Comparison

Cost Split vs Settle Up

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

Head to head
About

Cost Split

Easily manage shared expenses with friends and family. Track group costs, split bills unevenly, and get clear payback plans. Supports online and offline use with cloud sync and email reports.

Highlights
  • Cloud sync for group expenses
  • Offline support
  • Uneven expense splitting
  • Payback calculations
  • Email expense reports
  • Multiple currency support
  • Attach photos to expenses
Features
Read full description

Cost Split helps you share costs within a group of people where each person can add expenses from their own devices thanks to the cloud sync. 5.0 average rating in US, UK and Sweden Top 10 in the Finance category in Sweden, India, Denmark, Poland, Slovenia, Finland, Norway, Turkey, Chile, Argentina, Czech Republic, Philippines, Luxembourg, Lithuania, Venezuela, Iceland, Latvia and Norway. It is perfect on vacations, road trips, a night on the town or in a household where you share the costs. Just define a group of people, add expenses as you go and when you are ready to settle the debts, you can e-mail a report with a list of all expenses and who should pay what to whom. You can choose to store the data online, so all your friends can view and add costs themselves. Thanks to the currency and offline support, it works perfect when you are on a trip abroad with limited internet access. If you want to see it in action, look at the movie on the homepage. FEATURES - NO NEED FOR REGISTRATION - Fast and easy to use - Online and offline support - Attach photos to expenses and sync them as well - iCloud support - Online data is shared between your devices and as backup - Push Notifications when someone updates your groups - Split expenses unevenly (either by amount or coefficient) - Transfer support (money transactions like loans and paybacks) - Payback calculations (who should pay what to whom?) - Intelligent payback algorithm - minimize number of transactions by entering an amount you don't care about - E-mail reports (list of expenses, person summary, payback plan and currency information) - Multiple currencies - download currency rates, intelligent localized currency support LINKS Homepage: www.CostSplitApp.com Facebook: facebook.com/CostSplitApp Twitter: twitter.com/CostSplitApp

About

Settle Up

Easily track shared expenses and IOUs for groups like travelers, flatmates, or friends. Handles complex splits, multiple payers, incomes, and items from bills. Works offline and across platforms, minimizing transfers and offering real-time exchange rates.

Highlights
  • Track shared expenses
  • Manage IOUs
  • Handle complex splits
  • Multiple payers support
  • Offline functionality
  • Real-time exchange rates
  • Data export
Features
Read full description

Settle group expenses without the stress. Tired of messy IOUs, awkward money talks, and complex math after a trip or shared dinner? Settle Up is the smartest way to track shared expenses and manage "who owes whom" instantly. From simple bill splitting to complex multi-currency adventures, we handle the heavy lifting so you can focus on the fun. Perfect for travelers, roommates, couples, event organizers, and friends. Join over 2.5 million users who have simplified their shared finances! WHY SETTLE UP? – Split anything: Whether it’s an even split, unequal weights, or multiple people paying for one item, we handle every real-life scenario. – Smart settlements: Our unique algorithm calculates the fewest possible transfers to settle all debts, saving you time and transaction fees. – Works everywhere: Sync data across other platforms. No internet? No problem — it works offline and syncs when you’re back. – No app required: Share a group link so friends can view the balance in their browser without downloading anything. POWERFUL FEATURES FOR REAL LIFE – Global ready: Supports all currencies with real-time exchange rates for international travel. – Ultra-fast sharing: Invite friends via a simple link or a QR code. – Export & reports: Need a deep dive? Export your data to CSV for easy accounting. – Instant transparency: Get notified the second someone adds an expense or settles up. Settle Up will even remind group members automatically and nudge them to settle their debts. UPGRADE TO PREMIUM FOR THE FULL EXPERIENCE Unlock the tools designed for power users and frequent travelers: – Ad-free: Focus on your finances without distractions. – Receipt photos: Snap and store bills directly in the group. – Recurring & future expenses: Automate rent, subscriptions, and utility bills. – Custom categories: Organize your spending with colorful, personalized labels. – Export to Excel: Get a full expense report in a spreadsheet. – Statistics: View charts on spend by categories and members. Stop worrying about the math. Start enjoying the moment. Download Settle Up today and sail through your next group expense! Visit our Terms of Service and Privacy policy at: https://settleup.io/tos.html

