Personal Finance · head to head
Splitwise vs Credit Karma
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Splitwise the free tier limits how many expenses can be added in a day and shows adverts; Credit Karma state tax filing costs 15 USD even though federal filing is 0 USD
- They diverge on capability: Splitwise covers Bill splitting, Credit Karma covers Free credit score.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Splitwise and Credit Karma actually diverge.
| Attribute | Splitwise | Credit Karma |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Personal Finance | Unknown |
| Founded | 2011 | 2007 |
Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (freemium), free tier (Yes), platforms (Web, IOS, Android), user rating (Not yet rated).
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 Splitwise
- Bill splitting
- Expense tracking
- Group management
- Settlement tracking
- Venmo
- PayPal
Only in Credit Karma
- Free credit score
- Credit report monitoring
- Credit card recommendations
- Tax filing
- Credit bureaus
- Financial institutions
Both cover
- Web support
- IOS support
- Android support
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Splitwise
- Splitting shared household bills between flatmatesnot Credit Karma
- Tracking who owes what on a group tripnot Credit Karma
- Settling up across currencies on the Pro plannot Credit Karma
- Recording IOUs between friends over timenot Credit Karma
Credit Karma
- Monitoring a credit score and the factors affecting it for freenot Splitwise
- Comparing credit card and loan offers with Approval Oddsnot Splitwise
- Filing federal tax returns at no chargenot Splitwise
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
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
Credit Karma
- State tax filing costs 15 USD even though federal filing is 0 USD
- Credit Spark builds score history against TransUnion, and the site states that not all lenders use TransUnion credit reports or scores
- Card and loan listings are advertising placements, disclosed on the site as compensation from third party advertisers
- Send and score update frequency limits are not published on the site
Pricing, plan by plan
Splitwise
Free- FreeFree
- Bill splitting
- Group tracking
- Mobile app
- Splitwise Pro$4.99/month
- Receipt scanning
- Advanced analytics
- No ads
Credit Karma
Free- FreeFree
- Credit score monitoring
- Credit reports
- Personalized recommendations
Which should you pick?
Choose Splitwise if
- You need bill splitting.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, IOS, Android.
- You also want expense tracking.
Choose Credit Karma if
- You need free credit score.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, IOS, Android.
- You also want credit report monitoring.
Questions people ask
- Is Splitwise or Credit Karma better?
- Neither clearly leads. Splitwise starts at Free and Credit Karma at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Splitwise or Credit Karma?
- Splitwise starts at Free and Credit Karma at Free.
- Does Splitwise or Credit Karma run on more platforms?
- Both run on Web, IOS, Android, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
- Can I use Splitwise for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- What is Splitwise best used for?
- Splitwise is most often used for splitting shared household bills between flatmates, tracking who owes what on a group trip, settling up across currencies on the pro plan, recording ious between friends over time. Of those, splitting shared household bills between flatmates and tracking who owes what on a group trip are not what Credit Karma is typically brought in for.
- What can Splitwise do that Credit Karma cannot?
- Splitwise covers Bill splitting, Expense tracking, Group management, Settlement tracking. Credit Karma covers Free credit score, Credit report monitoring, Credit card recommendations, Tax filing. Both handle Web support, IOS support, Android support.