It depends on who pays the landlord. If one roommate pays the rent and needs everyone's share first, TableCash is built for that: you set each share once, roommates pay you by card or tell you they paid another way, and the whole house sees how many have paid. If everyone pays some of the bills and you only need a running tab of who owes whom, Splitwise is the long-time pick. If the fights are about cleaning, not money, a chore app like Tody or Sweepy does that one job well.

The question that picks the app: who pays the landlord?

Roommate apps solve three different problems, and most houses only have one or two of them.

• Keeping a tab. Everyone pays some bills, and you want the app to add it all up and say who owes whom. Splitwise, Flatastic and HomeCo do this.
• Getting the rent to one person. One name is on the lease, that person pays the landlord, and they need everyone else's share first. This is the part TableCash is built for.
• The cleaning. Whose turn is the bathroom. Tody and Sweepy are built just for this.

The apps, side by side

App	Best for	How the money works
TableCash	The roommate whose name is on the lease	Each roommate pays their share by card to that person, or marks it paid another way
Splitwise	A running tab of shared bills	Tracks balances; people pay each other back
Venmo Groups	Friends already on Venmo	Members add expenses and pay each other inside the group
Flatastic	Flatshares that want lists and a cleaning plan too	Tracks shared expenses and who owes whom
HomeCo	Houses that share the running of it evenly	Tracks balances; its site says it doesn't move money between members
Tody, Sweepy	Keeping the place clean	Built for chores, not money

TableCash: when one person pays the rent

The person who runs the house sets up the rent and bills in the app and gives each roommate a share: even, by room, or any amount. Everyone else gets one link. They open it on their phone or laptop, see their part and the due date, and pay by card or tap that they paid another way (Venmo, Zelle, cash). Reminders go out 3 days and 1 day before the due date, so the organizer doesn't have to send them. The whole house sees how much has come in for the month. Chores that take turns, repairs with a photo, the wifi and door code, house rules and house votes sit in the same place.

What it costs: the app is free to download, and chores, reminders and house info are free. A card payment has a TableCash fee of 3.5% plus $1.49, taken from that payment or added on top by the roommate. Marked as paid another way, there's no fee. Every fee and hold.

What it's not: TableCash doesn't pay your landlord; you still pay the rent the way you do now. And if your house doesn't want one person holding the money, it's the wrong shape. Use a tab app instead.

Splitwise: the long-time pick for a running tab

Splitwise adds up shared expenses and shows each person's balance. It splits evenly, by percent or by exact amounts, and a bill can repeat every week, month or year with an email before it posts. People settle up person to person: in the US, through Splitwise Pay from a bank account where it's offered, or on Venmo or PayPal. Free, with a paid Pro plan. It's at its best when different people pay different bills. More on that in is Splitwise good for roommates.

Venmo Groups: if everyone is already on Venmo

A Venmo Group holds up to 30 people. Anyone adds an expense, it splits evenly (or however you edit it), and members pay each other inside the group or mark something as paid outside Venmo. Venmo's help center names bills shared with roommates as a use.

Flatastic and HomeCo: the all-in-one house apps

Flatastic has a shared shopping list, a cleaning schedule with reminders, a pinboard and expense tracking with debt settlement, for flatshares, couples and families. It's free, with a Premium plan. HomeCo rotates chores, tracks balances, keeps shopping lists and plans events; it charges £2.99 a month per person or £9.99 a month for the whole home, with a year free for verified students. Both track who owes whom; the paying happens somewhere else.

Tody and Sweepy: just the cleaning

Tody plans each task by how often it needs doing, rotates it automatically and has a FairShare target so the work evens out; household plans run $25 a year for two people up to $80 a year for twelve. Sweepy gives each task 1 to 3 points, with streaks and a house leaderboard. If cleaning is your only problem, either one is a good fit. TableCash's chores take turns too, without a leaderboard, and a chore chart that rotates on its own shows how.

Pick by your house

• One person pays the landlord and collects everyone's share: TableCash.
• Everyone pays some bills, you want the math: Splitwise.
• Everyone already uses Venmo: Venmo Groups.
• Lists, cleaning and a tab in one app, nobody in charge: Flatastic or HomeCo.
• Only the cleaning: Tody or Sweepy.