Screenshots

Cost Split4 screens
Settle Up4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Cost Split at none against Settle Up's shown. Cost Split also leads on review sentiment (86% vs 59%) and iOS requirement (8.0 vs 17.4). Settle Up's advantage is rating (4.8 vs 4.6) and ratings volume (1.7K vs 129). On price, in-app purchases, monetization model 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. Cost Split sells 2 one-off in-app purchases and Settle Up sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Settle Up holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Settle Up has 1.7K ratings behind it against 129, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 86% of Cost Split's written reviews are positive against 59% of Settle Up's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Cost Split ships an update every 6 weeks, Settle Up every 2 weeks. Both last shipped on October 13, 2026.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Cost Split versus Settle Up: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCost SplitSettle Up
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (129 ratings)4.8 (1.7K ratings) — better
Positive reviews85.7% of reviews — better58.5% of reviews
Number of ratings1291.7K — better
Update frequencyEvery 6 weeksEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS8.0 — better17.4
Further details — not scored
Size31 MB103 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperJacob IvstamStep Up Labs, Inc.

Customer experience

Cost Split

All ratings129 ratings
Positive86.8%
Neutral7.8%
Negative5.4%
Written reviews210 reviews
Positive85.7%
Neutral6.2%
Negative8.1%

Settle Up

All ratings1,729 ratings
Positive96.5%
Neutral1.2%
Negative2.4%
Written reviews388 reviews
Positive58.5%
Neutral6.2%
Negative35.3%

User reviews

Cost Split

From 129 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Easy to use
  • 👍 Intuitive interface
  • 💰 Inexpensive premium version
  • 🌍 Supports multiple currencies
  • 📝 Detailed expense tracking

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Currency rates not downloading
  • 🔒 Difficult to cancel premium subscription
  • 🔍 Limited to 5 free transactions
  • 📤 Email report formatting issues
  • 🔍 Lack of search/filtering options

Settle Up

From 1.7K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Easy to use
  • 💡 Flexible expense splitting
  • 🚀 Fast expense adding
  • 💡 Supports multiple currencies
  • 👍 Helpful for group trips and outings

Room to improve

  • 💰 Expensive compared to alternatives
  • 🐛 Crashes and bugs
  • 👎 Poor UI/UX design
  • 👎 Free version lacks key features
  • 🔒 Requires social media login

Bugs and requests

Cost Split

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Syncing issues between devices
  • Incorrect expense calculation/payback amounts

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add ability to group/categorize expenses
  • Implement Android app version
  • Allow more than one person to pay an expense
  • Add option to print/export expense reports
  • Include receipt image attachments in email reports

Settle Up

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Expense details disappearing
  • Inability to create new groups
  • Keyboard issues on iOS 8
  • Incompatibility with iPad

Requested features

3 requests
  • Ability to assign fixed amounts to group members
  • Option to adjust expense shares (e.g. exclude certain items)
  • Support for paying groups (multi-family events)

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Cost Split

One-time2
  • Unlock$0.99
  • Premium$0.99
10 purchases

Settle Up

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly Premium$3.991 Month
  • Yearly Premium7 Days trial$19.991 Year
One-time8
  • Group Premium for 1 week$5.99
  • Group Premium for 2 weeks$9.99
  • Group Premium for 2 months$14.99
Show 5 more
  • Group Premium for 1 month$14.99
  • Group Premium for 2 months$29.99
  • Group Premium5 variants$39.99
  • Group Premium for 1 year$39.99
  • Lifetime Group Premium$149.99

Questions

Is Cost Split free?
Cost Split is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Settle Up free?
Settle Up is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Cost Split or Settle Up?
Settle Up is rated higher. Cost Split averages 4.6 out of 5 from 129 ratings, while Settle Up averages 4.8 from 1.7K ratings.
Do Cost Split or Settle Up have ads?
Settle Up shows ads; Cost Split does not.
Which is updated more often, Cost Split or Settle Up?
Cost Split ships an update every 6 weeks, and Settle Up every 2 weeks. Most recently, Cost Split was updated on October 13, 2026 and Settle Up on October 13, 2026.

Other comparisons