When it comes to apps for shared flats, Splitwise always comes up. But Calyu has emerged as an alternative that goes much further. Which is better for your flat? It depends on what you need.
Splitwise: the king of expenses
Splitwise does one thing very well: record and split expenses. Its interface is clear, it has a good mobile app and a very complete payment history. If your only problem in the flat is knowing who owes what, Splitwise works. The problem: it only does that.
Calyu: complete cohabitation
Calyu was born to solve all the cohabitation problems in a flat, not just expenses. In addition to splitting amounts, it allows you to assign and track household tasks, manage the shopping list and motivate everyone's participation with a points and ranking system.
Direct comparison
| Feature | Calyu | Splitwise |
|---|---|---|
| Expense splitting | ✅ | ✅ |
| Task management | ✅ | ❌ |
| Shopping list | ✅ | ❌ |
| Gamification / points | ✅ | ❌ |
| Task notifications | ✅ | ❌ |
| 100% free | ✅ | ⚠️ Freemium |
| Multilingual | ✅ | ❌ |
When to use Splitwise
- →When you only need to split occasional expenses (trips, dinner with friends)
- →When your flatmates already use it and you don't want to change
- →When you don't need to manage tasks or shopping
When to use Calyu
- →When you want to manage all flat cohabitation in one app
- →When arguments about tasks and expenses are recurring
- →When you want to motivate flatmates with a points system
- →When you're looking for a free, complete solution
Conclusion: if you live in a shared flat on a stable basis, Calyu is the most complete option. Splitwise is excellent for one-off situations or if all you need is to split expenses.