Settle Up, made by Step Up Labs, is one of the most quietly capable apps in this space. Its free tier does not cap how many expenses you log, it runs on iOS, Android, and the web, and people you split with can view the balance from a browser link without installing anything. Tabb's pitch is different: nobody signs up at all, there are no ads, and it feels native on iPhone. Here is the fair comparison.
Free tiers: both generous, in different ways
This is the closest matchup of any Tabb comparison, because both apps are genuinely usable for free. Settle Up lets you create multiple groups and log unlimited expenses for free, with ads, and keeps everything in sync across devices and the web. Tabb also logs unlimited expenses for free and shows no ads, but the free plan covers a single group. So if you run many separate groups at once, Settle Up's free tier stretches further. If you mostly have one active split at a time and dislike ads, Tabb's free tier feels cleaner.
The honest summary: Settle Up wins on free breadth (more groups, every platform). Tabb wins on free cleanliness (no signup, no ads). Neither is objectively better, they optimize for different things.
See them side by side
Tabb
No login screen, no ads. Open and split.
Settle Up
Cross-platform with a web view for friends who skip the app.
Pricing
Settle Up is the more affordable upgrade by a clear margin, and it can even be bought as a short, group-shared subscription for a single trip. Tabb's annual plan is the fair like-for-like comparison, since its weekly option is expensive over time.
Tabb Pro- Unlimited groups
- Receipt scanning (OCR)
- Spending analytics
- Data export
- Apple ID billing, cancel anytime
Settle Up Premium- Ad-free
- Receipt photos
- Recurring and future expenses
- Custom categories
- Excel export with charts
Where each one is stronger
🟢 Tabb is better when
- You want no signup for you or your friends
- You would rather not see ads on a free app
- You want receipt OCR that reads line items, not just a photo
- Your group is on iPhone and you want a native feel
🔵 Settle Up is better when
- Your group mixes iPhone, Android, and web
- You want several free groups running at once
- You want the cheapest annual upgrade
- You need recurring expenses or a trip-length shared subscription
Who should use which
Choose Settle Up if your group is genuinely cross-platform or you juggle many separate groups, since both are areas where its free tier is hard to beat. Choose Tabb if you want the lowest-friction start, no ads, and an all-iPhone group, especially for a group trip or shared household where getting everyone in fast matters more than running ten groups for free. You can start with Tabb in seconds, with nothing to set up.
