Frequently asked questions
Everything people ask before they start using Splitly.
About the app
Splitly is a free expense splitting app for groups. It runs in the browser, works on any phone or laptop, and can be installed to your home screen.
Frequently asked questions
- Is Splitly really free?
- Yes. Groups, expenses, splitting and settlement are free. The app carries advertising, which is what pays for it.
- Why is there no signup?
- Because an account is a wall between someone and a group they have been invited to. A shared link is enough to identify a group, and your browser remembers which member you are. Only the optional personal ledger asks you to sign in, because it has to follow you between devices.
- How does the invite link work?
- Every group gets a long, randomly generated link. Anyone who opens it can join the group and see its expenses — so treat it like an unlisted document link and share it only with the people who belong in the group.
- Can someone guess my group's link?
- No. The code is 16 characters drawn at random, which is far too large a space to enumerate, and the pages are kept out of search engines.
- What happens if I clear my browser data?
- Your browser is what identifies you to a group, so clearing it disconnects this device. Open the invite link again and claim your existing name, or use a link code from a device that is still connected.
- Does it work offline?
- Yes. Groups you have already opened stay readable without a connection, and expenses you add offline are sent when you are back online.
- How is the minimum number of payments worked out?
- Balances are netted first, so everyone is either owed money or owes it. Splitly then repeatedly matches the largest debtor against the largest creditor, which clears at least one person with every transfer and produces a very short list of payments.
- Can I split an expense unequally?
- You can choose exactly who an expense is split among, so anything only part of the group shared is charged only to them.
- Is my data private?
- Groups hold names and amounts, nothing more. Anyone with the invite link can read the group, which is the trade-off for having no accounts, so groups should not be used for anything sensitive.
- Can I use Splitly on a computer?
- Yes. It runs in any modern browser on desktop as well as mobile, and a group opened on your laptop is the same group as on your phone.