Caregiving is an act of love, but it can quietly become a serious financial commitment. In the United States alone, 63 million adults—nearly one in four—provided ongoing care during 2025, according to AARP and the National Alliance for Caregiving. Nearly half experienced at least one major financial consequence, such as debt, reduced savings, or difficulty affording food (AARP, 2025).

Those costs rarely arrive as one neat monthly bill. You might pay for prescriptions today, while your sister covers groceries and your brother pays for transport next week. Unless everyone records these payments consistently, it becomes surprisingly difficult to work out what each person has contributed.

Expense-sharing apps give families a common record. They will not decide what “fair” means for you, but they can make an agreed arrangement easier to follow.

What does sharing caregiving costs fairly mean?

Sharing costs fairly does not necessarily mean dividing every bill equally.

One sibling may earn considerably more than another. One person may provide hours of unpaid hands-on care, while another lives abroad and contributes mainly through money. The person receiving care may also have income, insurance reimbursements or savings that should cover certain expenses.

A fair caregiving cost-sharing arrangement usually considers:

  • Each person’s income and financial capacity
  • Time spent providing unpaid care
  • Which expenses belong to the person receiving care
  • Insurance, employer or government reimbursements
  • Whether a purchase was agreed upon in advance
  • Who is legally responsible for managing the care recipient’s money

The financial pressure is measurable. AARP’s national study of almost 2,400 caregivers found that nearly eight in ten had routine out-of-pocket caregiving expenses. On average, caregivers spent 26% of their income on those costs (AARP, 2021).

Before selecting an app, agree on the rules behind the numbers.

A simple system for dividing care expenses

A practical family arrangement can work like this:

  1. Define eligible expenses. Decide whether the shared budget covers medical supplies, home adaptations, transport, food, professional care and other categories.
  2. Choose a contribution formula. Costs might be split equally, by income percentage or according to a custom ratio.
  3. Recognize unpaid work separately. Do not assume that the family member providing the most care should also pay an equal share of every bill.
  4. Record expenses promptly. Include the date, category, payer, amount and a short explanation.
  5. Attach or retain receipts. This is especially important when someone is managing another person’s funds.
  6. Reconcile regularly. A monthly settlement is generally easier to understand than dozens of individual repayments.

AARP recommends documenting clearly who will pay which expenses and putting financial agreements in writing (AARP).

Recordkeeping may also be a legal responsibility when you act under a power of attorney, guardianship or another fiduciary arrangement. The US Consumer Financial Protection Bureau says a fiduciary should “keep a detailed list of the money received or spent” and retain receipts (CFPB).

An expense-sharing app can support that record, but it is not a replacement for legal accounts, tax documents or professional advice.

How I compared the apps

I reviewed the five apps using the same caregiving scenario: three siblings sharing pharmacy purchases, groceries, mileage, home equipment and a recurring care-service bill. The test included an equal expense, an income-based split, an expense involving only two siblings and a reimbursement.

I focused on the features that matter most in everyday family caregiving:

  • Unequal and custom splits
  • Clear running balances
  • Receipt or image support
  • Recurring expenses
  • Browser access for less technical relatives
  • Multiple currencies
  • Export or reporting options
  • Cost and free-tier restrictions

Features and prices can change, so the comparisons below reflect information available in July 2026.

1. Splitwise: best for detailed, ongoing cost sharing

Splitwise is the most polished option for a family that expects to record caregiving expenses over months or years. It works on iPhone, Android and the web, and it supports groups specifically for families as well as friends and housemates.

In the test scenario, creating a dedicated group made it easy to keep care expenses separate from ordinary household spending. A grocery payment could be divided equally, while a mobility aid could be allocated using percentages or exact amounts. Recurring entries are useful for predictable costs such as a weekly home-care visit or monthly medical-alert subscription.

Splitwise also simplifies balances, meaning the family can settle with fewer transfers instead of repaying every purchase separately.

