Best App to Split Expenses with Roommates in 2026

Living with roommates is one of the smartest financial moves you can make. It also introduces a recurring source of friction: who owes what. Rent, electricity, internet, groceries, dish soap, toilet paper — the small debts pile up and quietly poison even the best living arrangements.

The right app turns this from a monthly headache into a 60-second routine. We recommend Partly for roommates because of three features that match the rhythm of shared households: persistent Shared Spaces, AI receipt scanning for groceries, and integrated payments for friction-free settlement.

Persistent Shared Spaces are the conceptual backbone for roommates. Unlike event-based apps where you create a new group every month, a Shared Space runs continuously. Every shared expense lands in the space, balances update in real time, history is always there.

The grocery problem is where AI scanning shines. Scan the receipt, assign shared items (oil, salt, cleaning products) to everyone and personal items (the protein bars, the craft beer, the gluten-free pasta) to the person who uses them. Mixed items are split among the people who eat them. The result feels fair because it is fair.

Integrated payments solve the second source of friction: actually collecting the money. When the household settles up, one tap sends payment requests via IBAN, PayPal, Revolut, Bizum, Wise, Lydia or card. No bank details exchanged on group chats.

Best practice: agree upfront on what is shared, settle every month on a fixed date, scan grocery receipts the day of, and round generously. The goodwill from not nickel-and-diming far exceeds the few cents you save.

Free vs Premium: the free tier covers most small households (up to 3 spaces, 5 scans/month). Heavy users — bigger flat-shares, weekly grocery scans — will benefit from Partly Premium at €39.99/year.