Comparison
Tab alternative — Split The Bill
Tab's snap-the-receipt flow, in a browser, with multi-currency, recurring bills, and settle-up deep links built in.
Last reviewed: January 2026
Tab nailed the receipt-first bill-splitting flow on iOS: snap the receipt, tap each line, assign people, done. If everyone in your group has an iPhone and you're splitting one-off restaurant tabs, it's a delightful experience. Where it stops short: iOS-only (Android and web users are excluded), single-currency, no recurring expenses, no payment deep links, and the one-time purchase model means no roadmap updates after you've paid. Split The Bill keeps Tab's OCR-first feel and adds the parts a longer-term shared-finance tool needs.
| Feature | Split The Bill | Tab |
|---|---|---|
AI receipt scan Upload a photo, items + totals extracted automatically | ||
Split methods Equal / by item / by share / exact amounts / percentage | ||
Multi-currency bills Bill in EUR, settle in USD, etc. | ||
Groups + invites | Per-bill only, no persistent groups | |
Public share link Send a link, no signup needed for guests | ||
Settle-up deep links Pay through Venmo / PayPal / Revolut / SEPA QR | ||
Item-level categories | ||
Export to CSV | ||
Recurring expenses | ||
Works without app install Full feature web app — no Play Store / App Store gate | iOS only — no Android, no web | |
Free tier — bills/month | 10 bills / 30 days | One-time $4.99 purchase |
No ads, ever |
Why Tab fans look at alternatives
Tab is genuinely good at one thing: snap a restaurant receipt, tap each line, assign people, settle up. The OCR is fast, the UX is polished, and the per-line tapping feels right when the bill is in front of you.
Where it falls short is everything past that one moment. iOS-only — if anyone in your group is on Android or a desktop browser, they're out. Single-currency — bills in EUR while you settle in USD don't reconcile. No persistent groups — every bill is a fresh roster of people; the roommate group you split rent with each month gets retyped each time. No recurring expenses — rent, Netflix, internet still need a separate tool. No payment deep links — you see who owes what but the actual money movement is on you to remember.
The pattern that emerges in App Store reviews: people love the OCR moment and outgrow the tool when their shared-finance needs extend past one-off dinners.
Core differences at a glance
The feature table above is precise; the narrative summary:
Both apps lead with receipt OCR. Snap, parse, split. The first 90 seconds of either app feels similar.
Split The Bill works in any browser; Tab is iOS-only. This is the practical dealbreaker for mixed-platform groups. We run on iPhone Safari, Android Chrome, desktop browsers, and via a public share link for the holdouts who refuse to install anything.
Multi-currency is in our free tier. Bill in EUR, settle in USD or CHF, math reconciles correctly. Tab doesn't handle this at all.
Persistent groups + recurring expenses. Tab is per-bill; we let you define a roommate group once and reuse it forever, with rent + utilities auto-recurring on the schedule you set.
Settle-up deep links. Tap → Venmo / PayPal / Revolut / Cash App / Wise / SEPA QR opens with the amount prefilled. Tab tracks balances but doesn't move money.
Tab wins on tactile per-line OCR UX. Their tap-each-line interaction is more delightful than ours today; if everyone in your group is on iOS and you only split restaurant bills, Tab remains the smoother single-purpose tool.
Who should pick Tab
Stay on Tab if all of these are true:
Everyone in your group has an iPhone. Tab's iOS-only constraint is fine if your circle is uniformly Apple.
You only split one-off restaurant tabs. No rent, no recurring subscriptions, no multi-currency travel. The single-bill OCR flow is what Tab is great at.
You're happy with a one-time purchase + no roadmap. Tab is a one-and-done $4.99 download. No ongoing features ship; what you bought is what you'll have in two years. For some users that's a feature, not a bug.
Who should pick Split The Bill
Switch if any of these match:
Your group is mixed-platform. Android users, web-only users, the friend who refuses to install yet another app — they all participate in Split The Bill via the browser or a public share link.
You travel internationally. Multi-currency bills (split in EUR, settle in USD) work natively. Tab doesn't handle this.
You have ongoing shared finances. Roommate rent, household utilities, group trip costs that span months. Persistent groups + recurring expenses cover this; Tab doesn't.
You want settle-up to actually happen. One tap → Venmo / PayPal / Revolut / Cash App / Wise / SEPA QR with the amount prefilled. Tab tells you who owes what; we make the payment happen.
How to migrate from Tab
There's no automatic Tab import; nor is there much to import — Tab is per-bill, so historical splits are already closed.
Step 1: Use Tab to settle out the bills you have open. Whatever balances are pending, close them in the app.
Step 2: For ongoing groups (roommates, trip groups, dinner crews), create them in Split The Bill. Invite by email — peers get a one-click sign-up link that lands them in the group.
Step 3: Bookmark the web app on your iPhone home screen. Same gesture as opening Tab, no App Store purchase needed. If iOS is what you know, the web app gives you the same camera-snap flow without the platform lock-in.
Frequently asked questions
Is Split The Bill like Tab?▾
In spirit, yes — snap a receipt, parse the items, assign people, settle up. The key differences: we run in any browser (Tab is iOS-only), we handle multi-currency, we support persistent groups + recurring expenses, and we ship settle-up deep links to Venmo / PayPal / Revolut / Cash App / Wise / SEPA QR. Tab is more single-purpose; we cover the full shared-finance arc.
Does Split The Bill work on Android?▾
Yes — and on iOS, and on desktop browsers. Tab is iOS-exclusive; we run anywhere a browser does. Add to home screen on your phone for the same one-tap launch as a native app.
Is the OCR as good as Tab?▾
For typical restaurant and grocery receipts, both apps land in the 95%+ correct range on first scan. Tab's per-line tap UX is more tactile than ours today; the practical accuracy is comparable. Where we differ is what happens after the scan — Tab closes the bill; we let you settle up, repeat the group for next time, and chain payments.
Can I import my Tab data?▾
Tab doesn't expose an export API, and most Tab bills are already closed (settled at the table). The practical migration is to close any open bills in Tab, then create matching groups in Split The Bill from scratch. The receipt-OCR flow makes recreating recent splits very fast.
Does Split The Bill cost $4.99 like Tab?▾
No — we have a free tier (10 OCR'd bills every 30 days, plus the core splitting features) and a Pro tier at $7/month or $70/year for unlimited bills. Tab is a one-time $4.99 purchase; for occasional restaurant splits that's genuinely cheap. For ongoing shared finances, the recurring + multi-currency + payment-deep-link features quickly make the subscription pay for itself.
Is Split The Bill free?▾
Yes — the free tier covers 10 receipt-scanned bills every 30 days, with the core features (item-level splits, multi-currency, group invites, settle-up links, CSV export) included. Pro at $7/month or $70/year lifts the bill cap to unlimited.
Can I split a restaurant bill at the item level?▾
Yes — within a single bill, you assign items to specific people ("Alice had the salad, Bob had the steak"), split items between multiple people ("we shared the dessert"), or split the whole bill equally. Same per-line UX Tab pioneered, available in the browser.
Does it work without the App Store?▾
Yes — no App Store gate. Split The Bill runs in any browser. For peers who refuse to install anything, send them a public share link to the bill; they see their share without an account, no signup needed.
Where Split The Bill wins
Runs on Android + desktop + iOS, multi-currency in the free tier, persistent groups + recurring expenses, settle-up deep links to Venmo / PayPal / Revolut.
Where Tab wins
More tactile per-line OCR tap-UX, longer iOS-store track record, one-time-purchase pricing for single-purpose use.
2 months free on annual Pro — pay 10, get 12.
