If you split rent, trips, or dinners with the same group of people, Splitwise is probably the first app anyone recommends. It works. But a lot has changed on its free tier, and there's now a real question worth asking before your group commits: what are you giving up to use it for free, and is there a simpler way? Here's an honest, source-checked look at how Dolio and Splitwise stack up.
The short version
Splitwise is the established choice with the biggest user base. Dolio is the newer, deliberately simpler option that keeps everything free and removes the two things people complain about most in Splitwise's free tier: ads and a daily limit on how many expenses you can add. Both scan receipts on their paid plans, so the real decision comes down to the free experience and how much signup friction you want to put in front of your friends. The table above resolves against live, dated facts — so it stays current as prices change.
Where Dolio pulls ahead
- Free forever, with no ads. No ad breaks between expenses and no upsell wall on the features you use every day.
- No daily expense cap. Add as many expenses as you like — unlimited groups, members, and expenses on the free plan.
- No signup for the people you split with. Share an invite link and friends can join a split without downloading an app or creating an account (we call them ghost participants).
Where Splitwise still wins
This isn't a clean sweep, and it would be dishonest to pretend otherwise. Splitwise has years of head start and a far larger user base, so there's a good chance the people you split with already have it installed. And it has mature in-app payment links — Venmo and PayPal in the US, Paytm in India — for recording who paid back whom.
Both scan receipts — on Pro
How we sourced this
We don't ask you to take our word for it. Every Splitwise value in the comparison table is pulled from a primary source — Splitwise's own pricing pages and its official App Store and Google Play listings — and each cell shows the date we last checked it. Where a value couldn't be confirmed from a primary page, we left it out rather than guess. Facts verified 18 July 2026.
Dolio vs Splitwise: quick answers
Is Dolio free?
Yes — Dolio is free forever, with no ads and no limits on the number of groups, members, or expenses. There's a paid Pro tier for extras like receipt scanning, but the free plan is enough to split expenses fully.
Does Splitwise's free plan really limit how many expenses you can add?
Yes. Splitwise frames "unlimited expenses" and an ad-free experience as Splitwise Pro benefits, which means the free tier shows ads and caps how many expenses you can add per day.
Do my friends need an account to split with me on Dolio?
No. You can share an invite link and friends can join a split without downloading an app or creating an account. On Splitwise, people you split with generally need a Splitwise account to view balances and settle up.
Does Dolio scan receipts like Splitwise?
Yes — both Dolio and Splitwise offer receipt scanning (OCR) on their paid Pro plans, so you can snap a receipt and let the app itemise it instead of typing everything in by hand.