Softwr

Personal Finance · head to head

Lunch Money vs Splitwise

Lunch Money logo

Lunch Money

Personal Finance

Hosted budgeting app with bank sync, crypto and multi-currency tracking, pay-what-you-want annual pricing

From
$60/year
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Splitwise logo

Splitwise

Personal Finance

Split expenses easily with friends

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Splitwise has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Lunch Money there is no self-hosted or local-first option at all, so your transaction data lives permanently on Lunch Money servers under their terms.; Splitwise the free tier limits how many expenses can be added in a day and shows adverts
  • They diverge on capability: Lunch Money covers Bank sync, Splitwise covers Bill splitting.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Lunch Money and Splitwise actually diverge.

Attributes where Lunch Money and Splitwise differ
AttributeLunch MoneySplitwise
Starting price$60/yearFree
Pricing modelPay what you want, annual, above a published minimumfreemium
Free tierNoYes
FoundedUnknown2011

Identical on both: platforms (Web, iOS, Android), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Personal Finance).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Lunch Money

  • Bank sync
  • Multi-currency support
  • Crypto account tracking
  • Recurring transaction detection
  • Budget rollover rules
  • Pay-what-you-want pricing

Only in Splitwise

  • Bill splitting
  • Expense tracking
  • Group management
  • Settlement tracking
  • Venmo
  • PayPal
  • Web support
  • IOS support

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Lunch Money

  • Someone with bank accounts in more than one currency who wants unified budgeting without manual conversionnot Splitwise
  • A crypto holder wanting wallet balances alongside ordinary bank budgeting in one viewnot Splitwise
  • A user who wants automatic bank sync and does not want to run or maintain self-hosted softwarenot Splitwise
  • A YNAB user frustrated by rigid category rollover rules who wants more configurable behaviournot Splitwise

Splitwise

  • Splitting shared household bills between flatmatesnot Lunch Money
  • Tracking who owes what on a group tripnot Lunch Money
  • Settling up across currencies on the Pro plannot Lunch Money
  • Recording IOUs between friends over timenot Lunch Money

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Lunch Money

  • There is no self-hosted or local-first option at all, so your transaction data lives permanently on Lunch Money servers under their terms.
  • Bank sync depends on third-party aggregators, and connections to some smaller banks or regional institutions can break and need manual reconnection.
  • Pay-what-you-want pricing means the effective price a new subscriber lands on is not fixed, and legacy discounted pricing available to early adopters is not available to new sign-ups.
  • It has no free tier, only a trial, so anyone wanting a permanently free budgeting tool needs to look at Actual Budget or Firefly III instead.
  • Crypto tracking is basic balance tracking rather than portfolio analysis, so active traders will still want a dedicated crypto tool alongside it.

Splitwise

  • The free tier limits how many expenses can be added in a day and shows adverts
  • Transaction import works in the United States only
  • Currency conversion, receipt scanning, charts and expense search are all Pro features
  • The Pro price is not shown on the product page

Pricing, plan by plan

Lunch Money

$60/year
  • Lunch Money$60/year
    • Bank sync and manual accounts
    • Multi-currency and crypto tracking
    • Budgets, reports and recurring detection

Splitwise

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Bill splitting
    • Group tracking
    • Mobile app
  • Splitwise Pro$4.99/month
    • Receipt scanning
    • Advanced analytics
    • No ads

Which should you pick?

Choose Lunch Money if

  • You need bank sync.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want multi-currency support.
Lunch Money review

Choose Splitwise if

  • You need bill splitting.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, IOS, Android.
  • You also want expense tracking.
Splitwise review

Questions people ask

Is Lunch Money or Splitwise better?
Neither clearly leads. Lunch Money starts at $60/year and Splitwise at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Lunch Money or Splitwise?
Splitwise has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $60/year for Lunch Money and Free for Splitwise.
Does Lunch Money or Splitwise run on more platforms?
Lunch Money runs on Web, iOS, Android. Splitwise runs on Web, IOS, Android.
Can I use Splitwise for free?
Yes. Splitwise has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Lunch Money starts at $60/year.
What is Lunch Money best used for?
Lunch Money is most often used for someone with bank accounts in more than one currency who wants unified budgeting without manual conversion, a crypto holder wanting wallet balances alongside ordinary bank budgeting in one view, a user who wants automatic bank sync and does not want to run or maintain self-hosted software, a ynab user frustrated by rigid category rollover rules who wants more configurable behaviour. Of those, someone with bank accounts in more than one currency who wants unified budgeting without manual conversion and a crypto holder wanting wallet balances alongside ordinary bank budgeting in one view are not what Splitwise is typically brought in for.
What can Lunch Money do that Splitwise cannot?
Lunch Money covers Bank sync, Multi-currency support, Crypto account tracking, Recurring transaction detection. Splitwise covers Bill splitting, Expense tracking, Group management, Settlement tracking.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Lunch Money: Can I self-host Lunch Money?

No, it is a hosted service only; there is no self-hosted or open source version.

Splitwise: Is there a free version of Splitwise?

Yes, Splitwise offers a free version available for iPhone, Android, and web with core features including adding groups and friends, splitting expenses, recording debts, equal or unequal splits, offline mode, and cloud sync.

Source
Lunch Money: How does the pay-what-you-want pricing work?

Lunch Money publishes a minimum annual price and lets subscribers choose to pay that or more; existing subscribers can often keep older discounted rates.

Splitwise: What is Splitwise PRO and how much does it cost?

Splitwise PRO is an upgrade offering receipt scanning, charts and graphs, currency conversion, and additional features. The specific price is not published on the main website; users must visit the subscription page or access the app to view pricing details.

Source
Lunch Money: Does it handle multiple currencies?

Yes, natively, which is a common reason people choose it over YNAB or Monarch Money for international finances.

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