Apps that simplify debts: who does it and can you turn it off

Which apps simplify debts, and can you turn it off?

All ten apps below aim for the fewest payments, and four of them describe a way to switch it off. As of October 2026, this is what each app’s own pages say.

App	What it says it does	Can you turn it off?
EvenOut	Reshuffles who pays whom inside the group to take the fewest payments, separately in each currency	Yes, per group; on by default and tagged Recommended
Splitwise	Restructures who owes whom in a group to minimize payments, and never changes anyone’s total	Yes, any group member, in group settings
Settle Up	Minimizes the number of transactions between people	Yes, per group
SplitPro	Optional group debt simplification	Yes, it is optional
Tricount	Proposes repayments that aim to limit the number of transactions	No switch described
Splid	Always finds the easiest way to settle up, with as few payments as possible	No switch described
Splitser	Settlement algorithm minimises the number of mutual payments	No switch described
Splitkaro	Simplify balances, calculates the minimum number of transfers	No switch described
KittySplit	Settle-up in the fewest transfers	No switch described
Venmo Groups	Works out the least number of payments	No switch described

Splitwise re-runs it whenever an expense or payment is added. Where an app has a switch, read it in a new group before anyone records a payment.

What does simplifying do to a group’s debts?

It replaces a web of IOUs with the fewest payments that leave everyone square, and it never changes anyone’s net balance. Say four friends, Ana, Ben, Cy and Di, end a cabin weekend with five IOUs worth $150:

• Ana owes Ben $40
• Ben owes Cy $25
• Cy owes Di $60
• Di owes Ana $15
• Ben owes Di $10

Net out each person and the picture is smaller. Ana owes $25 ($40 out, $15 in). Ben is owed $5 ($40 in, $35 out). Cy owes $35 ($60 out, $25 in). Di is owed $55 ($70 in, $15 out). Those four numbers add to zero, as they must.

With simplifying on, the group settles with 3 payments worth $60:

• Cy pays Di $35
• Ana pays Di $20
• Ana pays Ben $5

Three is the fewest possible here, because no smaller part of the four balances adds to zero on its own, so no part of the group can settle separately. An app may pick a different pairing, but no pairing can use fewer than 3. The larger the group, the bigger the saving:

People in the group	Pairs who could owe each other	Most payments after simplifying
3	3	2
4	6	3
6	15	5
9	36	8
12	66	11

The right column is always the group size minus 1, and why that is the most a group needs has its own guide. For more cases, see how simplify debts works, and the debt simplification calculator runs your own numbers.

Why would you turn it off?

You turn it off when you want to pay the person you actually borrowed from. In the example above, Ana’s only debt was to Ben, yet simplifying has her paying $20 to Di, someone she never owed. With it off, Ana pays Ben $40 and Di pays Ana $15, so five payments move $150 instead of three moving $60.

Two cautions come from Splitwise’s help pages. If your overall balance is right but who owes whom looks surprising, Simplify Debts may be on, so check it first. And if payments have already been made in a group, Splitwise recommends leaving it on, so settle the question before anyone records a payment.

How does it work with more than one currency?

In EvenOut and Splitwise, simplifying runs inside each currency separately. EvenOut keeps its balances per currency, with a separate line for each, and Splitwise says it does not combine or convert. Say you owe Noa $30 and Noa owes you €30. EvenOut does not convert currencies, so the two cannot cancel and stay as two separate lines.

How does EvenOut’s switch work?

EvenOut’s version is a group setting named “Simplify debts”, tagged “Recommended” and on by default. Its subtitle reads “Fewer payments, same totals. Nobody ends up owing more.”

1. Open the group and go to group settings.
2. Find “Simplify debts” under “Settling up”.
3. Flip the switch. Any member who is not a viewer can do it.

With the switch off, EvenOut stops reshuffling who pays whom. A viewer sees “Simplify debts is on” or “Simplify debts is off” and cannot change it. EvenOut only records payments, and it moves no money.

Is simplifying a paid feature in any of these apps?

Where an app publishes a paid list, simplifying is not on it, and in EvenOut it is on the free plan. Charts, search, repeating expenses and the Splitwise CSV import are free there too. Receipt scanning and the assistant are the only paid features, at $9.99 a month or $79.99 a year in the US.

Splitwise names simplify debts among its core free features, and its Pro list names removing the daily limit, charts, search, an ad-free app, receipt scanning, transaction import, currency conversion and default splits. Settle Up’s ten Premium items leave it out, and its debt minimization sits on the free side. Those ten items include Remove all ads, Recurring transactions, Remind friends to pay and Charts. KittySplit includes fewest-transfer settle-up in a free Kitty. Splitkaro lists Simplify balances on its features page and not on its Premium list.

How do you choose?

Pick by how your group splits and settles.

• Most groups: EvenOut. Simplify debts is on by default with an off switch per group, each currency stays on its own line, and the free plan has no daily expense limit and no ads.
• A switch in another app: Splitwise, Settle Up and SplitPro describe one. Tricount, Splid, Splitser, Splitkaro and KittySplit describe none.
• You want to send the money from the same app: Venmo Groups works out the least number of payments, lets members pay in the group feed and lets them mark a payment made outside Venmo as paid. EvenOut records payments and moves no money.

If a result still looks off, the guide on whether simplify debts is accurate covers it.