Pros

  • Supports equal, unequal, percentage and share-based divisions
  • Handles recurring caregiving expenses
  • Available on mobile devices and the web
  • Creates a visible transaction history for the whole group
  • Pro includes receipt scanning, currency conversion and default splits

Cons

  • Free users can currently add only a limited number of expenses per day
  • Receipt scanning and several advanced tools require Splitwise Pro
  • Currency conversion is a paid feature
  • Everyone may need some initial guidance to understand simplified balances

Splitwise’s help centre says free users can add up to four expenses per day, while Pro provides unlimited entries, receipt scanning and default splits (Splitwise Help). That limit can become inconvenient when one caregiver is recording a week of purchases at once.

Best for: Families that want flexible splitting rules and expect to manage caregiving costs continuously.

2. Tricount: best free option for straightforward sharing

Tricount takes a simpler approach. You create a shared “tricount,” invite the other participants and enter what each person paid. The app calculates the balances and proposes reimbursements.

The clean expense-entry process worked well for routine purchases in the test scenario. You can begin with an equal split and then adjust each participant’s share. The app also accepts expenses in different currencies and converts them into the group’s main currency using a daily exchange rate (Tricount Help).

That makes Tricount practical when relatives live in different countries or pay overseas medical and travel costs.

Pros

  • Core expense-sharing features are free
  • Supports custom participant shares
  • Handles expenses entered in different currencies
  • Lets participants mark reimbursements as paid
  • Offers photos, spending insights and statistics
  • Shared access is easy through an invitation link

Cons

  • The group itself uses one default currency
  • Some features and financial products vary by country
  • Automatic expense recording may involve a bunq card, which not every family will want
  • It offers fewer long-term administrative tools than a dedicated caregiving platform

Tricount states that its expense-sharing features are available without a premium subscription or monthly charge (Tricount Help).

Best for: Cost-conscious families that want an accessible free tool, particularly when expenses involve more than one currency.

3. Settle Up: best for complex family arrangements

Settle Up is particularly useful when equal division would be unfair. It supports unequal weights, multiple payers for one expense and all currencies. The app also works offline and synchronizes changes when you reconnect.

In the caregiving scenario, weighted splitting was the standout feature. For example, three siblings could agree to shares of 50%, 30% and 20% based on disposable income. An expense could also exclude someone who did not agree to participate.

Settle Up calculates a small number of repayments needed to clear the group’s debts. Relatives who do not want the app can view a shared group link through their browser, according to its official App Store listing.

Pros

  • Handles equal, unequal and weighted splits
  • Allows more than one payer for an expense
  • Works offline
  • Supports multiple currencies and exchange rates
  • Provides browser access through shared links
  • Includes export and reporting options

Cons

  • Some reporting and customization features require premium access
  • The number of splitting choices may feel complicated at first
  • A simplified final balance can hide the individual debts it replaced unless everyone understands the calculation
  • It is designed for general group spending, not caregiving documentation

Best for: Families with income-based contributions, several payers or more complicated reimbursement rules.

4. Sesterce: best for importing an existing expense history

Sesterce is a flexible alternative for families that want many core features without immediately buying a subscription. It provides mobile and web access and is free for most functions.

Its particularly useful feature is data portability. Sesterce says you can import groups from Splitwise, Tricount and other platforms, allowing you to change apps without abandoning an existing caregiving ledger (Sesterce).

During the scenario review, the app covered the essential workflow: create a group, add payments, specify who participated and see who should reimburse whom. This is enough for many households, although its interface and support resources are less extensive than those of the larger competitors.

Pros

  • Most expense-sharing features are free
  • Available as an app and web service
  • Supports group imports from competing services
  • Suitable for both equal and custom cost divisions
  • Helps preserve an existing expense history when switching apps

Cons

  • Smaller service with fewer independent support resources
  • Some advanced options require payment
  • Premium access may be linked to an individual group
  • Not specifically designed around care plans, legal records or benefits

Best for: Families moving away from another expense-sharing service or seeking a feature-rich free alternative.

5. Kittysplit: best when relatives dislike installing apps

Kittysplit removes one of the biggest barriers to family expense tracking: account setup. You can create a shared “Kitty” and send the link to relatives without requiring everyone to register or remember another password.

The browser workflow felt the least intimidating for a simple care budget. Equal splitting is the default, but you can assign exact amounts or shares. That works well when one relative contributes twice as much as another or when only certain family members share a purchase.

