Anyone who's planned a group trip knows the real challenge isn't picking a destination — it's keeping everyone on the same page: what's happening tomorrow, who paid for what, and how much everyone has actually spent. We compared five apps people actually use for group trip planning — no exaggeration, and no skipping the downsides.
Before comparing, it's worth agreeing on the bar. A good group trip app should plan a real day-by-day itinerary (not just a list of places), manage a shared budget and work out who owes whom, keep the whole group updated in real time, and work offline. Most apps do part of this. Few do all of it.
TUlon is the only one of the five that handles full day-by-day itinerary planning and full expense management in the same app. Build a schedule for each day — with a weather forecast and a suggested walking route between that day's places — and track a budget where every expense, in any currency, converts automatically at a live rate. Photograph a receipt and the app reads the amount, currency, and date on its own.
At the end of the trip, TUlon works out who owes whom and how much, in the minimum number of transfers. Everyone joins with one link and sees the same trip update in real time, including a "view-only" mode for someone who just wants to follow along.
- What's missing: it's a younger app, without Wanderlog's huge place-recommendation database or TripIt's automatic email-confirmation import.
- Best for: any group — family, friends, work trip — that wants itinerary and expenses in the same place, for free.
Wanderlog is built around a map: pin places, group them by day, drag the order around. For collaborative itinerary work it's excellent — everyone edits together and sees the route on the map in real time.
- What's missing: no built-in budget tracker and no expense splitting at all. Once the itinerary is set, the app's usefulness drops off sharply.
- Best for: a group that already knows where it's going and mainly needs to coordinate visually.
TripIt pulls every confirmation email you've got — flights, hotels, car rentals — into one automatic itinerary. Great if everything is already booked and you just need it organized.
- What's missing: no real day-by-day activity planning (only what's already booked), and no budget or expense features at all.
- Best for: frequent travelers who want every confirmation in one place, not trip planning from scratch.
Splitwise is the go-to for splitting shared costs — not just on trips, also roommates and any shared expense. Simple interface, accurate math.
- What's missing: zero trip-planning features — no itinerary, no calendar, no map. It's an expense app you'd have to run alongside a completely separate planning tool.
- Best for: a group that already has planning handled and just needs to settle up at the end.
Without a dedicated app, this is the default: a shared spreadsheet, plus a WhatsApp thread full of receipt screenshots. Free, and everyone already knows how to use it.
- What's missing: no automatic calculation, easy to make a mistake or forget an expense, and the information is split across two different places instead of living in one.
- Best for: short, small trips where nobody wants to install another app.
Traveling as a larger group and need both an itinerary and expense splitting? TUlon is the only one of the five that does both. Already know where you're going and just need to coordinate on a map? Wanderlog. Mostly traveling for work with a lot of existing bookings? TripIt. Just need to settle up with no planning involved? Splitwise. A weekend trip and nobody wants to install anything? Stick with WhatsApp — but know that's exactly where things start getting forgotten once the trip runs longer than a couple of days.
Most of the apps in this comparison do one thing well: the map, or the bookings, or the expenses. TUlon is the exception — it keeps the itinerary and the expenses in the same place, in real time, for free. That's the difference between a tool you open once while planning and one that stays open for the whole trip.
For the full rundown of TUlon's group trip planning features — itinerary, budget, expense splitting, all of it — see our group trip planner page.
Yes — TUlon is the only one of the five apps we compared that combines full day-by-day itinerary planning with automatic budget tracking and expense splitting, in the same free app.
Wanderlog focuses on map-based itinerary planning and visual collaboration, with no budget tools. TUlon handles both the day-by-day itinerary and expense splitting, so you don't need two separate apps.
For splitting expenses alone, yes. But it has no trip-planning tools at all — no itinerary, no schedule, no activity sharing — so most groups still need a second app alongside it.
TUlon is completely free, with no premium tier and no ads.
Yes, the app works offline and syncs automatically once you're back online.