Honest comparison
A Splitwise alternative with no expense cap — and the rest of the trip in it
Splitting costs is the easy half. The hard half is remembering which dinner, which day and who was even there — which is exactly the context a standalone splitting app throws away.
Where Splitwise is still the better answer
Splitwise is a good tool with one enormous advantage over us: everyone already has it. If your only problem is a shared flat and a monthly electricity bill, a trip planner is the wrong shape entirely and you should stay.
- Everyone in your group already has an account. That is worth a lot.
- It handles recurring, non-travel debts — flatmates, couples, standing costs — which we deliberately do not.
- It settles up across many groups at once. Our balances live inside one trip.
- It has years of history you would leave behind.
Side by side
| What | Splitwise | TripSake |
|---|---|---|
| Expenses on the free tier | Capped at roughly three expenses per day on free, with full-screen ads. | No cap. Add every coffee if you want to. |
Expenses on the free tier Splitwise Capped at roughly three expenses per day on free, with full-screen ads. TripSake No cap. Add every coffee if you want to. | ||
| Receipt scanning | Pro only. | Photograph the receipt, the amount and items are read out of it. Free. |
Receipt scanning Splitwise Pro only. TripSake Photograph the receipt, the amount and items are read out of it. Free. | ||
| Trip context | A list of amounts. The dinner is not attached to the day, the place or the plan. | An expense sits on the trip: the day, the spot, who was there. |
Trip context Splitwise A list of amounts. The dinner is not attached to the day, the place or the plan. TripSake An expense sits on the trip: the day, the spot, who was there. | ||
| Multiple currencies | Supported. | Supported, with the rate stored at the time of the expense. |
Multiple currencies Splitwise Supported. TripSake Supported, with the rate stored at the time of the expense. | ||
| Joining | Everyone needs an account. | Guests open a link and are in. No install, no account, and they still own what they add. |
Joining Splitwise Everyone needs an account. TripSake Guests open a link and are in. No install, no account, and they still own what they add. | ||
| Non-travel debts | Rent, bills, an ongoing tab with a flatmate — its home ground. | Not supported and not planned. Everything belongs to a trip. |
Non-travel debts Splitwise Rent, bills, an ongoing tab with a flatmate — its home ground. TripSake Not supported and not planned. Everything belongs to a trip. | ||
| Everything else about the trip | Out of scope: no plan, no places, no packing, no voting. | The day plan, the places, the polls, the packing list and the bookings are the same app. |
Everything else about the trip Splitwise Out of scope: no plan, no places, no packing, no voting. TripSake The day plan, the places, the polls, the packing list and the bookings are the same app. |
What each one costs
Splitwise Pro
$4.99 / month
The free tier is capped at roughly three expenses per day, shows full-screen ads and keeps receipt scanning behind Pro.
TripSake
Free
TripSake is free to use. There is no subscription, no per-trip charge and no feature behind a paywall today. Core planning features stay free.
Competitor prices and tier limits verified on . Plans change; check the vendor’s own pricing page before you decide.
Moving a trip over
- Create the trip and set the dates.
- Share the invite link in the group chat. Nobody installs anything.
- Add expenses as they happen, or photograph the receipt and let it read the amount.
- Settle up at the end. Keep using Splitwise for your flat — the two do not overlap.
If you need a ledger for your flat, stay on Splitwise. If the expenses come from a trip, splitting them in the same place that holds the plan, the places and the people is less work and produces a better record of what you actually did.
Common questions
Before you switch
Is TripSake really free for splitting expenses?
Yes. There is no expense cap, no ads and no paid tier today. Receipt scanning is included. Core planning features stay free.
Do my friends need an account to see what they owe?
No. They open the invite link and are in the trip as guests. They can add expenses and see balances without signing up, and can claim a real account later if they want to keep the trip.
Can I use it for rent or flatmate bills?
No. Every balance belongs to a trip. For ongoing household debts Splitwise is genuinely the better tool.
Does it handle several currencies?
Yes. An expense stores the amount in the currency it was paid in plus the rate at that moment, so a later rate change does not silently rewrite what someone owes.
Can I import my Splitwise history?
Not today. TripSake starts a trip fresh. If a trip is already half-recorded in Splitwise, settle it there and start the next one here.
Other comparisons
- A Wanderlog alternative where offline and dark mode are not the paid tier
- A TripIt alternative for trips with other people in them
- A Roadtrippers alternative for trips that are not only driving
- A Polarsteps alternative that plans the trip, not only remembers it
- A Notion travel planner alternative for people tired of maintaining a database
- A Google Maps alternative for the part after the pins