Splitwise alternatives: 5 free apps compared (2026)

Splitwise taught the world to split a bill, and for years it was the obvious pick. Then the free tier shrank: a cap of around three expenses a day, ads between you and your balances, and a $4.99/month Pro tier holding receipt scanning, currency conversion and itemized splitting. The app you reached for to avoid hassle became a hassle.

The good news is that the alternatives are genuinely free — not free-with-an-asterisk. This guide compares the five that matter, says plainly what each one holds back, and helps you pick by situation rather than by feature count.

How these were compared

Every app here was judged on the same question: can a normal group split, scan and settle without ever being asked to wait or pay? That breaks into five checks — no daily cap, no ads, receipt scanning included, multi-currency included, and flexible splitting (not just equal shares). The per-app breakdowns behind this article live on our comparison pages, linked in each section, and we say where Donget loses as well as where it wins.

At a glance

The short version: nobody except Splitwise meters your expenses, so the real decision is about receipt scanning, itemized splitting and whether your group wants accounts.

The five alternatives

Donget — the best all-round free option

Donget was built for exactly this frustration. Unlimited expenses, AI receipt scanning included free, five ways to split (equal, exact amounts, percentages, shares, and item by item), multi-currency, smart settle-up, and 87 languages with proper right-to-left layout for Persian and Arabic.

The itemized split is the part most groups underrate: assign each line of the bill to whoever actually had it, so the person who skipped the wine doesn’t pay for it. On Splitwise that’s a Pro feature; Tricount, Splid and Settle Up don’t offer it at all.

Where it loses: Splitwise has a mature web app and a much larger network — if every person you split with is already there, that inertia is real. Donget is mobile-first, so if you do your accounting on a laptop, that’s a genuine trade-off.

Full breakdown: Donget vs Splitwise.

Tricount — the simplest for one-off trips

Tricount earned its 21 million users by being free and dead simple. You can start a “tricount” without making an account, it handles multiple currencies, and it’s especially popular across Europe.

Where it loses: no receipt scanning and no itemized splitting, so every expense is entered by hand and divided as a whole. Fine for a weekend; tedious for a shared flat.

Full breakdown: Donget vs Tricount.

Splid — the best with no sign-up

Splid nails one thing: frictionless trips with no accounts at all. You share a code, everyone joins, and it’s privacy-friendly by design.

Where it loses: that no-account model is also its ceiling. Sync is code-based rather than truly realtime, there’s no receipt scanning and no itemized splitting, and without an account there’s no clean recovery path if a phone is lost.

Full breakdown: Donget vs Splid.

Settle Up — solid fundamentals, handy voice entry

Settle Up does the basics well — group expenses, running balances, optimized settlements — and adds voice entry, which is genuinely quick when you’re standing at a till.

Where it loses: you can attach a receipt photo, but nothing reads it, so the amounts are still typed in by hand. No itemized splitting either.

Full breakdown: Donget vs Settle Up.

Splitser — a clean Splitwise-style option

Splitser is a tidy, familiar splitter with a strong following in the Netherlands. Groups, flexible splits, balances and settle-up, all free and ad-free.

Where it loses: no AI receipt scanning, only partial itemized splitting, and a narrower language range aimed mainly at a European audience.

Full breakdown: Donget vs Splitser.

And the honest non-app answer

For two people and four expenses, a shared note or spreadsheet still works, and it costs nothing. The moment a third person joins, or the currency changes, or someone pays a bill on your behalf, the arithmetic stops being worth it — that’s the point at which any of the apps above pays for itself in minutes saved.

Pick by situation, not by feature list

• A trip abroad. Multi-currency and realtime sync matter most, so everyone can add as they go. See the fair way to split a group trip.
• A flatshare. Recurring rent and bills, month after month, is where itemized splitting and unlimited expenses earn their keep. See how to split rent and bills with roommates.
• A couple. Rarely a clean 50/50, and often two unequal incomes. See expense splitting for couples.
• A team or small business. Office lunches, client trips and shared subscriptions don’t need per-seat expense software. See Splitwise for teams and small business.
• A group that won’t install anything. Prioritise join-by-link and no-sign-up flows. See a free Splitwise alternative without the sign-up wall.

Check these before you commit a group

Switching costs your friends’ patience, so it’s worth ten minutes of checking:

1. Is the cap really gone? Some apps meter something other than expenses — groups, photos, exports. Add fifteen expenses in one sitting and see.
2. What does the free tier fund itself with? No ads and no paid tier means the money comes from somewhere. Read the privacy policy for data selling and ad profiling — is Splitwise safe? walks through what to look for in any of these apps.
3. Can everyone actually join? One friend on an old phone or a slow connection decides this for the whole group.
4. Does it settle in the fewest payments? Five people and twenty expenses should end in two or three transfers, not twenty.
5. Is it in your group’s language? A translated menu is not the same as a correctly laid-out right-to-left interface.

For exactly what Splitwise itself gates behind Pro, see Splitwise free vs paid, and if you’ve already hit the ceiling, the Splitwise free limit explained.

Switching takes about five minutes

You don’t need to migrate years of history — you need a clean slate for what’s still live:

1. Settle your outstanding balances in Splitwise.
2. Recreate only the groups you still use in the new app.
3. Add your friends and log your next expense there.

Dead groups stay dead, and nothing follows you across except the balances that actually matter.

The full walkthrough — including how to carry an unsettled balance across and how to get everyone to come with you — is in how to switch from Splitwise.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best free alternative to Splitwise?

It depends on what you split. Donget is the best all-round free pick: unlimited expenses, AI receipt scanning, multi-currency and itemized splitting with no paid tier. Tricount is the simplest for one-off trips, Splid is best if nobody wants to make an account, and Settle Up suits people who like voice entry.

Is there a completely free Splitwise alternative with no daily limit?

Yes — several. Splitwise limits free users to roughly three expenses a day, but Donget, Tricount, Splid, Settle Up and Splitser all let you log as many expenses as you like at no cost. The differences between them are in receipt scanning, itemized splitting and sync, not in the daily cap.

Is there a free Splitwise alternative for teams or small businesses?

Yes. Office lunches, client trips and shared subscriptions are just group expenses, so a group splitter handles them without per-seat business pricing. You want unlimited expenses, multi-currency and receipt scanning that isn’t paywalled.

Do free Splitwise alternatives include receipt scanning?

Rarely. Splitwise puts it behind Pro, and Splid, Settle Up and Splitser don’t read receipts at all — attaching a photo is not the same thing. Donget includes AI receipt scanning on the free tier.

Which Splitwise alternative works without creating an account?

Splid is built around it — you share a code and everyone joins. Tricount also lets you start without an account. The trade-off is realtime sync and recovery: without an account, your data lives with the code rather than with you.

Can I move my Splitwise data to another app?

There is no import tool, and you don’t really need one. Settle your balances first, then recreate only the groups that are still active and start logging from there.

Are free expense-splitting apps safe to use?

The ones worth using encrypt data in transit and sign you in through Google or Apple rather than storing a password. What varies is the business model, so check the privacy policy for data selling and ad profiling before you commit a group to it.

The bottom line

Every app on this list clears the bar Splitwise’s free tier no longer does: log as many expenses as you like, at no cost. Choose Splid if nobody wants an account, Tricount if you want the simplest possible trip splitter, and Donget if you want the whole job done free — unlimited expenses, AI receipt scanning, itemized splitting and multi-currency, with no Pro tier waiting at the end of it.

Already hit the wall? Here’s what to do when you hit Splitwise’s daily limit. Or just download Donget free and log your next expense without counting them.