Kittysplit can also use the exchange rate from an expense’s date and allows the organiser to override the rate. Its help pages confirm that the web version works across devices and that registration is optional (Kittysplit Help).

Pros

  • No registration required for basic use
  • Works through a web browser
  • Supports equal, exact-amount and share-based splits
  • No daily expense-entry limit
  • Can calculate historical currency conversions
  • Particularly approachable for occasional users

Cons

  • Link-based access requires careful handling
  • Fewer advanced budgeting and administrative features
  • Basic use may not provide the control families need for sensitive financial records
  • Optional upgraded groups are needed for features such as read-only links

Best for: Small families that value simplicity and have relatives who do not want to create accounts or learn a complex app.

Quick comparison of the five apps

App Strongest feature Custom splits Web access Multiple currencies Main limitation
Splitwise Detailed ongoing groups Yes Yes Yes; conversion is Pro Daily free-entry limit
Tricount Free, simple expense sharing Yes Limited by current platform offering Yes One default group currency
Settle Up Complex and weighted splits Yes Yes Yes Some tools require premium
Sesterce Importing existing groups Yes Yes Yes Smaller support ecosystem
Kittysplit No-account browser access Yes Yes Yes Fewer advanced controls

Make the app reflect your definition of fairness

Even the best caregiving expense app will produce an unfair result if you give it unfair rules. Agree on a contribution method before entering the first bill.

Equal shares

An equal split is easy to understand, but it works best when relatives have similar financial circumstances and contribute comparable amounts of unpaid care.

Income-based shares

If incomes differ substantially, calculate each person’s percentage of the family’s combined available income. Enter those percentages as the default split where the app supports it.

Money-and-time contributions

A family member providing regular personal care, transport or appointment coordination is already contributing something valuable. Your agreement might reduce that person’s financial percentage or compensate them under a formal personal-care agreement.

Expense-by-expense participation

Not every purchase must include everyone. One group of relatives might share medical equipment, while only two people contribute to optional home improvements. Apps with participant-level controls handle this more accurately than a single fixed percentage.

Whatever formula you use, write it down and review it after major changes in care needs, income or family availability.

Good records matter beyond family harmony

A shared ledger is helpful, but receipt images and app balances may not satisfy every legal, benefit or tax requirement. Keep original invoices and relevant bank records according to the rules in your country.

In the United States, the IRS says certain medical expenses paid for a qualifying parent may be deductible, although only the eligible portion above the applicable adjusted-gross-income threshold can be claimed (IRS). Separate rules apply to the Child and Dependent Care Credit, household employees and reimbursed costs.

You should also distinguish between:

  • Money spent on behalf of the person receiving care
  • Shared family contributions
  • Reimbursable insurance or benefit expenses
  • Payment for a relative’s caregiving work
  • Gifts or informal financial support

This separation helps prevent the same expense from being reimbursed twice and makes questions easier to resolve later.

Current trends in caregiving expense apps

Expense-sharing services are gradually moving beyond simple equal bill splitting. The most useful developments for caregivers include:

  • Flexible contribution formulas: Weighted, percentage and share-based splits better reflect different incomes and care workloads.
  • Cross-platform access: Browser links reduce the need for every relative to own the same type of phone.
  • Fewer settlement payments: Apps increasingly consolidate several debts into a smaller number of transfers.
  • Receipt capture and exports: Paid tiers commonly add scanning, reports and spreadsheet exports.
  • Data portability: Import features make it easier to move a long-running family ledger between services.
  • International support: Automatic exchange rates help families coordinate care across borders.
  • Freemium limits: Some established apps now restrict free entries or reserve recordkeeping tools for paid plans.

These developments make expense-sharing apps more practical for caregiving, but general-purpose tools still lack features such as care-plan management, legal approvals and insurance-claim tracking.

A clear record makes a difficult job easier

Sharing caregiving costs fairly starts with an honest family agreement, not an algorithm. Splitwise offers the most detailed ongoing system, Tricount provides a strong free experience, Settle Up handles complex contributions, Sesterce helps preserve existing records, and Kittysplit keeps participation simple.

Whichever tool fits your family, use it as a transparent shared ledger. Clear rules, prompt entries and retained receipts can prevent misunderstandings while showing the true financial contribution each caregiver makes.

References