Best Apps For Living With Roommates

By Ashley Paskill

Whether you are living with a roommate for the first time or have had roommates in the past, rooming with someone else comes with challenges. From chores and shopping to paying rent, it can be difficult to navigate various aspects of living with roommates. Luckily, there are phone apps that can help bring peace and harmony to your living situation.

Splitwise
One of the most challenging parts of living with roommates is splitting finances, from groceries to rent. Splitwise is an app that is available on both Android and Apple phones. It allows you and your roommates to create a group to track who owes what. The app also sends email notifications to remind roommates who owes what amount. You can split the costs however you decide, reducing the stress of calculating the numbers yourselves. The app even allows you to track recurring expenses. The basic app is free, but you can upgrade to the pro version for even more features.

IOU
As a college student, you have a lot going on and have a lot to keep track of. This means that you may find it difficult to remember that you owe your roommate money. Your roommate may also forget that they owe you money as well. IOU allows you to keep track of the debts that are owed to you as well as the debts you owe. The app is free and is available on Android and Apple phones. Forgetting debts can cause issues between roommates, so having an app to remind you will help reduce stress and drama.

OurGroceries
Grocery shopping is challenging enough when you have to do it for yourself. Adding roommates into the mix makes it even more difficult, especially with different wants and needs when it comes to food and meals. It can also be difficult to keep track of what you run out of. OurGroceries allows you and your roommates to create a collective shopping list for everything you all want and need when you go shopping. If only one of you is going shopping, the other can even add items to the list when you are at the store! The app is free and is available on Android and Apple devices.

Venmo
Venmo is an app that allows you to send and receive money easily. It is similar to PayPal in many ways. This app is helpful if you owe your roommate money or vice versa. You can link your bank account or credit card to the app to transfer money. It is easier than worrying about having cash or checks on hand to give to roommates. It is available on Apple and Android phones.

TinyScan
As a college student, you will likely have a lot of important documents, especially if you are living in a rental property. TinyScan turns your phone into a scanner to help organize and digitize these documents. You will want, and need, documents such as leases and roommate agreements readily accessible so you can access them as you need them. TinyScan allows you to have them in a digital form so you do not have to dig through paper files to find what you are looking for.

Listonic
Like OurGroceries, Listonic allows you and your roommates to create a community shopping list that can be accessed from any device. The app automatically sorts the items in your list. You can also create lists for special occasions. The basic version of the app is free to use. However, the app does have a subscription fee that removes ads and unlocks more features. Listonic is available on both Android and Apple devices.

Cozi
Cozi is an Apple and Android app that lets you keep in touch with your roommates and organize various aspects of your lives. It helps organize activities, to-do lists, grocery lists, and more. It is a great tool to help organize chores as well. The app even has a section that has recipes and a journal. Cozi is free for the basic version and Cozi Gold has a fee that unlocks even more features to help you and your roommates stay organized and connected.

Tody
Your parents may have made you a chore chart when you were growing up, but as an adult, it can be overwhelming. Tody allows you to make a streamlined chores list for you and your roommates to share. You can create tasks with varying frequencies and sort tasks by room. The app allows you to schedule tasks and even send reminders. Tody is available on both Android and Apple devices. It is a free app, but there is a premium version that you can use.

Staying organized while living with roommates can be difficult. Luckily, there are a variety of apps that allow you to stay organized and communicate effectively with roommates.