Boney vs Sesterce: no-account groups or durable household rules?

Boney and Sesterce both track shared expenses, but they answer slightly different life moments.

Sesterce is very handy when you want to spin up a group quickly without making access feel heavy: a vacation, a shared apartment, a night out with friends, a shared project. You add the people, the expenses, the shares, and the app sorts out who owes whom. Boney starts from a different angle: the household. A cohabiting couple, roommates, or a family, with expenses that keep coming back, rules that sometimes vary per budget, and often a clear preference for sharing without opening a joint account.

If the main friction is access, Sesterce has the clearer story. If the main friction is the same household rules coming back every month, Boney is the cleaner fit.

When the priority is to let people join a shared expense group with minimal setup, Sesterce is the more natural starting point. When the same people need durable budget rules month after month, Boney is the better household frame.

When easy access is the main feature

In a couple or a roommate household, the question is almost never "€15 to split". It's more like "I fronted the groceries again", "rent's 60/40 but vacations are 50/50", or "we don't want a joint account, but we still want to know where we stand".

The tricky case is the expense that's neither fully personal nor fully shared: groceries, the internet bill, gas for trips you take together, items "for the house". Sesterce lets you drop those expenses into a group and computes the repayments. Boney goes further on one specific point: it ties those expenses to household budgets, with rules that can come back every month.

In practice, Sesterce is usually more natural when the group should be easy to join and easy to leave. Boney gets more interesting when it's the same people, the same expenses, and the same questions coming back.

Access first, rules later

The access side

Sesterce explains its principle plainly: add the people close to you, list the expenses, then see who owes whom. Its strength is the start. For a vacation group, roommates who want to move fast, or friends who don't feel like creating yet another account, that lightness genuinely matters.

The model is very flexible. A group can be joined with an identifier and an optional password. Use can happen without an account or email. Sesterce also documents default shares, including income-based ones, categories, statistics, CSV export, CSV import from Splitwise or Tricount, foreign currency conversion, and offline use. Several advanced features sit behind Premium, like recurring entries, push notifications, photos, full history, advanced search, and PDF export.

That low-friction entry is the product story. Sesterce cuts the friction of entering a group very well.

The household rules side

Boney mostly speaks to households that want to share without merging. You can live together, have shared expenses, and still keep your personal finances separate. The goal isn't to pool everything but to make the shared part clearer.

You create a budget, set participants and shares, then log expenses. Boney computes the balances. No bank link, no money in transit, no black box. The household decides what it shares and keeps its hand on the rules: 50/50 if that's fair, income-proportional if it's fairer, another split if the budget calls for it.

Boney mostly cuts the fog that sets in once that group is in fact a household.

The no-account and migration decision table

What it changes once the group is no longer new

The first week

Sesterce is simple when the group wants a frictionless start. The optional account is a real comfort: create a group, share the identifier, add expenses. For people who don't want yet another account, or who want to import an old CSV from Splitwise or Tricount, Sesterce has a very practical side.

That light start is the point. It removes the small access decisions that can slow a casual group down.

The sixth month

Boney becomes simple when the rules don't shift every week: rent, groceries, subscriptions, house spending. Shares are set once, then Boney handles every new expense. The mental load drops because the same frame keeps coming back.

The longer the same people share the same costs, the less the issue is joining the group. The issue becomes keeping the household's rules readable.

Boney accepts that it won't cover every scenario. It's not the handiest tool for an overseas road trip or a ten-person group spun up in two minutes. Its natural ground is the everyday: rent, groceries, subscriptions, house purchases. Less spectacular expenses, but the kind that come back constantly and end up creating fog if nobody really tracks them.

With Sesterce, the flexibility is real. It works very well when you want a group that starts fast, sometimes without an account, with CSV import or export. When the relationship turns into a household with lasting rules, the question moves: should the group stay a list of expenses, or become a way to steer shared budgets?

When Sesterce's lightness matters more

Boney probably isn't the right pick if you mostly want an app for a trip with friends, with currencies, offline use, or no-account entry. In that case, Sesterce is a better fit.

The picture changes when the topic keeps returning every month: household expenses, sharing rules, shared budgets, balance between people.

When Sesterce is the lighter group path

• You want to create a group without forcing an account or email on participants.
• You're migrating from Splitwise or Tricount using a CSV import.
• You need currency conversion or offline use.
• You want to choose between Premium per group or Premium per user.

When Boney fits the household case better

• You share a household and want readable recurring budgets.
• You want an app that connects no bank and moves no money.
• You need per-budget ratios, especially income-proportional ones.
• You want the group's expenses to become a household history, not just a list to settle.

The account and feature trade-offs

Boney asks for a controlled ledger

• A ledger under control. Entry stays intentional, with no bank link and no statement PDF import.
• A free plan oriented toward a two-person household. 3 budgets and 2 participants per budget let you test the method before opening to a larger household.
• A product centered on the household. No native iOS app, a chosen currency rather than an automated conversion engine, and no available AI insights: Boney prioritizes shared budgets and balances.

Sesterce keeps group access light

• Very flexible group access. No-account use and CSV import make the start easy.
• A Premium aimed at advanced features. Recurrences, notifications, full history, advanced search, photos, and PDF live in the Premium scope.
• Availability that depends on the feature. Some search or push features are documented for the more recent mobile apps.

What the price makes visible

Boney publishes a simple model: free with 3 budgets, 2 participants per budget, and 30 days of analytics history; Premium at €3.90/month, €24.90/year on the reduced annual rate, or €46.80/year at full price. Moving to paid mostly fits households of more than two people, unlimited budgets, and the full history.

Sesterce indicates that most features are free and that sharing expenses should remain free and easy. Premium exists in two forms: group Premium or signed-in user Premium. It can be subscribed monthly or bought as a one-time purchase. The exact price isn't presented as a stable public reference; it's worth checking at the moment of purchase.

The contrast is clear: Boney shows a precise price with plan limits. Sesterce leans more on flexible free access, then on Premium features whose price depends on the purchase journey.

How to choose when access is the question

If your priority is to spin up a group fast, without an account, Sesterce is very convincing. If those expenses need to become a shared household memory, Boney gives you a more direct frame.

Then, ask whether you're migrating data. If you're coming from Splitwise or Tricount with a CSV, Sesterce has a documented edge. If you're starting fresh and want to set the household's rules, Boney is usually enough.

Finally, look at the advanced features that actually matter. Recurrences, push, full history, and PDF push you toward Sesterce Premium. Household budgets, clear limits, and no bank in the picture push you toward Boney.

Boney is a shared ledger for households that want shared rules without a shared account.