settling up and the web app — and which to pick for your group.
How to split expenses in a spreadsheet (free template) — and where it stops working
Free expense-splitting spreadsheet template (Google Sheets, Excel), the formulas behind it, a worked flatshare example and the three points where it stops working.
Who pays on a birthday dinner? The rules nobody says out loud
Either the guests cover the birthday person or the birthday person treats — both are normal, and the organiser says which before the dinner. How to split the guest of honour's share fairly, and the lobster order.
How debt simplification works: why your group owes fewer payments than it thinks
How debt simplification turns a web of IOUs into net balances, why five friends settle in three transfers, and why you may owe someone who never paid for you.
Moving in together: how to split rent, bills and the first big purchases
How to split costs when you move in with a partner: three buckets for shared money, equal vs proportional rent, who pays for the sofa, and a month that settles in one go.
Tricount alternatives compared: what each free app adds — and what it gives up
Five free Tricount alternatives compared — Donget, Splid, Settle Up, Splitser and Splitwise: what each adds (receipt scanning, item-by-item splits) and what it gives up.
How to split a restaurant bill fairly when not everyone ate the same
Split equally when orders are similar, item by item when they are not, or use the hybrid: shared dishes among those who shared, the rest by person. Plus the service charge, and a worked four-person example in euros.
How to switch from Splitwise without losing track of who owes what
A step-by-step guide to leaving Splitwise: what to settle first, which groups are worth moving, how to carry an unpaid balance across, and how to get the rest of the group to actually come with you.
Is Splitwise safe? Bank access, Splitwise Pay and fees explained
Splitwise doesn't need your bank account to split a bill. What it can actually see, what Splitwise Pay asks for and charges, and the privacy checks that matter — plus a private, ad-free alternative.
The fair way to split a group trip
Hotels, flights, dinners and the one friend who paid for everything — here is how to split group trip expenses fairly and settle up before you fly home.
Bachelor party costs: who actually pays for what
The guest of honour doesn't pay — but nobody says what that costs everyone else. A clear method for splitting a stag or hen do, including when someone can't afford it.
Is Splitwise free? What the free plan limits and what Pro unlocks
Splitwise is free up to a point: four expenses a day, with ads, and receipt scanning, currency conversion and itemized splits kept for Pro. Which limits you'll hit, and what a genuinely free alternative looks like.
How to split utility bills with roommates without a monthly argument
Internet, electricity, water, gas — a practical system for splitting household bills with roommates, including what to do when usage isn't equal.
Expense splitting for couples: a guide that keeps the peace
Should couples split everything 50/50? Here's how to share expenses as a couple — by income, by category, or down the middle — without money becoming a recurring fight.
A free Splitwise alternative without the sign-up: what's really possible
Want to split costs without making everyone register? Here's what 'no sign-up' can honestly mean, where it breaks, and how to get a group onto an app in one evening.
How to ask a friend for money back — what to say, word for word
The exact wording that gets you paid back without it getting weird: when to ask, how to stay specific and blameless, and how to let a shared balance make the ask for you.
How to split bills across currencies (without forty different exchange rates)
Pick one home currency, log every expense in the currency you actually paid, and convert once at settle-up. The method that keeps a multi-currency trip fair — and settles it in the fewest payments.
Bachelor & bachelorette trip budgeting without the drama
Planning a bach trip? Here's how to budget a bachelor or bachelorette party, split costs fairly across the group, and cover the guest of honour without the awkward math.
Splitwise daily limit (2026): how many expenses per day are free
Splitwise lets free users add four expenses a day. Here is what the cap covers, why it exists, and three ways to keep splitting without it, without ads and without Pro.
How to split a group gift (and run a stress-free Secret Santa)
Chipping in for a group gift or organising Secret Santa? Here's how to collect fair contributions, track who's paid, and split the cost without chasing anyone.
How to split team expenses (free Splitwise alternative)
How to split team expenses without the awkwardness: shared costs at work, why apps built for friends break in the office, and a free Splitwise alternative for business.
When one of you pays for everything: how to rebalance
One person's card comes out every time and nobody decided it. How to tell an income gap from drift from avoidance — and the proportional split that actually fixes it.
Splitwise alternatives: 5 free apps compared (2026)
The best free Splitwise alternatives, compared side by side: Donget, Tricount, Splid, Settle Up and Splitser. What each one gives you free, what it holds back, and which fits your group — trips, flatshares, couples or a team.
How to settle up without the awkwardness
Settling up shouldn't feel weird. Here's how to clear shared balances cleanly, in the fewest payments, so money never gets in the way of the friendship.
How to split rent when the rooms aren't equal
The master bedroom shouldn't cost the same as the box room. Here's how to split rent fairly when rooms differ in size, light and amenities — with a formula that works.
The 5 ways to split an expense (and when to use each)
Splitting equally is rarely the fairest option. Here are the 5 ways to split an expense — equally, by amounts, by percentages, by shares, item-by-item — and when to use each.
How AI receipt scanning saves you time (and it's free)
Typing out every shared expense is tedious. Here's how free AI receipt scanning turns a photo into a logged expense in seconds — no Pro tier, no data entry.
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