Comparison

PocketDiner vs IOU

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

Head to head
About

PocketDiner

This app helps you accurately split restaurant bills, especially in group settings. It tracks individual orders, shared items, and even allows for special cases like birthday meals, ensuring fair payment for everyone.

Highlights
  • Track individual and shared orders
  • Split bills by item
  • Birthday mode for free meals
  • Adjustable tax and tip rates
  • Add diners from contacts
  • Easy access to meal totals
Features
Read full description

Never get screwed at lunch again. PocketDiner is not just a mere tip calculator - it's designed to be the do-everything toolkit for those who eat out in an office setting. No one counts dollars and cents when eating with friends, but face it - your coworkers are deadbeats. If you've been to a twenty five person birthday lunch with the folks at work and ended up forty-seven dollars short when the bill came, you'll know what we're talking about. This app is for you, when just dividing by the number people is too simple. PocketDiner Features: - Keep track of what everyone orders and what is shared. - Split the bill and make everyone pay for what they ordered. - Birthday mode lets you designate who eats free and fairly divides their order amongst everyone else. - Adjustable tax and tip rates. - Share food with one person in the group or with everyone in the group and split the cost only for those who need to pay. - Meal and diner bill totals are easily accessible with a simple swipe up - Add diners either from your contacts or manually.

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/

Screenshots

PocketDiner4 screens
IOU4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: PocketDiner at 5.0 against IOU's 4.4. PocketDiner also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 60%) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 26.0). IOU's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (fortnightly vs every 6 months). On price, ratings volume, in-app purchases and monetization model 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. PocketDiner sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and IOU sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

PocketDiner holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.4. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 10 and 18 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 100% of PocketDiner's written reviews are positive against 60% of IOU's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

PocketDiner ships an update every 6 months, IOU fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 22, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
PocketDiner versus IOU: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPocketDinerIOU
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (10 ratings) — better4.4 (18 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews — better60.0% of reviews
Number of ratings1018 — better
Update frequencyEvery 6 monthsFortnightly — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad, Vision Pro — better
Requires iOS15.0 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size6 MB53 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperJeffrey LaiEric Agredo

Customer experience

PocketDiner

All ratings10 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews17 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

IOU

All ratings17 ratings
Positive76.5%
Neutral17.6%
Negative5.9%
Written reviews10 reviews
Positive60.0%
Neutral30.0%
Negative10.0%

In-app purchases

1 purchases

PocketDiner

One-time1
  • Pocketdiner Ad Free$0.99
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

Questions

Is PocketDiner free?
PocketDiner is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is IOU free?
IOU is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, PocketDiner or IOU?
PocketDiner is rated higher. PocketDiner averages 5.0 out of 5 from 10 ratings, while IOU averages 4.4 from 18 ratings.
Do PocketDiner or IOU have ads?
PocketDiner shows ads; IOU does not.
Which is updated more often, PocketDiner or IOU?
PocketDiner ships an update every 6 months, and IOU fortnightly. Most recently, PocketDiner was updated on October 22, 2026 and IOU on October 24, 2026.

Other comparisons