Best Apps to Split Bills: 4 Picks for Groups and Couples

The best apps to split bills are Splitwise for roommates who share costs all year, Settle Up when not everyone will install an app, Tricount for free, ad-free trips with friends, and Honeydue for couples who want to see their money together. All four let you start for free. The real differences are whether everyone needs an account, whether the app works offline and whether it shows ads.

Why use an app to split bills at all

Splitting one dinner is easy. Splitting a whole year of rent, groceries, internet and the odd takeout order is not. Someone always pays a bit more, someone forgets, and after a few months nobody is sure who owes what. That's when a shared note on your phone stops working.

Apps to split bills fix this in a simple way. Each time someone pays for something shared, they add it to the app: what it was, how much, who paid and who it was for. The app keeps a running balance for the whole group. When you're ready, it tells you the fewest payments needed to make everyone even, and you settle up in cash or with whatever payment app you already use.

None of the apps below move money for you or plan a budget. They keep the tab honest, which is usually all a group needs.

What to check before you pick a bill splitting app

Most bill splitting apps do the basic job well. The differences show up in three places, and they matter more than any feature list.

Does everyone have to install it? This is the big one. A splitting app only works if the whole group uses it, and the friend who never downloads anything will be the one who owes the most. Some apps need everyone to sign up. Others let people check the balance from a link.

Does it work offline? On a trip you'll add costs on trains, on beaches and in places with bad signal. An app that saves your entries and syncs later saves you from typing everything in again at the hotel.

Does it show ads? Several of these apps are free because they show ads, and they ask you to pay to remove them. That's fine for a weekend away, less fine for an app your household opens every week.

Splitwise: the familiar choice for roommates

SplitwiseView app ›

Splitwise is the app most people have heard of, and there's a good chance someone in your group already has it. You make a group for your apartment or your trip, add each bill, say who paid and how to split it, and everyone sees what they owe. You can also split one-on-one, add expenses in any currency and record when someone pays you back.

It shines for roommates who share costs month after month. The running balance means you don't have to settle every bill as it comes. You let it add up and even out once in a while.

There are two things to know. Everyone logs in to see the shared balance, so each person needs an account. And the free version shows ads and has some limits, with an optional Splitwise Pro subscription for extra features. You can add expenses offline, but plan on a connection to see everything synced up.

Who it suits: roommates and friend groups who share costs all the time and don't mind everyone signing up. Splitting and balances are free, so see the app page for today's price of Pro.

Settle Up: for groups where not everyone will install an app

Settle UpView app ›

Settle Up does the same core job: track shared costs and show who owes whom. Its best trick is that friends can view the balance from a link, without installing the app or making an account. If you've ever chased a friend to download something just so they could see they owe you for gas, that alone may decide it.

It also works offline and syncs later, which makes it a good travel companion. Add the taxi fare in the back of the taxi, and it catches up when you have signal again.

The catch is ads. Splitting is free, with ads, and a Premium upgrade removes them. For a one-off trip you may not care. For a household app you open every week, they can wear on you.

Who it suits: trips and rent splits where some people won't install anything. Splitting is free with ads, and you can see the app page for today's Premium price.

Tricount: free and simple for trips with friends

Tricount · FreeView app ›

Tricount is the pick if you want a bill splitting app with no limits and no subscription. Its own site says it's free with no ads, and you can try it without signing up. It also works offline, so you can log costs on a hike or a ferry and sort it out later.

You make a tricount for your trip or your shared house, invite the group, and add expenses as they happen. The app shows each person's balance and who should pay whom to settle.

It's a splitting tool, not a budget. It won't help you plan how much to spend each month, only keep track of what the group has spent together. For most trips, that's exactly the point.

Who it suits: groups of friends on a trip, and anyone who wants splitting with no ads and nothing to upgrade. It's free to use, and the app page shows the latest details.

Honeydue: for couples who share more than a few bills

Honeydue · FreeView app ›

Honeydue is a different kind of app, and it's here because couples often search for a way to split bills when what they really want is to see their money together. It's made for couples. You link your bank accounts, choose what you share with your partner, and see accounts and bills in one place. You can set spending limits and chat about purchases inside the app.

That makes it more than a tab of who owes whom. It's closer to a shared view of your household money. The trade-off is that it's built around linking your bank accounts, both of you need an account, and it works best with US banks. It doesn't work offline.

If you'd rather not link a bank, or you live outside the US, a simple splitting app like Splitwise or Tricount will serve a couple just as well.

Who it suits: couples in the US who want to see accounts and bills together. It's free to use, and the app page has the latest details.

Apps to split bills, compared

Here's how the four apps stack up side by side:

Which app to split bills with roommates, friends or a partner

The right app depends less on features and more on who you're splitting with.

If you live with roommates

Pick Splitwise if everyone is happy to sign up, since the running balance suits rent and groceries that never stop. Pick Settle Up if one housemate will never install anything, since they can check the balance from a link.

If you're planning a trip with friends

Pick Tricount for a free app with no ads that works offline. Settle Up is a good second choice, also offline, with ads unless you upgrade.

If you're a couple

Pick Honeydue if you're in the US and want to see your accounts together, not just split bills. Pick Splitwise or Tricount if you only want to keep a fair tab without linking a bank.

If you hate ads

Pick Tricount. Splitwise and Settle Up both show ads on their free versions.

Still not sure? Tell us who you're splitting with and find the right app for your group, or browse all the money apps we cover.

Keep deciding: Budget apps for couples, Find an app to split bills with roommates.