I owe you app: keep one tab that both people can see
Quick answer
An I owe you app keeps one running tab with a friend and nets it to a single amount, so six small debts become one payment. EvenOut keeps one balance per friend with no group needed, and its free plan has no daily expense limit or ads. The apps differ in what your friend must do to see the same number. Seven are compared as of October 2026.
Key points
- EvenOut keeps one balance per friend with no group needed, works offline, and your friend joins by scanning your code or opening your link.
- EvenOut's free plan has no daily expense limit and no ads. Splitwise's free plan allows 4 expenses a day, as of October 2026.
- Six IOUs between two friends, $73.00 owed one way and $91.40 the other, net to one payment of $18.40. A tab app does that subtraction for you.
- The apps differ most in what your friend has to do to see the tab: join with a code or link, accept an invite, or open a link with no account.
- A Venmo or Cash App request is a charge for one set amount, so requests going both ways are two separate charges, not one net payment.
On this page
- What does an I owe you app need to do?
- How do the apps compare?
- EvenOut: one balance per friend, no group needed
- Splitwise: invite by email or phone, 4 expenses a day free
- Tricount: join by link, up to 50 people
- Settle Up: link or QR code, with ads on the free version
- Splid, Spliit and KittySplit: no account for your friend
- Do Venmo and Cash App work as I owe you apps?
- How do you choose?
- Frequently asked questions
What does an I owe you app need to do?
It needs to add every debt in both directions and show you one net number, so the two of you repay once instead of item by item. Say you and a friend, Maya, keep one tab through October and split every item equally.
| Item | Paid by | Cost | Owed to the payer (half) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Concert tickets | You | $96.00 | $48.00 |
| Groceries | Maya | $54.20 | $27.10 |
| Gas | You | $38.00 | $19.00 |
| Takeout | Maya | $41.60 | $20.80 |
| Parking | You | $12.00 | $6.00 |
| Pizza night | Maya | $87.00 | $43.50 |
Maya owes you $48.00 + $19.00 + $6.00 = $73.00. You owe Maya $27.10 + $20.80 + $43.50 = $91.40. The tab nets to $18.40 from you to Maya, and that is the only payment needed.
The second thing an app has to do is show your friend the same number. A tab that lives only on your phone is a private note, and it cannot settle a disagreement. So the question to ask of each app is what your friend has to do to see the tab.
How do the apps compare?
The gap between these apps is mostly how much your friend has to do. As of October 2026, here is what each one asks of them.
| App | What your friend needs | Free plan |
|---|---|---|
| EvenOut | An account (Google or email), joined by scanning your code or opening your link | No daily expense limit, no ads. Charts, search and repeating expenses are free |
| Splitwise | An account to join; you can add them to expenses first by email or phone | Up to 4 expenses a day |
| Tricount | Tap an invite link | “No ads or daily expense cap” on its home page |
| Settle Up | A link or QR code; they can view the group in a browser | Free version has ads; Premium removes them |
| Splid | No sign-up; an access code if the group is shared online | Free, with in-app purchases |
| Spliit | No account; anyone with the link | Free, no ads |
| KittySplit | No account; the link | Free Kitty for up to 9 people |
EvenOut: one balance per friend, no group needed
EvenOut’s Friends tab holds one running balance per friend. Tap “Add a friend” and your friend scans your code or opens your invite link, which works for several people and lasts 30 days. Nothing else needs to be set up first.
The friend’s page reads “Maya owes you $X” or “You owe Maya $X”. When the balance comes from a group as well as from your direct tab, “Where it comes from” lists each source. “Settle up” records the full balance where it lives, and a partial payment works too. If Maya forgets, “Remind Maya” shares a prefilled message or sends an email, at most once a day.
The free plan has no daily expense limit and no ads, and charts, search and repeating expenses are free too. You can add and edit expenses offline, and they sync when you are back online. Receipt scanning and the assistant are the only paid features. Your friend needs a Google or email sign-in to share a balance. If your friend has not joined yet, you can add them as a guest in a group: their share is tracked now and the invite can come later.
Splitwise: invite by email or phone, 4 expenses a day free
Free accounts can add up to 4 expenses a day, as of October 2026, so entering all six of Maya’s October items in one sitting stops at the fourth. A friend you invite by email or phone can be added to expenses before accepting, with no time limit, and Splitwise sends one invite and one reminder and then leaves them alone.
Splitwise keeps balances separate per currency. In the US it can send the payment through Splitwise Pay, Venmo or PayPal.
Tricount: join by link, up to 50 people
A tricount is joined by tapping a link, and it holds up to 50 people including you. The core app is free, and its home page describes it as “No ads or daily expense cap”. Tricount’s own update notes of October 5, 2026 say you can share what friends outside Tricount owe you without needing them to be on the app, and its home page offers “Try tricount without signing up”.
For repayments, Tricount proposes payments that aim to limit the number of transactions. Each tricount uses one currency, and other currencies are converted at the market rate.
Settle Up: link or QR code, with ads on the free version
Settle Up groups are shared by link or QR code, and friends can view a group in a browser without downloading anything. The free version has ads, and Premium removes them. Premium comes in two kinds: Individual, which is a subscription, and Group, a one-time purchase for every member of one group.
