Good things come in big packages, like ordering a steer directly from the local farmer or pooling your neighborhood grocery shopping into one big Costco run. But figuring out who owes what can be a spreadsheet nightmare. Luckily, we’ve rounded up seven of our favorite apps to help you eliminate receipt hoarding forever.
If you need a new phone to put these apps on, we rounded up our favorite cheap phones here.
Updated May 2020: We refreshed this list and added more services, like Splitwise.
Splittr
Splittr makes splitting bills super easy. You simply create the trip or event, then add individual expenses for that activity. From there, you can add the parties involved in that activity and how much each person contributed thus far. Then the app does its magic and figures out each person’s current balance, as well as who owes what (and to whom) at the end of the trip.
Splitwise
Splitwise is a favorite of the WIRED Gear team. It has a more attractive and user-friendly interface and a pro version that lets you track spending by category, store high-resolution receipts, and convert bills by exchange rate if you’re splitting expenses with people in other countries. Splitwise also makes an additional app called Plates by Splitwise that’s designed specifically for splitting restaurant (takeout) bills. One caveat: You can’t pay up inside the app—you’ve got to use real life money, or do that using another app … like Venmo!
Venmo
Free for Android, iPhone, Web (limited features)
Venmo is the way to go for things like paying a friend back for lunch, or paying rent or bills to a master tenant (or tech-savvy landlord). If your roommates owe you money for rent, they can either send you the money they owe through the app (free of charge if you use a debit card or connect your bank account), or you can send a charge for them to fulfill. You can complete the payment in the app, or do so by replying to a text message notification with a specific code. Venmo was acquired by PayPal, but the app experience is more friendly, social, and streamlined than PayPal’s app.
GroupMe