Comparison

IOU vs Debt Ruthless

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

IOU

Effortlessly split bills with friends by scanning receipts. The app itemizes purchases, assigns them to individuals, and calculates each person's total including tip and tax. Avoid manual calculations and ensure fair payment among your group.

Highlights
  • Receipt scanning and itemization
  • Assign items to individuals
  • Automatic tax and tip calculation
  • Per-person total calculation
  • Eliminates manual bill splitting
Features
Read full description

IOU is the easiest way to scan receipts, itemize every purchase, and split group expenses accurately. Split what everyone actually ordered—no spreadsheets, no mental math, no awkward follow-ups. SCAN RECEIPTS. ASSIGN ITEMS. DONE. Take a photo of any receipt and IOU will automatically extract items, prices, and totals. Then tap through and assign each item to the right person. Perfect for dinners, trips, and shared purchases where everyone orders something different. ACCURATE SPLITS, EVEN INTERNATIONALLY Split expenses using items, equal splits, percentages, or exact amounts. IOU supports foreign currencies with real-world exchange accuracy using actual credit card charge rates. Region-aware calculations ensure tax and tip are handled correctly wherever you are. BUILT FOR GROUP EXPENSES Create groups for trips, dinners, roommates, and more. Customize groups with photos or curated artwork. Track all expenses in one place and view group insights and spending breakdowns. Settle up easily with Venmo & CashApp. POWERFUL RECEIPT FEATURES * Scan and automatically itemize receipts * Works with foreign receipts and translations * Assign items to individuals one by one * Upload and store receipts within groups * Share a clean breakdown with your group FLEXIBLE AND ORGANIZED * Import existing expenses from other apps * Export your data as CSV or PDF * Adjust settings based on your region * Customize the app with your preferred accent color WHY IOU MOST APPS SPLIT TOTALS. IOU SPLITS WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED. No more overpaying. No more chasing people. Just accurate, transparent group expenses. Terms of condition: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Debt Ruthless

Features
Read full description

Debt Ruthless is the group expense tracker that doesn't sugarcoat. Whether you're splitting a Berlin trip, sharing a London flat, or running a birthday party — log every expense, see who owes whom, and settle up cleanly. WHO IT'S FOR Roommates, travel groups, families, party hosts, friends lending money. Anyone who's tired of chasing money or guessing what they're owed. WHAT YOU CAN DO • Create groups by type — Trip, Apartment, Party, Loan, Family — each with its own colour and category • Add expenses with custom splits: equal, percentage, or fixed amounts per person • Track loans separately with deadlines and partial repayments • Multi-currency — log expenses in EUR, GBP, USD, PLN and more • Settle debts via Venmo, Zelle, bank transfer, or any method you use — record settlements outside the app • Group chat for coordinating who's paying for what • Activity feed shows every change across your groups PRIVACY-FIRST Self-hosted backend in the EU. We don't sell your data. Receipt photos and avatars stored only as long as you keep them. GDPR-compliant by design. NOT A PAYMENT APP Debt Ruthless tracks balances and helps you coordinate. Actual payments happen outside the app — through your bank, Venmo, Zelle, or however you prefer. NO MERCY. ONLY FACTS. Money likes clear situations. So does this app.

Screenshots

IOU4 screens
Debt Ruthless4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Debt Ruthless at none against IOU's 5. Debt Ruthless also leads on iOS requirement (16.4 vs 26.0). On price, update cadence, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. IOU sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. Debt Ruthless asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 6, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
IOU versus Debt Ruthless: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterIOUDebt Ruthless
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.4 (18 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews60.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings18 — better—
Update frequencyFortnightlyFortnightly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFreemium—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Vision Pro — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS26.016.4 — better
Further details — not scored
Size53 MB69 MB
Age rating4+9+
DeveloperEric AgredoMarcin Miazga

In-app purchases

5 purchases

IOU

Subscriptions4
  • IOU Pro3 Days trial$0.991 Month
  • IOU Pro$2.991 Month
  • IOU Pro7 Days trial$6.991 Year
Show 1 more
  • IOU Pro7 Days trial$24.991 Year
One-time1
  • Lifetime IOU Pro$29.99
None

Debt Ruthless

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is IOU free?
IOU is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Debt Ruthless free?
Debt Ruthless is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do IOU or Debt Ruthless have ads?
Neither IOU nor Debt Ruthless shows ads.
Which is updated more often, IOU or Debt Ruthless?
IOU ships an update fortnightly, and Debt Ruthless fortnightly. Most recently, IOU was updated on October 24, 2026 and Debt Ruthless on October 6, 2026.

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