# Splitwise app uses: what people use it for and what the free plan covers

Canonical URL: https://www.evenoutapp.com/guides/splitwise-app-uses
Updated: 2026-10-06

EvenOut covers the same shared-cost uses as Splitwise, with no daily expense limit and no ads. People use Splitwise to track rent and bills, trips, dinners and one-off loans: you log what was paid and how to split it, and every balance stays current. Splitwise's free plan allows up to 4 expenses a day as of October 2026.

Key points:
- EvenOut covers the same tracking uses with no daily expense limit and no ads. Splitwise's free plan allows up to 4 expenses a day as of October 2026.
- Charts and search are free in EvenOut. Splitwise lists charts and search under Pro, along with currency conversion and default splits.
- Splitwise is a shared ledger. You log each cost with an amount, who paid and how to split it, and balances update when you save.
- Splitwise splits can be equal, by exact amount, by percent or by shares, and its recurring expenses repeat weekly, fortnightly, monthly or yearly, which suits rent.

## What is the Splitwise app used for?

It is used to keep a running tally of who paid for what and who owes whom. Anywhere one person covers a cost for several people, Splitwise holds the record, does the arithmetic and updates each balance when an expense is saved. The five uses below each rest on a specific feature.

## Splitting rent and bills with roommates

Roommates use the recurring expense, which repeats weekly, fortnightly (every other week), monthly or yearly and continues until someone stops it. For rooms of different size they use the "shares" split. Say rent is $2,160 and the rooms carry 4, 3 and 3 shares. One share is $216, so the rooms pay $864, $648 and $648. A $60 internet bill split equally three ways is $20 each.

When several people pay different bills, Simplify Debts cuts the payments needed to settle up and never changes anyone's total balance.

## Running a trip or an event

Trips use a group, because every expense lands in one place for everyone. Each expense can carry its own currency. That only changes the label and does not convert the amount, so balances stay separate, for example "You owe $12.45 and you are owed £8.72".

Splitwise Pro adds a "Convert to" button that converts every expense in the group, settled ones included. The yearly plans also include one Trip Pass, which gives Pro features to the members of a trip group for 30 days. Splitwise Trip Pass explains what it covers.

## Tracking money between two friends

No group is needed for a loan, a shared ticket or a dinner for two. Say you pay $64 for two concert tickets. Split equally with a friend, that is $32 owed to you. An expense outside a group is visible only to the people involved in it.

## Getting paid back

Settle up is the button for paying someone back or recording that you were paid. It can record a payment made outside Splitwise, such as cash or a bank transfer. In the US, Splitwise sends money through Splitwise Pay, Venmo and PayPal, and in select European countries through Pay by Bank. Everywhere else you record the payment.

A recorded cash payment can be deleted from Activity, but deleting it does not cancel a transfer sent through Splitwise Pay, Venmo or PayPal. [Undoing a Splitwise settle up](https://www.evenoutapp.com/guides/undo-settle-up-in-splitwise) covers the details.

## Keeping receipts and seeing where money goes

Expenses can carry an attachment, and Splitwise lists categories and spending totals among its core features. The totals screen is not meant to show your current balance, so use "Balances" in the group header for that.

Scanning a receipt into line items is Pro, though every group member sees the expense it creates. Charts, broken down by category, and expense search are Pro as well.

## Which Splitwise rules shape how a group uses it?

As of October 2026, three points shape how a group uses it.

- **Permissions.** Splitwise states that it has no group admins or special permissions, so anyone involved in an expense or its group can edit or delete it.
- **Joining.** You cannot join a group on your own. A member invites you by email, phone or "Invite via link".
- **The daily cap.** Free users can add up to 4 expenses each day. On a trip day with 9 purchases, one free user can log 4. For the other 5, Splitwise's own suggestions are to wait for the reset, subscribe, or ask a friend to add them as paid by you.

## Where does EvenOut fit?

EvenOut covers the same tracking uses, from rent to trips to one-to-one IOUs, and its free plan has no daily expense limit and no ads. On a trip day with 9 purchases, all 9 go in on the free plan. Charts, search and recurring expenses ("Repeat" weekly, monthly or yearly) cost nothing, there are five split methods (Equally, Exact amounts, Percent, Shares and By item), and people who are not on the app can be added as guests.

Its "Settle up" records a payment and does not move money. A group on Splitwise can move over with its expenses and payments: export it as a spreadsheet and use "Import from Splitwise" under Account, one group per file, free. [Moving a Splitwise group to EvenOut](https://www.evenoutapp.com/guides/move-splitwise-group-to-evenout) has the steps, and [EvenOut vs Splitwise](https://www.evenoutapp.com/compare/splitwise) lines up the differences.

## Frequently asked questions

### Do the people I split with need a Splitwise account?

Not at first. A friend you invite by email or phone can be added to expenses before they accept, even if they never do. Splitwise sends one invite and one reminder, then leaves them alone. A name-only placeholder friend can be added from the web app.

### Which of these uses need Splitwise Pro?

The core tracking does not: groups, friends, equal and unequal splits, simplify debts, recurring expenses and offline mode are on the free list, within the daily cap. Pro adds receipt scanning, itemization, charts, search, currency conversion and default splits, and it lifts the cap.

### How many currencies and languages does Splitwise support?

Splitwise's home page lists 100+ currencies and 7+ languages. Choosing a currency on an expense only changes its label and does not convert the amount: balances stay separate by currency unless a Pro member converts them.

### Can I keep a receipt with the expense?

You can attach an image or PDF to a bill. Splitwise limits the upload to 2 MB or less and it has to finish within 30 seconds, so a large photo may need shrinking first. Scanning a receipt into line items is a separate Pro feature.

## Sources

- Splitwise
- Splitwise: How do I use Splitwise?
- Splitwise: What are the different ways I can split an expense?
- Splitwise: How can I manage recurring expenses?
- Splitwise: Managing a group with multiple currencies
- Splitwise: What is Splitwise Pro and who can use it?
- Splitwise: Can I add a friend without their email address or phone number?
- Splitwise: How do I send money to someone on Splitwise?
- Splitwise: Who can see my expenses and balances?
- Splitwise: I can't upload an attachment