Best Apps for Splitting Travel Costs: Tested and Honestly Ranked

You just had dinner with five friends on a group trip. The bill arrives. Alex paid for the whole table. Jordan already covered the taxi. Sam bought groceries yesterday. Casey covered the museum tickets this morning but two people didn't go. You paid for the boat tour, but only four people were on it.

Who owes whom? What amount? In which currency?

This is the mundane arithmetic that, left unmanaged, slowly poisons group travel. Someone always feels like they're paying more than their share. Someone else feels nickel-and-dimed. And the person trying to keep track on a napkin eventually gives up and eats the difference to avoid conflict.

Cost-splitting apps solve this problem. They track every expense, calculate who owes whom, and settle the debt with a minimum number of transactions. But not all of them are equally good. This review is based on actual testing with real group trips, not spec-sheet comparisons.

What We Tested For

Every app was evaluated on five criteria:

1. Ease of use: How quickly can you add an expense while standing in line at a restaurant?
2. Multi-currency support: Can it handle expenses in euros, dollars, and Thai baht in the same trip?
3. Offline mode: Does it work without internet, which you won't always have abroad?
4. Splitting flexibility: Can you split unevenly, exclude people, or itemize?
5. Settlement simplicity: Does it minimize the number of transactions needed to settle up?

1. Splitwise

The Verdict: Best Overall

Splitwise is the default for a reason. It's been around since 2011, it has the largest user base (which matters when you want everyone to be on the same platform), and it handles the core job — tracking shared expenses and calculating debts — better than anyone else.

What It Does Well

• Dead simple expense entry: Tap the plus button, enter the amount, select who's involved, done. Three taps for a basic expense. You can add a description and category, but you don't have to
• Smart debt simplification: If Alex owes Jordan $30 and Jordan owes Casey $30, Splitwise reduces this to "Alex owes Casey $30." This minimizes the number of Venmo transfers at the end of the trip
• Group and non-group tracking: You can create a dedicated trip group, but you can also track individual debts with specific people across multiple contexts (roommates, couples, one-off dinners)
• Multi-currency support: Add expenses in any currency. Splitwise converts everything using real-time exchange rates (or lets you set a custom rate)
• Receipt scanning: The paid version can scan receipts and auto-populate amounts
• Integrations: Settle directly through Venmo, PayPal, or other payment services

Where It Falls Short

• The free version has limitations: You can only create 3 groups at a time without Splitwise Pro ($5/month or $50/year). Receipt scanning and currency conversion are Pro features
• No true offline mode: You can view existing expenses offline, but adding new ones requires internet. This is a problem in areas with poor connectivity
• Interface can feel cluttered with long trips that have dozens of expenses. Scrolling through a long expense list to verify entries is tedious
• Notification overload: The app sends a lot of push notifications and emails by default. Turn these down in settings immediately

Best For

Groups of any size who want the most reliable, full-featured expense tracker available. If everyone already has Splitwise (and most people do), this is the path of least resistance.

Pricing

Free for basic use. Splitwise Pro: $5/month or $50/year for unlimited groups, receipt scanning, currency conversion, charts, and no ads.

2. Tricount

The Verdict: Best Free Alternative

Tricount is a European-developed app that's completely free with no premium tier, no ads in the core experience, and surprisingly robust features. It's particularly popular in Europe and deserves more attention in the US market.

What It Does Well

• Completely free: No paywalls, no feature restrictions, no premium upsell. Everything works out of the box
• Excellent multi-currency handling: Built for European travelers who hop between currency zones. Add expenses in different currencies within the same group, and Tricount handles conversion cleanly
• Balance view: At any point, you can see a clear summary of who's owed what and who owes what. The visualization is cleaner than Splitwise's
• No account required for participants: You can add group members who don't have the app — they just won't be able to add expenses themselves. This removes the "everyone needs to download the app" barrier
• Web version: Access your groups from any browser without installing anything
• Offline support: Expenses added offline sync when you regain connectivity

Where It Falls Short

• Less sophisticated splitting: It handles equal splits and percentage splits well, but itemized receipt splitting (where you assign specific items to specific people) isn't as intuitive as Splitwise
• Smaller user base: In the US, you'll likely need to introduce people to Tricount, while Splitwise is already on most people's phones
• No direct payment integration: You can't settle through the app — you'll need to use a separate payment method
• Basic receipt scanning: It exists but isn't as reliable as Splitwise Pro's implementation

Best For

Budget-conscious groups and European travelers who want full functionality without paying anything. Also excellent for groups where not everyone wants to create an account.

Pricing

Free. No premium tier exists.

3. SettleUp

The Verdict: Best for Offline Use

SettleUp was built specifically for group travel scenarios where internet connectivity is unreliable. It works fully offline, syncing when connectivity returns, which makes it the best choice for trips to remote destinations, road trips through areas with spotty service, or travel in countries where data plans are expensive or unavailable.

What It Does Well

• True offline functionality: Every feature works without internet. Add expenses, view balances, and calculate settlements offline. Data syncs across devices when you reconnect
• Clean, focused interface: Less cluttered than Splitwise. The design prioritizes the two things you actually do in these apps: adding expenses and checking balances
• Flexible splitting: Equal, unequal, percentage-based, and by shares (useful when some people share a room and others don't)
• Multi-currency: Full support with exchange rate lookup
• Export to spreadsheet: Download a CSV of all expenses for anyone who wants a detailed accounting (or for tax purposes on business trips)
• Cross-platform sync: Works on iOS, Android, and web, syncing across all platforms

Where It Falls Short

• Smaller community: You'll almost certainly need to onboard your group to a new app
• Less polished UI: Functional but not beautiful. The design feels more "utility" than "consumer app"
• No direct payment integration: Settlement is manual through Venmo, bank transfer, or cash
• Receipt scanning is limited: Available but not a core strength

Best For

Trips to remote destinations (camping, hiking trips, rural areas) or international trips where data connectivity is a concern. Also strong for users who want a straightforward, no-nonsense tracking tool.

