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.
The flights are booked, the group chat has a name, and someone has just asked the question that decides how the money side of the trip will go: which app are we using? You search for the best app to split travel expenses and get six names, all of them claiming to be free and simple.
They are more alike than they look, and the differences only show up on the road: a cap on expenses, an unexpected currency, a bar with no signal, a friend who will not install anything. For most group trips, pick a free app with no expense cap, free multi-currency and a settle-up that works out the fewest transfers. Donget, Tricount, Splid, Settle Up and Splitser all clear that bar; Splitwise’s free plan does not. Choose between them on receipt scanning, offline use and how your friends will join.
How we compared the travel expense apps
A trip is a harder test than a flatshare: expenses come in bursts, often in two currencies, for a group that exists for a week. So each app for splitting trip expenses was checked against what breaks on a holiday:
- Free limits. Can you log twenty expenses on a busy day without paying or waiting?
- Multi-currency. Is conversion included, or behind a paid tier?
- Receipt scanning. Does the app read a receipt, or only store a photo of it?
- Offline use. Can you add an expense on a mountain or a ferry and sync later?
- Joining. Does everyone need the app and an account before their share counts?
- Settle-up. Does it combine debts into the fewest transfers at the end?
- Ads. Is there advertising between you and your balances?
Facts come from our comparison pages and each app’s own website, help centre or store listing; where an app does not say, the table says so. For the same apps outside a travel context, see expense splitting apps compared.
Apps to split travel expenses, side by side (checked October 2026)
| Donget | Splitwise (free) | Tricount | Settle Up | Splid | Splitser | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Expense limit | None | 4 a day | None | None | None | None |
| Ads | None | Yes | None | Yes | None | Yes |
| Multi-currency | Free | Conversion in Pro | Free | Free | Free | Free |
| Receipt scanning | AI, free | Pro only | No | No (photo storage in Premium) | No | No |
| Split item by item | From a scanned receipt | Pro only | No | No | No | Partial |
| Works offline | Yes | Offline entry | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Start without an account | Guest mode (2 groups) | No | Yes | No | Yes | No |
| Web access | No | Yes | Not stated | Balances in a browser | Not stated | Yes |
| Fewest-transfers settle-up | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Five of the six are a free app to split trip costs with no cap. The real choice is in the bottom half of the table.
What “fewest transfers” means on a trip
Ana, Ben, Cleo and Dan spend a weekend in Prague. Ana pays €480 for the flat, Ben €200 for two dinners, Cleo €80 for taxis, Dan nothing. That is €760, or €190 each. Ana is owed €290, Ben €10; Cleo owes €110 and Dan €190.
Repaid expense by expense, that is nine small debts. A fewest-transfers settle-up makes it three: Dan pays Ana €190, Cleo pays Ana €100, Cleo pays Ben €10. Every app in the table does this; how to work out who owes whom shows the method by hand.
The six apps, one by one
Donget
Best for: trips abroad where receipts pile up and currencies mix. It is free with no ads and no expense cap, every expense can be in its own currency, and Scan receipt with AI reads the bill so each person can Claim a share of the items they had. It works offline and syncs later.
Where it falls short: there is no web app, so the person who likes to reconcile on a laptop cannot. There is no data export to CSV or a spreadsheet. Each expense has one payer, so a hotel paid half on one card and half on another goes in as two expenses. Its network is also smaller than Splitwise’s.
Splitwise
Best for: groups that already live in it and want a mature web app. If someone in the group pays for Pro, receipt scanning, itemized splitting and currency conversion are all there.
Where it falls short: the free plan allows up to four expenses a day and shows ads, and the travel features sit in Pro at $4.99 a month. Five free Splitwise alternatives covers what to use instead.
Tricount
Best for: a simple, equal-split trip. It is free, says it has no ads and no limits, includes currency conversion, lists offline use, and lets you try it without signing up.
