Shared expense tracker: track spending with your partner
TLDR Classic is a shared expense tracker for two: one ledger you both write in, called Ours, beside a private one each, called Mine. Every shared entry shows who added it, and Activity can show both of you or just one. It keeps a record of spending, and doesn’t split bills or keep balances.
Last updated
How it works
- One of you starts Ours. With Pro, open Settings › Shared ledger › Ours › Invite a partner and share the code. It is 8 characters, works once and lasts 7 days.
- The other joins with the code. Open Settings › Shared ledger › Ours › Join a partner’s ledger, type the code, tap Continue, then Join. A code made on an iPhone works on Android, and the other way round.
- Each of you adds what you spend. With Ours on screen, write a line like “groceries 62”. It reaches both of you, marked with who added it.
- Look back together. Activity in Ours shows both of you, just you or just your partner, and Ask answers questions like “who spent more on food this month?”
Mine and Ours
Not everything a couple spends is shared. In TLDR Classic, Ours is the ledger you both write in and both see. Mine is each person’s own, and your partner never sees it. You switch between them on Home, and whatever you write goes into the ledger on screen. An entry written in Mine can be put in Ours later, when both ledgers use the same currency.
What the shared record shows
Each entry in Ours names who added it, as You or your partner’s name, and opening an entry shows who added it and who last edited it. Activity in Ours has a person filter: both of you, just you, or just your partner. Ask can compare the two of you, so “who spent more on eating out, me or Sam?” gets an answer counted by the app from your entries, never by the AI.
TLDR Classic records who added an entry. It doesn’t record who paid for it, split a bill, keep a balance of who owes whom, or settle up. If you divide shared costs, how to budget as a couple covers the usual ways.
A shared expense tracker or a bill-splitting app?
| Detail | Shared expense tracker (TLDR Classic) | Bill-splitting app |
|---|---|---|
| What it’s for | Seeing what you spend together, against a budget | Working out who owes whom |
| What each entry records | What was spent, on what, when, and who added it | Who paid, and each person’s share |
| A running balance between you | No | Yes |
| Budgets | For the shared ledger, and for each of you | Not what it’s for |
| Your own spending | In a private ledger your partner never sees | Not tracked |
The two can sit side by side: a splitting app for a trip with friends, and a shared ledger for the household.
Privacy between partners
Mine is private. Your partner can’t see it, Ask in Ours doesn’t count it, and nothing moves from Mine to Ours unless you put it there. Ours tracks spending only, so each person’s income stays in their own Mine.
Both of you can add, edit and delete in Ours. A deleted entry can be recovered for 30 days, and the first delete each time you open the app asks whether to delete it for both of you. On iPhone, you can get a quiet note when your partner adds entries, at most one an hour; Android doesn’t send these notes.
Either of you can leave Ours, and the person who started it can remove the other. When someone leaves or is removed, the shared entries leave their phone, and their own Mine is untouched.
What it costs
Ours is part of Pro. Pro is US$3.99 a month or US$24.99 a year (₹399 or ₹2,999 in India), and your store shows your price before you buy. Only the person who starts Ours needs Pro, and it covers the partner fully. Every new account gets Pro free for 30 days, no card needed. If Pro ends, nothing is deleted: Ours becomes read-only until Pro is back, and each of you keeps writing in Mine. TLDR Classic isn’t offered in the European Union, Russia, Belarus or China mainland.
Keep reading
Questions worth asking
How do we split shared expenses fairly?
Most couples split shared costs 50/50 or in proportion to each person’s income, and agree on it before the month starts. TLDR Classic doesn’t split or keep balances, but each entry in Ours shows who added it, Activity filters by person, and Ask can tell you how much each of you added, so you can see each side’s total.
How can I track expenses with my partner?
Use one shared ledger you both write in. In TLDR Classic that is Ours: one of you invites the other with a code, each of you adds what you spend from your own phone, and every entry shows who added it.
Does a shared expense tracker show who paid?
TLDR Classic shows who added each entry, not who paid for it. It doesn’t split bills, keep balances or settle up.
What happens to our shared expenses if we break up?
Either of you can leave Ours, and the person who started it can remove the other. Whoever leaves keeps their own ledger, Mine, and the shared entries leave their phone. Changing to a new partner has a 90-day wait.
Is a shared expense tracker free?
Writing your own spending is free in TLDR Classic, with no limit on entries. The shared ledger is part of Pro, which only the person who starts it needs, and every new account gets Pro free for 30 days.
Start a shared ledger
Every new account starts with 30 days of Pro, no card needed, so you can invite your partner on the first day. On Android now. The iPhone app is in Apple’s review.
iPhone: coming soon
This describes how TLDR Classic works as of November 2026. It is not advice about your money.