Most people who split a shared shop already have a system: a spreadsheet the flat keeps, a running note on someone’s phone, or a photo of the receipt in the group chat with sums underneath. These work, cost nothing and need no new app, and for many households they’re enough. Chit is a new app, not yet released, that does the same job for itemised receipt splitting with less typing: it reads each line on your phone, lets you tap who had what, and lets everyone check the original. This page compares the approaches honestly, including where the tools you already have are the better choice.
At a glance
| Spreadsheet | Notes app | Group chat | Chit | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cost | Usually free | Free | Free | Scanning, splitting, sharing and confirming are free |
| Getting lines in | Typed by hand | Typed by hand | Photo only; sums done by hand | Read from a photo on your phone |
| Split by item | Yes, if you build the formulas | By hand | By hand, in messages | Tap people on each line |
| Discounts and charges | Possible, with care | Easy to miss | Easy to miss | Discounts follow the item; charges split in proportion |
| Check against the total | If you add a formula | By hand | By hand | Automatic |
| Everyone checks the original | If you attach the photo | Rarely | Photo is there, split is scattered | Photo, every line and each share in one place |
| Running balances | Yes, with formulas | By hand | No | Running balance with each person |
| Flexibility | Unlimited | High | High | Built for receipts |
| Needs a new app | No | No | No | Yes, for the person splitting; others can get a share image |
Where a spreadsheet, notes app or group chat is the better choice
- Nothing new to install. Everyone already has a chat app, and most people can open a shared spreadsheet. No one has to download anything or make an account.
- Total flexibility. A spreadsheet can hold rent, bills, a deposit and the weekly shop in one place, in whatever layout your flat likes, with charts, export and any rule you can write as a formula. Chit is built around receipts and has no export.
- Groups and many currencies. A well-built sheet can track a whole group and convert currencies. Chit has no groups feature or currency conversion yet.
- Simple, even splits. If you always split the shop evenly, a message saying “£64.20, so £21.40 each” is quicker than any app.
- It already works. If your current system is quick and nobody argues about it, there may be no reason to change. Chit is new, and a familiar method has the advantage of years of habit.
Where Chit fits better
The manual methods struggle in the same place: a long supermarket receipt where the split isn’t even. Someone has to read every line, decode the abbreviations, decide who had what, add it up and post the result, and everyone else has to trust that it’s right.
- No typing out the receipt. Chit reads each line from a photo, on your phone, with no upload, and it works offline. Short codes such as
WHL MLK 4PTbecome readable names. A receipt too long for one photo can be shot in overlapping sections. See how Chit reads receipts. - Split by item without formulas. Tap a person on a line to give it to them, tap several to share it, or give someone extra shares such as 2:1. You can also split evenly or give someone a set amount. See splitting by item.
- The awkward lines are handled. A multibuy saving goes to whoever has the product, not off the total. Bag and service charges are shared in proportion to what each person had. Everything is worked out in whole pennies, and the odd penny goes to a visible place, so the shares always add up to the total.
- The total is checked. Chit adds the lines up against the printed total. If they don’t match, it shows which line to look at, rather than leaving a mistake for someone to find later.
- Everyone can check, in one place. In a group chat, the photo, the sums and the corrections end up in different messages. In Chit, everyone on a receipt sees the original photo, every line and their own share, then confirms or comments on the one line that isn’t theirs. See how everyone confirms.
- Friends don’t need the app. You can add someone by name and send them a share image with just their part, over the same chat app you already use. To confirm in the app, they need Chit and an account.
- A record you can look back on. Chit keeps a running balance with each person and the lines from every receipt, so you can see how the price of an item changes at a shop.
On privacy: a spreadsheet or chat is stored wherever that service keeps it. In Chit, receipts are read on the phone, and without an account nothing leaves it; a receipt’s photos are uploaded only when you send that receipt to the people on it. Chit never handles money, so you settle up however you do now. See the privacy policy.
Can you use both?
Yes. Many households will keep their spreadsheet for rent and bills and use Chit only for the shopping receipts that take the longest. Each person’s total from Chit can go into the sheet as a single row. The group chat stays where it is too: a share image from Chit can be posted there, so people without the app still see what they owe and why.
New to Chit? Start with what Chit is and how it works, or browse all guides.
Sources
This comparison describes general ways of splitting with spreadsheets, notes apps and group chats rather than any one product, so it doesn’t rely on outside sources. Details of Chit come from this site, checked October 2026:
Spreadsheet, notes and messaging apps named generally here are the trademarks of their owners. Chit is not affiliated with any of them.