Where it falls short: no receipt scanning and no item-by-item split, so every expense is typed and divided as a whole. Its help centre says Premium was discontinued with the new app, and CSV and PDF export went with it. Tricount alternatives compares the options in detail.
Settle Up
Best for: a group with one or two people who will not download anything: its store listing says friends can view the balance in a browser from a shared link. It works offline and supports all currencies.
Where it falls short: the free version shows ads, receipt photos are a Premium feature and nothing reads them, and there is no item-by-item split.
Splid
Best for: a one-off trip where nobody wants an account: share a code and everyone joins, no sign-up. It works offline, converts currencies and shows no ads.
Where it falls short: sync is code-based rather than fully realtime, there is no receipt scanning or item-by-item split, and without accounts there is no clean recovery if a phone is lost.
Splitser
Best for: Dutch and wider European groups who already use it. Flexible splits, more than 150 currencies, and a web login for whoever keeps the books.
Where it falls short: it shows ads unless you pay to remove them, has no receipt scanning, and splits item by item only partially.
Which group travel expense app for which trip
A weekend away, equal splits, nobody wants to sign up. Splid or Tricount.
A week abroad with restaurants and mixed currencies. Donget, which is free with no Pro tier, or Splitwise if someone already pays for Pro. Log every expense in the currency you paid; splitting bills across currencies explains why that keeps the totals honest.
A road trip with patchy signal. Any app that works offline: Donget, Tricount, Splid, Settle Up or Splitser.
One friend refuses to install anything. Settle Up’s browser view, or keep that friend’s share yourself. Splitting when not everyone will install an app covers both routes.
The organiser does the accounts on a laptop. Splitwise or Splitser, both with web access.
Whichever you pick, agree before you leave on what is shared and how; the fair way to split a group trip covers the rules that save the argument later.
Where Donget comes in
Donget fits the trip where you want the whole job done without a paid tier. Create the group with its currency, then share the invite link or let people Scan QR code at the airport. Anyone who has not installed the app yet can be added with Add member under their name; when they join, they pick it from Select your name, and everything already logged for them is still there.
On the road, whoever pays logs it in the currency they paid, at a rate saved on that expense; a long dinner bill goes in with Scan receipt with AI, and offline expenses sync later. At the end, Settle up suggests the fewest transfers and Paid records each one. Donget moves no money; it keeps the figure everyone agrees on.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best free app to split travel expenses?
There is no single winner; it depends on the trip. Donget, Tricount, Splid, Settle Up and Splitser are all free with no expense cap. Donget adds free AI receipt scanning and multi-currency, Splid and Tricount let people start without signing up, and Settle Up lets friends view balances in a browser.
Is there an app to split trip costs without a limit?
Yes. Donget, Tricount, Splid, Settle Up and Splitser let you log as many expenses as the trip needs at no cost. Splitwise’s free plan caps you at four expenses a day.
Can a travel expense app handle different currencies?
All six handle more than one currency. Splitwise keeps conversion in Pro; the other five include it free. In Donget, each expense is converted at a rate saved on that expense.
Do all my friends need the app?
Not for the maths. In Donget, anyone can be added by name, so their share is tracked even if they never install anything; joining later, they pick that name.
Which travel expense apps work offline?
Donget, Tricount, Splid, Settle Up and Splitser say they work offline, and Splitwise supports offline entry. In Donget only receipt scanning needs a connection; everything else syncs when you are back online.
Should one person just pay for everything and split it at the end?
It works for a short trip if that person keeps every receipt. For longer trips, have whoever pays log the expense on the spot, so the balance is always current.
The bottom line
A travel expense splitter app needs no cap, free currencies, offline logging and a settle-up that ends in a few transfers. Pick on the rest: Splid or Tricount for zero friction, Settle Up or Splitwise for browser access, Splitser for a Dutch group, Donget for scanned receipts and mixed currencies at no cost.
Download Donget free and set up the trip’s group before the first bill arrives.
