Will my old balances carry over from Splitwise?

Yes. FairShare imports a Splitwise group CSV directly, bringing across its expenses, settlements and balances. Export the group from splitwise.com (gear icon, Export as spreadsheet), then in FairShare go to Settings, Import from Splitwise, and choose the file. A group must use a single currency, since FairShare does not convert between them during import.

How long does switching from Splitwise take?

For most users with 1–2 active groups, switching takes under 15 minutes: export your CSV, create your FairShare groups, invite members, and enter current net balances.

How to Import Expenses from Splitwise to FairShare

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Good news: FairShare now imports a Splitwise group CSV directly, on both Android and iOS — expenses, settlements and balances come across in one step. The manual migration below still works if you would rather rebuild a group by hand.

Splitwise's move to cap free transactions and push users towards a paid subscription has sent thousands of people searching for an exit. If you've built up months of expense history there, the idea of starting over feels daunting. This guide makes it as painless as possible.

Why People Are Leaving Splitwise

Transaction limits on free accounts — you hit a wall mid-month
Intrusive ads interrupting the app experience
Receipt scanning locked behind a paid subscription
No UPI integration — still requires copy-pasting amounts to PhonePe or GPay

FairShare solves all four: unlimited transactions, ad-free, free AI receipt scanning, and native UPI deep-linking.

Step-by-Step Migration Guide

Step 1 — Export your Splitwise data

Open Splitwise on the web (splitwise.com) — this isn't available in the mobile app
Open the group you want to export
Click the gear icon at the top of the right-hand column, then Export as spreadsheet
A CSV downloads with every expense and settlement in that group

Splitwise exports one group at a time, so repeat this for each group you want to bring across. (The account-wide backup under Account Settings is JSON and requires Splitwise Pro — you don't need it.)

Hold on to these files — they're exactly what FairShare's CSV import reads. In the app, go to Settings → Import from Splitwise, or just open the CSV in FairShare. The manual steps below are still here if you'd rather rebuild a group by hand.

Step 2 — Download FairShare and create your groups

Download FairShare from Google Play or the iOS App Store
Create a group for each of your active Splitwise groups (e.g., "Flatmates", "Goa Trip")
Invite your group members — they'll get a link and don't need an account to view balances

Step 3 — Enter your current net balances

In Splitwise, note the current net balance for each person in each group (who owes whom how much)
In FairShare, add a single expense titled "Opening Balance" per group to capture the current state
For example: if Riya owes you ₹1,200 total, add "Opening Balance — ₹1,200 — paid by you, owed by Riya"

This approach takes 5 minutes per group and keeps your ledger accurate from day one.

Step 4 — Log new expenses with AI scanning

From your next expense onwards, use FairShare's AI Receipt Scanning — snap a photo and the app itemizes the bill automatically
When it's time to settle, tap Settle Up to open your UPI app with the exact amount pre-filled

FAQ

Will my old balances carry over automatically?
A direct CSV import from Splitwise is in development and not yet available. For now, use the "Opening Balance" method in Step 3 — note your current net balances in Splitwise and add them as a single entry per group in FairShare. Takes under 10 minutes.

How long does the switch take?
For 1–2 active groups: under 15 minutes total. For more complex situations with many groups, budget 30–45 minutes.

Do all my group members need to download FairShare?
Not immediately — you can add them via Guest Mode as a placeholder before they've installed anything. To add expenses themselves, they'll need the Android or iOS app.