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Smartbills vs Settle Up

Settle Up is good at the end of the process: working out who pays whom. Smartbills is built for the start of it, getting the itemized bill into the app without anyone typing it.

At a glance

Smartbills vs Settle Up, in one screen

Settle Up is a group expense tracker for trips, households and events. Members add expenses from their phones or the web, the app tracks balances across currencies, and it suggests the fewest transfers needed to settle the whole group.

Smartbills

Best for

Friends and roommates who want restaurant and store bills split by item without anyone typing them in.

Where it's stronger

  • Bills from connected restaurants and stores are already in the app, itemized.
  • Splitting by item is the default, with tax and tip following each person's items.
  • Payments into a connected account clear balances without anyone ticking a box.
  • Receipts stay useful after the split for returns, warranties and tax.

Settle Up

Best for

Groups that share lots of costs with no receipt behind them and want the app to work out the fewest transfers.

Where it's stronger

  • Good at working out the fewest transfers for a large group.
  • Comfortable with trips that span several currencies.
  • Works from the web as well as the phone.
  • Flexible ways to weight a split when people shouldn't pay equal shares.

Every comparison on this site names what the other product does better. If we couldn't think of anything, we didn't publish the page.

Side by side

Smartbills and Settle Up, feature by feature

These are structural differences, not plan checkboxes. Capabilities change, so check the vendor's own documentation before deciding on any single row.

Where the bill comes from

SmartbillsThe store's itemized receipt, or typed in
Settle UpTyped in by a group member

Splitting item by item

SmartbillsFrom the receipt's own items
Settle UpBy amount, share or weight

Fewest transfers to settle the group

SmartbillsOne running balance per person
Settle UpBuilt in

Balance clears when the money arrives

SmartbillsMatched from a connected account
Settle UpMarked paid by hand

Receipts kept for returns, warranty and tax

Smartbills
Settle Up—

Moving from Settle Up

No need to switch everyone at once. Settle what's open in the old app, then start the next shared bill in Smartbills.

  1. Settle what's open

    Finish current groups in Settle Up so no balance is split across two apps.

  2. Recreate your regular groups

    Groups stay saved in Smartbills. The apartment or the weekly dinner only needs setting up once.

  3. Connect the card you pay with

    That lets receipts sent through Smartbills find you and lets transfers clear balances.

  4. Split the next bill

    Send the receipt to the group. Everyone sees the same itemized receipt and taps what was theirs.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

What people ask us before they sign up.

Each person has one running balance with you across every shared bill. A month of dinners comes down to one number per friend.

Yes, anything with an amount, like rent or a deposit. With no receipt there are no items to split. It works the way it would in Settle Up.

For a large group spending in several currencies, Settle Up is built for that. Smartbills is strongest when the shared costs come as itemized receipts from connected restaurants and stores.

Get started

Split your next bill from the receipt

Get the app for free, pay as usual, and tap what you had. Your friends see their share in their own free account.