Splitwise and Settle Up are two of the longest-running expense splitters on the App Store. They look similar at first glance - both account-required, both with free tiers gated by usage limits, both supported by older mobile codebases. But the monetisation models diverge sharply: Splitwise gates feature breadth (advanced splits, item-level OCR, full export) behind Pro; Settle Up gates the experience itself (a full-screen ad after every third expense in the free tier).
The short version: Splitwise has more features but you'll feel the paywall daily; Settle Up has fewer features and you'll feel the ads daily. Both ask for signup. If the friction of either turns you off, the actual answer is to use one of the no-signup alternatives instead.
Feature comparison
Pulled cell-by-cell from our /compare/ data. Anything that looks stale - tell us and we'll fix it.
| Feature | Splitwise | Settle Up |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free tier capped around 3 expenses/day; Pro is $4.99/mo or $39.99/yr (£3.99/mo UK) | Free with ads; Premium $3.99/mo or $19.99/yr |
| Signup required | Yes - email or social login | Yes - Google, Facebook, or email |
| Multi-currency | Yes (Pro only for live FX) | Yes |
| AI receipt scanning | Pro only; supports line items via 'itemize receipt' | No |
| Smart settlement (fewest transactions) | Yes ('Simplify debts') | Yes |
| Real-time updates | Pull-to-refresh | Cloud sync (delayed) |
| Recurring expenses | Yes | Yes |
| Comments on expenses | Yes | No |
| Web app | Yes (limited vs. mobile) | Yes |
| Native mobile app | Yes - iOS, Android | Yes - iOS, Android |
| Group templates | No | No |
| CSV / PDF export | CSV (Pro only for full history) | CSV (Premium) |
| Payment links (Stripe / PayPal / Wise / Revolut) | PayPal, Venmo (US only) | PayPal link |
| Languages | 10+ | 20+ |
| Data residency | US (AWS) | EU |
| Open source | No | No |
| Ads | Yes (free tier) | Yes - fullscreen ad after every 3rd expense (free tier) |
The third option
Splitwise vs Settle Up is a comparison between two different bets on how to monetise a 2014-era expense splitter. Both work; neither is built for how people travel now. We built EvenRound because the no-signup, no-ads, no-daily-cap combination didn't exist with modern features attached. See /compare/splitwise or /compare/settle-up for the head-to-head against each.