Recommendations for expense sharing apps—BUT THERE’S A CATCH!

in your case, there are only 4 bods so paper and pen is likely easier and faster.

A lot of people here have recommended Splitwise. Not sure how it works because I’m usually solo. 😊

Or you might want to check some prior posts here on the forum. https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/tech-tips/best-expense-sharing-apps

If you're pre-paying for some expenses now or in the near future, it might be preferable to have your friends reimburse you now or soon, so that you're starting off on an equal footing when the trip commences. That way you're only dealing with day to day expenses - if one person picks up a dinner check, for example. If one of your friends is a nickel-and-dime sort of person, that may prove to be a challenge - if they only want to pay for exactly what they ordered for a meal, etc,

I have used Splitwise on several group trips (2-4 people) and it has worked well. I did opt for the paid version, as that will convert euros back into Dollars, or multiple currencies to a single currency for settling up.

The issue with having someone not have the app, is that someone, namely you, will need to enter in any expenses they pay for.

The way we use the app, is to keep a running total and balance of who owes who. If someone starts to owe everyone else more, then they pay for lunch, or dinner, or the hotel, to bring everything closer to even. Each time, settling up was maybe the exchange of a few euros or Dollars, or we called it close enough.

We use split wise, but basically it was all on my phone. My friend had it on her phone, but we just put everything in mine and it worked fine.

I’ve used Trip Splitter and find it user friendly and comprehensive. You can try Trip Splitter Lite for free but it’s limited to two people. To get full access for unlimited folks, it’s a $1.99 upgrade.

I use Splid (cost me a couple of euros at the time, but have been a happy user since 2019). It's free to use, but I wanted multiple groups.

(I personally found Splitwise a little counter-intuitive, but I think it's just a question of what you're used to.)

Assuming your tech-averse travel companion trusts you, then you could simply enter their expenses into the app of your choice as you go and keep them updated. Any good app should allow you to assign expenses to other group members.

In other contexts I have used a shared spreadsheet and Google Drive, but I don't know how well that works with an iphone.

In cases where I've had a credit card in the local currency and my fellow travellers didn't, I've also used a system where we all put a sum into the pot, I paid for everything shared, including meals, and then we used my statement and receipts to settle up at the end. (This system requires either similiar spending habits or open communication and a willingness to collect receipts - e.g. I'm happy to pay for booze for heavier-drinking friends on the night as long as I know I'll get it back later.)

I used Splitwise but note that if you don't pay for the full version it limits the number of entries you can put in per day (maybe 4? I lost count). I like it because it you can split things by percentage (eg.. 50-50, 25-75) or put in specific amounts. As I was making 95% of the expenditures on the trip, I didn't share with my travel companion I just told them the total at the end of the trip.

I use Splitwise when one of my daughters travels with me. It’s easy to use when we just put entries as splitting them in half and alternate for awhile who is paying as one builds up.

If you're pre-paying for some expenses now or in the near future, it might be preferable to have your friends reimburse you now or soon, so that you're starting off on an equal footing when the trip commences. That way you're only dealing with day to day expenses.

This is an excellent suggestion. However, it sounds like once you land you are the one who will be paying for everything and getting reimbursed later. I would suggest getting as many receipts as possible when you charge to your credit card unless you want to enter spending right then and there. Also, on the I-phone there is an app already called "Numbers". It is a simple spreadsheet app like Excel. Easy to use and free. You can set it up before you leave and have the amount spent divided into three columns, one for each person. Just enter a line every time you spend money for the group and it will do the calc and keep a running total for each person.

I think Splitwise allows you to add people with requiring them to have the app. You can use an email address, and they would then get email updates when costs are added to the app (you may need to set this up initially in the web version, rather than mobile, not sure). This presumes they aren't paying for anything themselves that is being split, as they would not be able to add expenses to the group. Venmo also has a cost splitting function, if they have Venmo. Otherwise, a google sheet or similar would work as well and could be shared with the group.

I use the Tricount app. I’ve used it with friends who didn’t have the app and didn’t want to download it onto their phones. So I entered the expenses on my phone (you can specify who paid and how it will be split). Then at the end of the trip I showed the breakdown to my friend and we settled up accordingly. If you’re traveling together, it’s pretty easy yo have your friend(s) give you the receipts to enter into the app.

I have used both Splitwise and Splid. I prefer Splid. The free version is fully functional. The paid version is cheap and allows you to set up more than 2 groups as well as download as a spreadsheet.

I’ve done this a few times, using excel. Last time was most challenging, because it was a cruise, with a few days using one currency, then a different currency during the cruise, then back to the original currency. A bit of a mess with currency conversion.

Here’s how I set it up:

When you receive the itemized bill, put initials next to each meal/drink. Note how much you added for tip. Also pay attention to any fees for using a credit card. Take a picture.

In the spreadsheet, create a column for Food & Drink, and another column for Tip & Fees. Calculate the % that the Tips & Fees represent (let’s say 25% for ease). Add a column for Food & Drinks + Tips & Fees.

Then create a column for who paid, if it might vary from meal to meal. This way you know who the money goes TO. Ignore this if YOU will always pay.

Creat a column for each person’s food & drink (including yours). In this column, add the food & drink amounts. Add a second column for that persons Total. This column will be the Food & Drink total times 1.25.

Sum each person’s column.

Add a column for the grand total. The grand total should match the Food & Drinks + Tips & Fees amount.

At the end of the trip, if you paid for everything, each person owes you the amount in their total.

On a previous trip, I maintained a similar tracking when traveling with another family. We swapped paying for meals, to keep it relatively even, and maintained a running total. We were off by about €20 in the end.

I have been happy with Splid on multiple trips. The last time I used it was on a trip with my 88 year old mother and two other people. My mom didn't even bring her phone on the trip, and I wound up keeping up with the expenses for all four of us on my phone.

Splid is super easy to use. It can keep up with multiple currencies. Also it was easy to split an expense among a subset of the group. For example, if three of use used a taxi and the fourth person stayed at the hotel, we could split the fare across just three people.