Apps to collect money for a group trip in 2027

What is the difference between a trip pot and a trip ledger?

A pot holds the group’s money before the trip, and a ledger records who paid what during it. Cash App Pools and PayPal Pools are pots. Venmo describes its Groups as a way to “manage, track, and split group expenses”, which puts them on the ledger side.

The two jobs happen at different times. In March the group wants $350 each in one place so the cabin can be paid for. In June one person puts gas on a card, another buys the groceries, and whatever is left in the pot has to go back to people in the right amounts. The second job needs a record of every expense, not just a balance.

Say eight friends rent a cabin for a long weekend. That group is the example for the rest of this page. For deadlines and what to do when someone drops out, see how to collect money for a group trip.

How do the pots and Venmo Groups compare?

As of October 2026, the options differ most on where the money sits and what it costs a contributor. EvenOut is in the table as the ledger that holds no money. All figures are US dollars from US pages, and each company can change them.

Option	Where the money sits	What a contributor pays	What the organizer needs
EvenOut	Nowhere; it records and moves no money	Nothing, since no money moves through it	An EvenOut account; up to 200 people per group, and guests can be added by name
Cash App Pools	In the pool, apart from your Cash Balance, until it is closed	Free from Cash balance, 3% by credit card	Verified identity; a name and goal amount
PayPal Pools	In the pool, and it belongs to the pool creator	No cost from a PayPal balance or US bank, fees on cards	A PayPal Balance account, verified identity, good standing
Venmo Groups	Members pay each other; the group tracks and splits expenses	$0.00 from balance, debit card or bank, 3.00% by credit card	A Venmo account; up to 30 people

Cash App Pools

A Cash App pool needs only a name and a goal amount, and it has no deadline. Cash App says money leaves a pool only after it is closed, and pooled money stays separate from your Cash Balance. Starting a pool is free, and so is a contribution from Cash balance. A contribution funded by credit card costs 3%.

People without Cash App can contribute with Apple Pay or Google Pay, and the 3% fee applies when that pays by credit card. The organizer must have a verified identity, pools are for personal use only, and New York residents must contribute with a Cash App account.

On the cabin trip, a $350 share paid by credit card adds $10.50, and seven friends paying that way add $73.50. Because the money leaves only when the pool is closed, a pool pays out once, not as several bills come due weeks apart. The Cash App Pools guide covers setup.

PayPal Pools

PayPal Pools are offered in the US, with a cap of $20,000 a pool and 5 active pools per person. To create one you need a PayPal Balance account, identity verification and good standing. Creating a pool is free. Each pool has an end date, at most one year after the start, and it stops taking contributions when that date passes.

Contributors do not need a PayPal account, but friends without one pay by credit or debit card, and fees apply to card payments. Contributing from a PayPal balance or a US bank account has no cost. PayPal states that “All money in the pool belongs to the pool creator”, so sending back what is left after the trip is up to the organizer. The PayPal Pools guide goes through the rules.

Venmo Groups

Venmo Groups hold up to 30 people. Members add expenses, which split into equal amounts by default, and any member’s amount can be edited or a member excluded. Venmo works out the amounts so each member can settle up with the fewest payments, and a payment made outside Venmo can be marked as paid.

Invites to people who are not Venmo friends expire after 30 days, and you can remove only members who are all paid up. Venmo’s User Agreement says you must be in the United States and have a U.S. bank account to use it. See Venmo Groups: how they work for the setup.

What caps can block a contribution?

As of October 2026, Venmo, Cash App and PayPal all cap what an unverified account can send, and they count it differently: Venmo by the week, Cash App over 30 days, PayPal per payment. EvenOut moves no money, so it has no sending cap.

Account	Unverified	Verified
EvenOut	No sending cap	No sending cap
Venmo	$299.99 a week	Up to $60,000 a week, and payments can still be declined
Cash App	$1,000 over a rolling 30 days	Send up to $40,000 over a rolling 30 days
PayPal	One-time payment up to $4,000	No total limit; up to $60,000 per transaction, which PayPal may reduce to $10,000

A $350 share is $50.01 over Venmo’s $299.99 weekly cap. That friend can verify first, which Venmo says cannot be completed without an SSN or ITIN, or send two payments more than a week apart. The same $350 fits under Cash App’s $1,000 and PayPal’s $4,000. Venmo says it retains sole discretion to apply and change limits, so check the figure before the deadline.

How do you run a pot and a ledger together?

Say all eight friends put $350 into a pot that Dana holds, $2,800 in all. The trip costs $2,520, which is $315 each. Sam paid the $640 cabin deposit on his own card in March, before the pot had filled, and Dana paid the other $1,880 from the pot.

Person	Into the pot	Own share	Paid on own card	Pot refund
Sam	$350	$315	$640	$675
Six other friends	$350 each	$315 each	$0	$35 each
Dana, who holds the pot	$350	$315	$0	$35, kept

Sam’s refund is $350 plus $640 minus $315, which is $675. Each of the six others gets $350 minus $315, which is $35. The pot ends with $2,800 minus $1,880, which is $920, and $675 plus six times $35 is $885, leaving Dana’s own $35.

EvenOut keeps that count without holding any money:

1. Create a Trip group. Add the dates, add the friends, and add a guest for anyone who is not on EvenOut yet.
2. Record each friend’s contribution. Open Settle up, tap a name so the sentence reads “Sam paid Dana”, type $350 and tap Record payment. Dana’s own $350 needs no entry.
3. Log each expense with who paid it. The $1,880 is “Paid by you” when Dana adds it, split equally: $235.00 each. Sam’s $640 is paid by Sam: $80.00 each.
4. Read the balances. With Simplify debts on, which is the default, Dana is the only person who owes anyone. Her Balances block shows $675 to Sam and $35 to each of the other six.
5. Pay out and record it. Send the refunds from the pot, then record each one in Settle up so every balance reads settled up.

Where does EvenOut fit?

EvenOut is the ledger side only: it records payments and moves no money. The free plan has no daily expense limit and no ads, and a group holds up to 200 people. A guest who is not on EvenOut yet can be added by name, with their share tracked now and an invite sent later.

A Trip group takes start and end dates, each expense can be split Equally, by Exact amounts, by Percent, by Shares or By item, and “Pending payment” keeps a hotel hold or a deposit out of the balances until the final charge is known. Reminders go by email or a shared message, at most one a day per person in a group. Expenses can be added without a connection and sync later. Each expense takes its own currency, which helps on a trip abroad, but EvenOut does not convert them.

How should you choose?

Keep the count in an EvenOut Trip group whichever pot you use, and pick the pot by the shape of your trip.

• Every trip. An EvenOut group holds up to 200 people and takes guests by name, while a Venmo Group holds up to 30.
• One bill due at the end, everyone in the US. A Cash App pool pays out once, when it is closed.
• Friends who will not open a new account. PayPal pools need no PayPal account to contribute, and Cash App pools accept Apple Pay or Google Pay, with card fees where they apply.
• Several bills due weeks apart. Let the person paying fund each one and record it in the ledger, as in the example above.
• Friends outside the US. Venmo and Cash App accounts are for US users, and PayPal charges international fees on contributions sent from outside the US. EvenOut takes each expense in its own currency and keeps the count either way.

Use the pot for the money and the ledger for the count. The group trip planning checklist lists the other money tasks, and the best apps to split trip expenses compares the ledger apps.