Pricing

Free with optional donations to support development.

4. Splid

The Verdict: Best for Simplicity

Splid strips the concept down to its absolute essentials. No account creation, no social features, no gamification. You open the app, create a group, add expenses, and see who owes whom. That's it.

What It Does Well

• No account required: Anyone can join a group via a code or link. Zero friction to get started
• Fastest expense entry: The interface is aggressively simple. Amount, who paid, who participates. Done
• Offline support: Works without internet. Syncs via group codes when devices reconnect
• Multi-currency: Handles multiple currencies per group cleanly
• Minimal permissions: The app doesn't ask for contacts, location, or anything beyond basic functionality
• Available everywhere: iOS, Android, and web — all fully functional

Where It Falls Short

• Very basic splitting options: Equal or custom amounts. No percentage splitting, no itemized receipt splitting
• No receipt scanning
• No payment integration
• Limited expense categorization: You can add descriptions but there's no category system for analyzing spending patterns
• No individual balance history: You can see current balances but not a detailed breakdown of how they got there (without scrolling through all expenses)

Best For

Small groups (3-6 people) who want the fastest possible setup with zero friction. If your group resists downloading apps or creating accounts, Splid removes every barrier.

Pricing

Free. No premium tier.

5. Tab

The Verdict: Best for Restaurant-Specific Splitting

Tab takes a different approach. Instead of tracking expenses over a trip, it focuses on splitting individual bills — particularly restaurant checks — fairly and quickly.

What It Does Well

• Receipt photo splitting: Photograph a receipt, and Tab identifies line items. Assign each item to the person who ordered it. The app calculates each person's share including tax and tip proportionally
• Tip calculation: Built-in tip calculator that distributes tip proportionally based on what each person ordered (not equally, which penalizes the person who ordered a salad)
• Instant sharing: Generate a summary and share via text, showing each person exactly what they owe
• No account needed: Open the app, scan the receipt, assign items, share. Done in 60 seconds

Where It Falls Short

• Not a trip expense tracker: Tab solves one specific problem (splitting a single bill) but doesn't track running balances across a trip
• Receipt scanning isn't perfect: Handwritten receipts, faded ink, or unusual formats can confuse the OCR
• Limited to the moment: There's no history, no groups, no ongoing balance tracking
• Best used alongside another app: Use Tab for restaurant bills, Splitwise or Tricount for everything else

Best For

Groups that primarily need help splitting restaurant bills fairly, especially when people order items at very different price points.

Pricing

Free with optional in-app purchases for premium features.

Head-to-Head Comparison

Feature	Splitwise	Tricount	SettleUp	Splid	Tab
Price	Free / $5/mo	Free	Free	Free	Free
Offline mode	Partial	Yes	Full	Yes	Yes
Multi-currency	Pro only	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Receipt scanning	Pro only	Basic	Limited	No	Excellent
Account required	Yes	No (for members)	Optional	No	No
Payment integration	Yes	No	No	No	No
Itemized splitting	Yes	Basic	Yes	No	Excellent
Best group size	Any	3-15	3-10	3-6	2-8

Tips for Fair Splitting Beyond Apps

Apps handle the math, but fairness requires human judgment. A few principles that no app can automate:

The Shared Experience Rule

When the group does something together, split it equally — even if one person "got more out of it" than another. A group dinner is a shared experience. The fact that Alex ate more than Casey doesn't matter. If you start tracking who ate how many breadsticks, you've missed the point of traveling together.

Exception: Alcohol. If one person orders a $15 cocktail per round and another drinks water, splitting equally isn't fair. Either split alcohol separately, or use an app with itemized splitting.

The Opt-In/Opt-Out Rule

Activities should be opt-in. If three people want to go scuba diving ($100/person) and two don't, the cost is split among the three participants only. Never split an activity across the full group unless the full group participated.

The "I'll Get This One" Rule

Some expenses are best handled by taking turns rather than splitting. Rounds of drinks, coffee runs, small snacks, taxi rides. Keep a rough mental tally and alternate who pays. This builds generosity into the trip rather than transactional scorekeeping.

Settle Up Quickly

Don't let debts linger after the trip. The longer you wait, the more awkward it becomes to ask for money. Run the final settlement calculation on the last day of the trip or the morning after you get home. Send all Venmo/Zelle requests within 24 hours. Close the loop while the trip is still fresh and everyone's in a generous mood.

Have the Money Conversation Early

Before the trip, decide as a group: "Are we going to track everything or keep it casual?" Some groups prefer strict accounting. Others prefer a loose "it'll even out" approach. Either is fine, as long as everyone agrees. The conflict comes from mismatched expectations, not from the approach itself.

The Bottom Line

Use Splitwise if you want the most complete, widely-used solution and don't mind paying for Pro features.

Use Tricount if you want everything Splitwise offers for free, especially in multi-currency situations.

Use SettleUp if offline reliability is your priority.

Use Splid if you want the fastest, simplest setup with zero friction.

Use Tab alongside any of the above for splitting individual restaurant bills.

Whatever you choose, the best expense app is the one everyone in your group actually uses. Pick one, commit to it on day one, and log every shared expense as it happens. The 30 seconds it takes to enter each expense prevents the 30-minute awkward conversation at the end of the trip.

And when you're planning the trip those expenses will belong to, TripGenie can help build budget-conscious itineraries that keep group spending on track from the start.