Short answer: If you only hit Splitwise's daily limit now and then, you probably don't need to pay. Splitting the logging with someone else, or buying Pro for one month around a trip, usually covers it. If you log a lot of shared expenses and don't need receipt scanning, search, or a web version, Tricount is free with no expense cap and can import your Splitwise groups. The catch is that Tricount is a mobile-only app, it has dropped some features like CSV/PDF export, and its bunq card perks aren't available to US residents.
The rest of this guide covers the limit, the costs, and how to decide.
How the Splitwise daily limit works
Splitwise's official help center says that "free users can add up to 4 expenses each day," and Pro removes the cap (Splitwise Help Center). A few points matter here:
- The limit applies to each user. It counts the expenses you add. Other people in the group have their own allowance. (This is how Splitwise's wording reads. The help center doesn't explain how the cap is counted in any more detail.)
- The number has changed before. Older reviews and user reports mention 2 or 3 expenses a day and a short countdown timer before you can save an entry. In a US App Store review from August, a user describes a daily cap plus a wait between entries (Apple App Store, US). Treat 4 per day as the current documented figure, not a permanent one.
- The free plan still works. Balances, groups, and settling up are still free. The App Store listing says you "can continue using Splitwise for free" (Apple App Store, US).
For a couple or roommates who log a few bills a week, 4 a day rarely gets in the way. The limit hurts most on group trips, where one organized person tends to log every coffee, gas stop, and dinner.
What Splitwise Pro adds
These are Pro features documented by Splitwise (Splitwise Help Center; Apple App Store, US):
- Unlimited expenses
- Receipt scanning (OCR) and itemization, so you can assign each line item to a person
- Currency conversion to your default currency
- Search across your full expense history
- Spending charts by category
- Default splits
- 10 GB of cloud storage for receipts and JSON backups you can download from the website
- Transaction import from a linked card, in "select countries only." Splitwise doesn't say which countries.
Plans: Splitwise documents three options. Monthly is for one person. Individual + Trip Pass is billed yearly for one person. Duo + Trip Pass is billed yearly for two people. The yearly plans include one Trip Pass, which gives everyone in a chosen trip group Pro features for 30 days (Splitwise Help Center).
What Pro costs in the US
Splitwise's help center doesn't publish prices. The US App Store lists Splitwise Pro in-app purchases between $2.99 and $39.99, including $4.99 and $39.99 price points, but it doesn't say which price goes with which plan. It also notes that pricing can vary by country (Apple App Store, US). Third-party sites disagree about the exact US prices. Check the upgrade screen in your app before you pay.
For the cost examples below, this guide assumes $4.99/month and $39.99/year. Those are the highest monthly and yearly prices on the US App Store listing. They're assumptions, not confirmed plan prices.
What Tricount offers
Tricount is a Belgian app owned by the neobank bunq. It's available on the US App Store from Tricount SA (Apple App Store, US) and on Android (Tricount).
Documented features:
- Free, with no ads and no daily cap. The official site says "Free. No ads. No limits." The US App Store listing promises "no subscription, no hidden fees, no limit on tricounts or expenses" (Tricount; Apple App Store, US).
- Splitwise import. Version 11.0.0 added a way to "seamlessly move your Splitwise groups to tricount" (Apple App Store, US).
- Uneven splits, real-time balances, payment requests, multiple currencies with suggested exchange rates, expense photos, offline tracking, and joining a group by QR code or link (Apple App Store, US).
- You can start without signing up. The site says "Try tricount without signing up" (Tricount). Recent release notes say the app now explains "when and why login is needed," so some actions do require an account (Apple App Store, US).
Documented limitations:
- No paid tier, and some features are gone. Tricount Premium has been discontinued. The help center lists CSV and PDF export, personal mode, statistics, and saved custom splits as features that are no longer available. Statistics and custom splits are marked as planned for a future update (Tricount Help Center).
- Mobile only. The official site names iOS and Android and doesn't mention a web version (Tricount).
- The bunq card isn't available in the US. The Tricount "Free Credit Card" is only for residents of certain EU countries and the UK. People living elsewhere "won't be able to use" it (Tricount Help Center). For US users, Tricount is just the expense splitter.