Splid, Spliit and KittySplit: no account for your friend
These three need nothing from your friend beyond a link or code, and each makes a different trade for that.
- Splid needs no sign-up. You choose per group whether to share it online with an access code. A group you do not share stays on your device only, so your friend cannot see it. Splid is free to download, with in-app purchases.
- Spliit needs no account, and the link is the key. Its privacy policy says anyone who has the link can read the group and change it. Its author lists no notifications, no friends feature and no payment integrations as trade-offs, and a new device starts empty until you reopen the links. It is free, has no ads and is paid for by donations.
- KittySplit needs no account to create or use a Kitty. A free Kitty holds up to 9 people. Super Kitty costs €2.99 once per group, is not a subscription, and raises the size to 100 people.
Do Venmo and Cash App work as I owe you apps?
They move money, but a request on its own is a charge for one set amount. In the October example, you would request $73.00 from Maya and she would request $91.40 from you, two separate charges instead of one payment of $18.40. Venmo requires a charge request to be accepted before money is sent, and a Cash App request starts at $1. Venmo also has Groups for shared expenses (up to 30 people), which the Venmo Groups guide covers, and Cash App vs Venmo compares the two payment apps.
How do you choose?
Start with your friend, not the feature list.
- You and your friend keep a running tab. EvenOut keeps one balance per friend and is free with no daily expense limit and no ads, and you can add expenses offline. Splitwise’s free plan allows 4 expenses a day, as of October 2026.
- Your friend will not sign up for anything, or only needs to look. Spliit, KittySplit and Splid let them open a link or enter a code, and Settle Up lets them view a group in a browser. Anyone holding a Spliit link can change the group, so share it with one person.
- The tab includes other currencies. EvenOut tracks each expense in the currency you paid, with a separate balance per currency, and does not convert. Tricount and Splid convert, and Splitwise converts for Pro subscribers.
- You only need a note, not an app. The IOU note template records one loan on paper, and the glossary entry on IOU explains the term.
For a ranked list of the apps, see the best IOU apps. If the tab is already behind, how to remind a friend to pay you back has wording that keeps it friendly, and how to keep track of who owes you money covers the habits that stop it growing.
Frequently asked questions
What happens to the tab when my friend pays me back?
In EvenOut you open the friend's page and tap Settle up, which records the payment so both balances drop. A partial payment works and shows how much will still be owed. EvenOut records the payment only and moves no money. A recorded payment can be deleted and restored but not edited.
How do I fix a wrong amount on a tab?
In EvenOut, open the expense and tap Edit expense to change the amount, or delete it. A deleted expense stops counting toward balances for everyone involved and can be restored later. EvenOut keeps no change log, so add a comment saying what you changed. Splitwise says anyone involved in an expense or its group can view, edit or delete it.
Can one tab hold more than one currency?
In EvenOut you log each expense in the currency you paid, balances are kept per currency, and it does not convert. Splitwise also keeps balances separate per currency, and changing an expense's currency only changes the label. Tricount uses one currency per tricount and converts others at the market rate. Splid says it converts automatically.
What can my friend see on a shared tab?
Splitwise says you see an expense if you are in it or its group, and expenses outside any group are visible only to the people involved. In EvenOut people appear by name, photo and @username, and EvenOut never shows or sends another person's email address.
Sources
Checked October 6, 2026.
- Splitwise: What is Splitwise Pro and who can use it?
- Splitwise: Can I add a friend without their email address or phone number?
- Splitwise: Who can see my expenses and balances?
- Splitwise: Can I request a payment via Venmo or PayPal?
- Splitwise: How do I send money to someone on Splitwise?
- Splitwise: Managing a friendship or group with multiple currencies
- Tricount: home page
- Tricount: How can I manage my tricounts and expenses?
- Tricount: FAQs
- Tricount: app listing (US)
- Settle Up: Premium
- Settle Up: app listing (US)
- Splid: home page
- Splid: privacy policy
- Splid: data deletion
- Spliit: home page
- Spliit: why Spliit doesn't ask you to create an account
- Spliit: privacy policy
- KittySplit: pricing
- Venmo: Sending and requesting money
- Venmo: User Agreement
- Venmo: Setting up a group
- Cash App: How to send and receive money
Keep reading
- Comparison Best IOU app: tracking what friends owe you What an IOU app should do (running balance, part repayments, reminders) and how EvenOut, Splitwise, Splitser, Splid and payment apps compare for money lent.
- Guide How to keep track of who owes you money Keep a ledger with one line per event and a running net for each person. See how $40 owed to you and $16.25 owed back becomes $23.75, and when to settle.
- Template IOU note template for lending money to a friend A free one-page IOU template with a payments log and a running balance. The filled example is $300 lent and repaid at $50 a month, ending at $0.
- Glossary IOU: meaning and examples An IOU is a written note that says I owe you. See what dictionaries say, three examples from a napkin to an app balance, and how it differs from shared bills.
- Guide How to figure out who owes who after shared expenses Add up what each person paid, divide by the people sharing, and subtract. Four friends and five expenses settle in 3 payments instead of 6 pairwise debts.
- Guide How to politely remind a friend to pay you back A three-step reminder ladder with wording for each message: a light nudge, a specific reminder with the amount and a date, and a clear last message.