The free Tricount alternative that's actually independent

Tricount: The App You Used to Know

For a long time, Tricount was the go-to app for dividing trip expenses. It was simple, fast, and did one thing well: telling you who owed what at the end of a holiday.

But in 2022, Tricount was acquired by the Dutch neobank bunq. Since then, the app has slowly integrated bunq promotions and nudges, changing from an independent utility into a funnel for a banking product.

If you want a modern, independent alternative that doesn't push bank accounts or force everyone to download an app, billplit is designed for you.

What Tricount Does Well

Tricount excels at simplicity. You create a list, add expenses, and it calculates the balances. It supports basic offline mode and has a clean layout for simple trips.

However, it lacks modern features like AI-powered receipt scanning, recurring expenses, and the ability to participate without installing an app. Furthermore, being owned by a bank means its ultimate goal is to convert users into bank customers.

Why People Are Looking for a Tricount Alternative

The biggest reason is bank ownership. Financial tools owned by banks exist to cross-sell financial products. Users have reported increased prompts to open bunq accounts to settle debts.

The second reason is app fatigue. With Tricount, every member of your group must download the app to add their expenses. If someone refuses, you have to enter everything manually for them.

Additionally, Tricount has not updated its core feature set in years. It doesn't support AI receipt scanning, nor does it handle recurring monthly bills (like rent or utilities) elegantly.

billplit vs. Tricount: Side-by-Side

Here is how billplit compares to Tricount on the features that matter most for group expenses.

The Wider Landscape: billplit vs. Others

Let's look at how the main alternatives in the group expense sharing space compare.

Built for More Than Group Trips

Tricount is built almost exclusively for one-off trips. billplit handles trips, but is also designed for ongoing life situations:

How to Switch from Tricount to billplit

Switching takes less than two minutes. Here's how:

AI Receipt Scanning: How it Works

With billplit Pro, you never have to manually type bill details. Here is how our AI scanner simplifies the process:

Why Independence Matters in a Financial Tool

When a financial app is independent, its users are its customers. Its incentive is to make the app as useful and friction-free as possible so you keep using it.

When a bank owns the app, the app is a marketing channel. The incentive shifts toward driving you to open bank accounts or sign up for credit products. billplit is and will remain 100% independent.

The Co-Parenting Use Case

Co-parents need a reliable, neutral platform to share expenses for their children. They cannot afford banking ads, payment nudges, or losing access to their logs.

billplit offers custom splitting ratios (like 60/40 or 70/30) and formal PDF reports that can be exported for legal or mediation purposes, making it the ideal tool for co-parenting harmony.

The Bottom Line

Tricount served its purpose for years, but its acquisition by bunq has introduced bank promotion friction into a tool that should be simple.

billplit offers a modern, bank-independent alternative. With zero required app installs, AI receipt scanning, and a clean, ad-free interface, it's the logical choice for modern group expenses.