- Privacy labels. On the US App Store, Tricount's self-reported labels say identifiers may be used to track you (Apple App Store, US). Splitwise's labels list data linked to you but no tracking category (Apple App Store, US). Apple doesn't verify either set of labels.
Price and feature comparison (as of 2026-10-02, US market)
| Splitwise Free | Splitwise Pro | Tricount | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price (US) | $0 | US App Store lists $2.99–$39.99 in-app purchases; exact plan prices not publicly documented | $0 (no in-app purchases listed) |
| Daily expense limit | 4 per day | Unlimited | No limit |
| Ads | Not publicly documented by Splitwise | Not publicly documented | None |
| Receipt scanning / itemizing | No | Yes | Photo attachment only |
| Search history | No | Yes | Not publicly documented |
| Currency conversion | No | Yes | Multi-currency with suggested rates |
| Data export | Not publicly documented | JSON backups | CSV/PDF export removed |
| Platforms | iOS, Android, web | iOS, Android, web | iOS, Android |
| Group-wide upgrade option | — | Trip Pass (yearly plans, 30 days) | Not needed |
| Bank-card features in US | — | Transaction import "select countries"; US status not publicly documented | bunq card not available to US residents |
Hypothetical savings scenarios
These are illustrations based on assumed prices ($4.99/month, $39.99/year). They aren't observed results or guaranteed savings.
Scenario A: a family that hits the limit only on vacation. Say you take one week-long trip a year and log about 10 shared expenses a day.
- Free workaround: Two adults each log up to 4 a day, for 8 total. Saving smaller items as one combined entry (for example, "Day 3 snacks") covers the other 2. Cost: $0, but it takes some coordination.
- One month of Pro: $4.99 a year, if you remember to cancel afterward.
- Annual Pro: $39.99 a year.
- Tricount: $0.
Buying one month of Pro instead of a full year saves an estimated $35.00. Switching the trip group to Tricount saves the full $4.99 compared with one month of Pro.
Scenario B: roommates who log a lot every month. If you'd use Pro all year, monthly billing costs $4.99 × 12 = $59.88, while yearly costs $39.99. The yearly plan comes out cheaper once you'd pay for more than 8 months ($39.99 ÷ $4.99 ≈ 8.01). Compared with Tricount at $0, the annual plan costs about $40 a year. That money pays for receipt scanning, search, the web version, and staying in the app your group already uses.
Who each option suits
Stay on Splitwise Free if:
- You log fewer than 4 expenses a day in most weeks
- Your group already uses Splitwise and doesn't want to switch
- You don't mind splitting up the logging or combining small purchases
Pay for Splitwise Pro if:
- You need receipt itemization, for example to split restaurant or grocery bills by item
- You want search, charts, the web version, or JSON backups
- You run one big trip a year (the yearly plan's Trip Pass upgrades the whole trip group)
- Not a good fit if you only hit the limit a few days a year and don't need the extra features
Switch to Tricount if:
- Avoiding a subscription matters more to you than extra features
- Your group logs lots of small expenses, like on road trips or shared households
- Everyone uses a phone and nobody needs a web version
- Not a good fit if you need CSV/PDF export, a desktop view, or features tied to a bank card in the US
A practical middle option: import a trip-heavy Splitwise group into Tricount and keep your low-volume groups (rent, utilities) on Splitwise Free.
How this comparison was researched
- Research date and market: October 2, 2026, United States
- Criteria: daily limits, US cost over the same period, core features, platform support, account requirements, regional restrictions, and privacy labels
- Sources: Splitwise and Tricount help centers, Tricount's official site, and the US Apple App Store listings. Third-party blogs were used only to spot discrepancies, not as evidence.
- Exclusions: No hands-on testing. Other splitting apps were left out because the question is specifically whether to pay for Splitwise or switch to Tricount. Exact Splitwise plan prices aren't publicly documented, so the cost figures above are labeled as assumptions.
Conclusion
The Splitwise daily limit is 4 expenses per day on the free plan. That's tight for busy trips but usually fine for everyday household bills. Pro makes sense if you'll actually use receipt itemization, search, or the web version. Pay monthly for short peaks, or yearly if you'd use it for more than about 8 months. Tricount removes the cap at no cost and can import your Splitwise groups, but US users give up export, a web version, and the bunq card features. In most cases, the right choice depends on how often you hit the limit and whether you need Pro's extra features.
