Conto vs Splitwise — when each one wins
What's the difference between Conto and Splitwise?
Splitwise is a peer-to-peer expense tracker — every participant signs up, logs their own expenses, and the app computes a settlement graph. Conto is treasurer-led — one person handles all the money and everyone else just pays them. Splitwise wins for ongoing groups with multiple payers; Conto wins when one organizer is already the financial hub.
Splitwise is the dominant tool in this category and is genuinely good at what it does. Conto isn't trying to replace Splitwise for every use case — it solves a narrower shape of group expense problem and is dramatically simpler when that shape fits.
Side-by-side
| Feature | Conto | Splitwise |
|---|---|---|
| Account model | Only the organizer signs up | Every participant signs up |
| Settlement model | Everyone pays the treasurer | Peer-to-peer settlement graph |
| Best for | One-organizer trips, parties, households | Ongoing groups with multiple payers |
| Mobile app required | No (web-based) | Yes (or web) |
| Free tier | Yes | Yes (with limits) |
| Receipt scanning | No | Yes (paid tier) |
| Recurring expenses | Manual log | Yes |
| Multi-currency | Single currency per group | Yes |
Pick Conto when…
- One person is already paying for most things and getting reimbursed
- You don't want to chase signups from a group of 8 people
- The group is short-lived (a trip, an event, a single project)
- You'd rather one transfer per person than a settlement graph
Pick Splitwise when…
- Multiple people are paying for things in parallel with no central hub
- It's an ongoing relationship (long-term roommates, partners) where receipts pile up
- You need recurring expenses, receipt scanning, or multi-currency
- The whole group is already on Splitwise from another situation
If a bachelor party or group trip is what you're planning, Conto's friction-free participants probably matter more than Splitwise's deeper feature set.
Frequently asked
- Can I import my Splitwise group into Conto?
- Not directly. The two data models don't map cleanly — Splitwise tracks per-user balances, Conto tracks contributions to a single treasurer. For a one-time migration, exporting the Splitwise CSV and creating a new Conto group is the path.
- Is Conto free?
- Yes. There's no paid tier today.
- Does Conto handle ongoing roommate situations?
- Yes — see the roommate bills use case. The fit depends on whether one person is already paying most bills.