# Chara: Split Bills & Expenses — Scan receipts, settle up free

> Scan receipts, settle up free (iPhone/iPad app by Lucas Dow.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/chara-split-bills-and-expenses/id6773089720 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [Lucas Dow](https://appshunter.io/developer/6773089722)
- Category: Finance, Utilities
- Price: Free
- Age rating: 12+
- Requires: iOS 15.1 · 45 MB
- Languages: American English
- Released: 2026-06-06
- Data updated: 2026-09-01
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/chara-split-bills-and-expenses/id6773089720/reviews.md

## What is Chara?

Split expenses with roommates, partners, and friends without the awkward math. Chara is a private, open-source bill splitter that's free forever. No ads, no subscriptions, no paywalled features.
 
Add an expense, pick who's in, and Chara handles the math. See who owes who at a glance. Settle up when you're ready.
 
WHAT YOU CAN DO
 
• Create groups for roommates, trips, couples, or one-off events
• Split equally, unequally, by percentage, or by shares
• Snap a receipt and pull out the line items automatically
• Track balances per currency, with no sketchy auto-conversion
• Settle up with a tap and keep a clean history
• Get notified when someone adds an expense or pays you back
 
PRIVATE BY DEFAULT
 
No trackers. No ad SDKs. No third-party analytics. Your group's expenses are visible to your group, and nobody else.
 
SELF-HOST IT
 
Chara is open source. Run it on your own server if you want. The app talks to your server the same way it talks to ours. Keep accounts on multiple servers at once and see everything in one place.
 
FREE, FOREVER
 
The core app is free. No subscription. No paywalled features. Chara is what bill-splitting should have been all along.


## Version history (last 5 releases)

### 1.4.0 — 2026-08-30

Add an expense just by saying it. Tap the mic, describe what you paid for, and Chara works out the amounts, who paid and how to split it — in any language. Nothing is saved until you've checked it.

### 1.3.2 — 2026-08-25

• Fixed sharing a receipt to Chara from another app — it now opens
  straight to the receipt inbox instead of an error screen.
• More reliable receipt scanning.

### 1.3.1 — 2026-08-24

- PDF receipts — pick a PDF e-receipt or invoice and Chara turns it into an expense, items and all
- Share to Chara — send a receipt from any app straight into a group via the share sheet
- View receipts in-app — PDFs now open right inside Chara
- Fresh new splash screen, plus small fixes

### 1.3.0 — 2026-07-21

New: home-screen widgets — see your balance and biggest groups at a glance, tap to open a group, or add an expense right from the widget. Plus smarter receipt splitting and a cleaner items screen.

### 1.2.1 — 2026-07-21

Bug fixes for magic-link sign-in, navigation from links and notifications, clearer errors, and recurring expenses

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## Related topics

[splitting bills](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/splitting-bills)

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*Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-09-01.*