Splitwise is the most recognised bill-splitting app for a reason. It's clean, it works across platforms, and it's genuinely good at tracking shared expenses over time — for roommates, long trips, or ongoing group costs.
But if you've tried to scan a receipt lately, you've hit the paywall. Receipt scanning is a Splitwise Pro feature, which costs around $3/month or $40/year. For something as basic as reading a restaurant bill, that's a lot.
If you're looking for a free alternative — or one that handles restaurants better — here are four worth considering.
Free. No account. No app to install.
Snapatab is built specifically for the restaurant scenario: one person snaps a photo of the receipt, AI reads every item automatically, a QR code appears, and everyone at the table scans it on their own phone to claim what they ordered. The whole thing takes under a minute.
There's nothing to download and no account to create — for you or anyone else at the table. It works in any mobile browser, which means it actually works in practice (no "hold on, let me install the app" delay).
Where it beats Splitwise: restaurant bills, groups where not everyone has the same app, speed.
Where Splitwise is still better: tracking shared expenses over weeks or months (rent, utilities, ongoing group costs). Snapatab is for the moment — not long-term debt tracking.
Price: free, no subscription.
Free. No account required.
Splid handles multi-day group expenses cleanly. One person creates a group, shares a link, and everyone adds expenses as they happen — no account needed for anyone. It calculates the minimum number of transfers needed to settle up at the end, which means fewer payments all around.
It doesn't have receipt scanning, but for trips where you're tracking many expenses over several days, it's one of the cleanest free options available.
Where it beats Splitwise: no forced account creation, cleaner settlement calculation.
Where Splitwise is still better: long-term household or roommate expense tracking with a permanent group.
Price: free.
Free tier available. Multi-currency support.
SettleUp is close to Splitwise in functionality — it handles ongoing groups, multiple currencies, recurring expenses, and weighted splits. The free tier covers most use cases. It also has a cleaner interface than Splitwise's current version and doesn't force ads on the free tier.
Good choice if you need Splitwise-like features but want something that feels less dated and doesn't nag you to upgrade.
Where it beats Splitwise: interface, multi-currency on free tier, no forced ad countdowns.
Where Splitwise is still better: larger existing network — if your group already uses Splitwise, switching has a coordination cost.
Price: free tier available; paid tier for advanced features.
Free. Simple.
Tricount is Splid's main competitor in the trip-expense category. It's been around longer, has a slightly more polished app, and handles the basics well. You create a trip, add people, add expenses, and it tells everyone what they owe at the end.
No receipt scanning, no AI — just clean, straightforward expense tracking.
Where it beats Splitwise: simplicity, no account needed for participants, works well for one-off events.
Where Splitwise is still better: ongoing household or roommate setups where you need a permanent group.
Price: free.
| App | Best for | Receipt scanning | Account needed | Free |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Splitwise | Roommates, long-term groups | Pro only ($3/mo) | Yes | Limited |
| Snapatab | Restaurant bills | Yes, free | No | Yes |
| Splid | Group trips | No | No | Yes |
| SettleUp | Ongoing groups | No | Yes | Mostly |
| Tricount | Casual trips | No | No | Yes |
Use Snapatab when you're at a restaurant and everyone ordered different things. It's the only free app that actually scans the receipt and lets everyone claim their own items in real time, on their own phone, without installing anything.
Use Splid or Tricount for weekend trips or group holidays where you're tracking expenses across multiple days.
Use SettleUp if you want a long-term group tracker that feels more modern than Splitwise.
Keep Splitwise if your existing group is already there and you're only using the free tier features. Just don't expect receipt scanning without paying.
Is there a completely free version of Splitwise?
Yes, but it's limited. The free tier no longer includes receipt scanning, and it shows forced ad countdowns when logging expenses. Most of Splitwise's core debt-tracking features are still free, but the features that make it genuinely useful for restaurant bills are paywalled.
What's the best free bill splitter for restaurants?
Snapatab — scan the receipt with your camera, share a QR code, everyone claims their items. Free, no account, no app required.
Can my friends use Snapatab without downloading anything?
Yes. They scan the QR code and it opens in their mobile browser. Nothing to install, no account to create.
Does Splid have receipt scanning?
No. Splid is great for tracking group trip expenses manually, but it doesn't scan receipts. For that, use Snapatab.
Is SettleUp better than Splitwise?
For most users, yes. The interface is cleaner, the free tier is more generous, and it doesn't have the forced ad delays that Splitwise introduced. The main reason to stay on Splitwise is if your existing group is already there.
Splitwise built the category, but it's no longer the best tool for every situation. For restaurant bills specifically, it's not even close — paying $40/year to scan a receipt is hard to justify when Snapatab does it for free in under a minute, with no app required.
Use the right tool for the job. For restaurants, that's Snapatab.