The friction happens before the first expense.
Someone has to pick an app. Then convince everyone to use it. Then wait for installs, signups, and confirmations before the group can log anything.
By that point, someone has already lost the receipt.
It's a well-documented pattern in UX research:
Asking users to install or sign up before experiencing value is where groups lose their least-committed members.
Evaluation criteria
This comparison looks at one specific question: how hard is each bill splitting app to get started with? Not features, not design — just the three things that create friction before your first expense is logged.
1. Installation — does the app require a download, or does it work from a browser?
2. Signup — does every participant need to create an account, or can they join without one?
3. Payment model — what does it actually cost, and does it actually lock users in with a subscription?
We picked some of the most popular bill splitting apps for this comparison: Splitwise, Tricount, Splid, SettleUp, Kittysplit, and Settlify.
Comparison table
| Splitwise | Tricount | Splid | SettleUp | Kittysplit | Settlify | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Installation | Recommended | Required | Required | Optional | Optional | Optional |
| Signup | Required for all | Optional | Optional | Optional | Optional | Creator only |
| Payment model | Subscription needed in practice | Free | One-time fee | Free with ads / subscription | Subscription needed for full features | One-time fee per group |
1. Installation
Tricount and Splid require installation. There is no web version. If someone in the group won't install an app — full phone storage, no interest in another account, just won't bother — they're out before they start.
Splitwise has a web version but steers users toward the native app. In practice, most participants end up installing it.
Settlify, SettleUp, and Kittysplit all work from a browser. Nobody in the group needs to install anything to join and add expenses. This is the lowest-friction starting point.
Winners: Settlify, SettleUp, and Kittysplit. All work in browser yet offer native apps too.
2. Signup
This is where apps diverge most sharply.
Splitwise requires an account from every participant. Before anyone can add an expense, they need to sign up, confirm their email, and be added to the group. For a casual group or a one-off trip, this is the biggest drop-off point.
Most other apps — Tricount, Splid, SettleUp, Kittysplit — allow optional signup. Participants can join and contribute without creating an account, though some features or continuity may be limited without one.
Settlify takes a different position: creator only. The person organising the group creates an account. Everyone else joins via a shared link — no email, no password, no account. This isn't just "optional" signup — it's a deliberate design choice. Someone takes responsibility for the group; nobody else has to do anything to participate.
Winners: all except Splitwise — requiring an account from every participant is the clearest friction point in this comparison.
Among the rest, Settlify's creator-only model is special compared to fully optional signup (all others). Fully optional is lower friction for the organiser too. The creator-only model adds one step for the organiser in exchange for a recoverable, accountable group. Which matters more depends on your group.
3. Payment model
How an app charges you affects how easy it is to start — not just how much it costs over time.
Free apps have no payment barrier. You open the app and go. Tricount is free with no paywall. SettleUp is free with ads.
One-time fees are the next easiest. You pay once when you need it — for that trip, that dinner — and owe nothing in between. No commitment before you've started. Splid and Settlify work this way.
First group in Settlify is free - so you can try with no strings attached. After that, Settlify charges 1$/EUR/GBP once per group and adds the fee as the first expense and splits it among the group, so it costs each member a few cents.
Kittysplit starts free but essentially turns pay-as-you-go (3EUR per group) with limits in numbers and features kicking in once you're already mid-trip.
Subscriptions create friction before you've done anything. Splitwise effectively requires one for active use — the free tier limits you to around 2 expenses per day, then forces ads. Currency conversion is not offered as well on the free tier.
Winners: Tricount, SettleUp, Splid, Settlify, Kittysplit — no subscription commitment required to get started.
Conclusion: which apps are the easiest to start splitting expenses in a group?
Winners: Settlify, SettleUp, and Kittysplit. All work from a browser, offer optional native apps, and allow optional signup. None of the three requires a subscription to get started.
Some differences between them worth mentioning:
Settlify requires only the creator to signup: in a group of six, one person creates an account. The other five follow a link. And while it is not completely free, for a few cents per person you avoid any behavior tracking and ads.
Kittysplit is a close alternative with an ad-supported free tier. The real gap here is transparency, with some features and limits sitting behind a paywall you only discover mid-trip, once the group is already using the app and dependent on it.
Another close alternative is SettleUp. The trade-off here is the ad-supported model and associated user tracking.
The app with the most friction to get started
Splitwise is the weakest across all three dimensions: installation is almost inevitable, signup is required from every participant, and a monthly subscription is needed in practice. For a yearly cost of $40 (or equivalent in EUR and GBP) there is no scenario where it wins on getting started.
Honorable mentions
If your group doesn't mind installing an app the other apps are worth considering.
Tricount is free and signup is optional but you do need to download an app. One thing worth knowing: in 2025, Bunq, the bank that owns Tricount, received also a €2.6 million fine from the Dutch Central Bank for inadequate customer monitoring.
Splid is worth a look for the same scenario — installation required, for a one-time fee. The model is honest and the app is truly independent.
