A Settle Up alternative without the ads

The main Settle Up alternatives right now are HippoSplit, Splitwise, Tricount, and Splid. Here is how they compare, honestly.

Settle Up has mature native iOS and Android apps, works offline so you can add an expense with no signal and it syncs later, and has a long track record. Its group Premium, bought for just a week or a month, is a genuinely nice option for a single vacation where nobody wants an ongoing subscription.

If native apps and offline entry matter most to you, Settle Up is a solid tool. The case for switching is specific: you are tired of ads on the free plan, you do not want to pay per person, or you want receipts and chat messages turned into expenses automatically instead of just stored as photos.

Settle Up Premium is priced per user, so everyone who wants the ad-free, full-feature experience pays, unless the group buys a separate group plan. HippoSplit works the other way around: only the person who creates the group needs Premium, and everyone they invite gets unlimited AI scanning and premium features at no extra cost.

For a group of four, that is one subscription instead of four.

Settle Up, like most alternatives, is form-first: you open the app, tap add, and fill in the fields. HippoSplit is a group chat. Type "lunch 24.50 split with Anna and Ben" and the expense is logged, categorized, and split before anyone opens a form. Or just post a photo of the receipt straight into the chat, the same as sending a picture to friends, and HippoSplit reads it and logs the expense: the easiest way to keep track as you spend.

Everyone sees expenses appear in the conversation in real time, so there is no "did you add the taxi?" follow-up.

Settle Up lets Premium users attach a photo of a receipt to an expense, which is useful for a record, but you still type in the amount yourself. HippoSplit reads the receipt: drop a photo, screenshot, or a batch of photos into the chat and AI pulls out line items, totals, and currencies, and can detect multiple expenses in one batch. Assign items to people for an itemized split.

Everything the AI fills in stays editable, and all balances are computed by HippoSplit's backend, not guessed by the AI.

Share a group with friends and they can open it without creating an account. Guest access is read-only, they see expenses and balances right away, and only need to sign in (free) if they want to add or edit something. Settle Up requires every member to have an account.

Start a group in HippoSplit and share the link. Most groups settle their old Settle Up balances once, then log new expenses in HippoSplit from that point on. If you want your Settle Up history, export it to Excel from Settle Up Premium before you stop using it.

Your group's financial data is encrypted and not used to serve ads or sold to third parties. You can export or delete your data at any time.