Expense-splitting apps — Splitwise, Tricount, Settle Up and their kind. Purpose-built for one thing and thorough about it: who paid what, who owes whom, settled to the penny, with long-running balances between the same people.
What it is good at.
- The money, completely. Multi-currency, recurring bills, per-item splits, a running balance that persists for as long as you share costs with someone.
- Continuous sharing. Flatmates, couples, families — people who split costs every week and want a permanent ledger.
- Being mature. Years of edge cases handled, integrations with payment apps, exports.
- Doing it for free, or close to it, for the basics.
What it cannot hold.
The money is the only thing there
The date, the jobs, the itinerary, who is coming and the photos all live somewhere else. For a trip that means the chat, a sheet, and an expense app — three places, one of which is only for one thing.
One more app to get eight people into
An expense app only works if everyone is in it. For flatmates that is a one-time cost. For a weekend with a group that includes the groom's cousin, it is another install and another account for a single use.
Balances that never close
A permanent ledger is the point for people who share costs continuously. For a two-night trip it is the opposite of the point: the group wants to settle on Sunday and be done, not carry a balance.
Nothing to say what the money was for
The expense app knows £180 was paid for "house". It does not know when the trip is, who is in the house, or that the deposit was due before the date poll closed. The context is elsewhere.
Seam by seam.
The budget inside the plan
Costs sit next to the date, the people and the jobs. Record what was paid, by whom, for whom; optional extras split among the people who did them; the running total visible to everyone.
One link, no extra install
The same plan link that carries the date and the RSVPs carries the money. Nobody joins a fourth app to see what they owe.
Settle at the end and be done
Net positions and who-pays-whom in the fewest transfers, when the trip ends. And for a one-off with no app at all, the free trip cost splitter on this site does the same.
The money in context
The deposit is a line in a plan that also shows the date it was for, who is coming, and what else is owed. That is what makes "you're £62 short" a fact rather than a mystery.
Which to use.
Keep what you have when…
If you share costs with the same people continuously — flatmates, a couple, a family — an expense app is the right tool and Kinora is not trying to be it. Also if you need multi-currency to the penny across months, or a permanent ledger. Keep it.
Use Kinora when…
If the money is one part of a trip that also needs a date, jobs, an itinerary and photos, and you would rather not add a fourth app for the weekend. For a one-off settle-up with no app at all, use the free splitter here.
Straight answers.
Is Kinora a Splitwise alternative?
For a trip, it can be: the budget lives inside the plan, with per-head and optional-extra splitting and a settle-up at the end. For continuous cost-sharing between the same people — flatmates, a couple — Splitwise and its peers are built for that and Kinora is not. Different jobs.
Can I just split one trip's costs without an account?
Yes. The free trip cost splitter on this site does exactly that: add who came and who paid for what, get who owes whom in the fewest transfers. Nothing is stored anywhere but your browser. It is for the reconstruction after the fact; the plan's budget is for tracking as you go.
Does Kinora handle multiple currencies?
The budget is in one currency per plan. For a trip that spans two, agree a single exchange rate at the start and enter everything in one currency — converting each expense at the day's rate is more accurate and much harder to check, and the difference is usually pennies. If you genuinely need per-transaction rates, an expense app is the better fit.
What happens to the balances after the trip?
They settle. The plan shows who pays whom, people pay, and the trip is done — the point of a trip budget is to close, not to run. If your group shares costs beyond the trip, that is the continuous case an expense app is for.
Try it beside what you already use.
One link in the chat. Free while the beta runs, no download, and nobody has to leave anything.