Shared Expenses in the UK Hit £1.16 Billion as Social Spending Dominates

tricount by bunq, a global go-to app that automates group expense tracking for nights out, holidays, and housemates, published its annual wrap-up, tallying British users’ shared expenses in 2025.

Globally, tricount users split £20.2 billion (€23.43 billion) in 2025, and the UK’s £1.16 billion (€1.34 billion) total lands it among tricount’s strongest markets, alongside France, Germany, and Spain. Notably, it was a 27.2% increase from £909 million (€1.05 billion) in 2024.

Social spending adds up: food and drink tops the year-end charts

tricount’s latest estimates put food and drink as the largest area of UK-based shared spending in 2025, totalling £20.5 million (€23.7 million). This is followed closely by transport, estimated at £20.4 million (€23.6 million). With pub rounds, takeaways, and shared rides forming the backbone of everyday British gatherings, they’ve become a core group expense.

Travel tops the list for highest average individual expenses

While food and transport are the most frequently split categories by far, travel stands out as the largest shared cost per expense. The average travel expense split by UK users reached £234.39 (€270.65), making it the highest-value category overall. Rent and utilities also maintained a high average at £219.50 per expense (€253.42). Transport was a distant third, at just £72 per expense (€83.13).

These figures show that UK users are splitting costs linked to both everyday life and occasional shared moments, from regular meals and commutes to holidays and shared housing, bringing a wide range of group expenses into a single place.

Notably, the UK ranked third overall by average expense in the travel and transport categories, trailing the Netherlands and Germany in both areas. Brits’ shared spending is more balanced between frequent everyday expenses and high-value shared costs.

The UK leads Europe in social spending

Despite upticks in consumer inflation throughout the year, tricount’s British users continued to outspend their European counterparts on social expenses. In the UK, food and drink and entertainment recorded both the highest average expenses and the strongest year-on-year growth among everyday categories, with the average food and drink expense rising 4.97% to £43 (€49.65) and entertainment increasing 6% to £68.65 (€79.27). tricount UK also recorded the highest average expense for shopping, at £59.86 (€69.12). Even modest increases in leisure costs are adding up, making expense-sharing an increasingly common way for people to manage social spending.

Spring and summer fuel group spending peaks

Seasonal rhythms established in previous years appeared again in 2025. UK-based activity tends to peak in spring and summer. 11,282 tricounts – shared expense accounts set up to split costs – were created in the UK on 1 May 2025, making it the busiest tricount day of the year. The second and third busiest days occurred on 1 August and 9 August respectively, underlining how summer holidays, festivals, and group travel drive shared expenses.

“Year after year, we see the same thing: people want to enjoy the moment with the people they love and not spend time worrying about who owes what,” says Joe Wilson, Chief Evangelist at bunq. “Every spend is different, but behind each one there’s a story of friends, couples or housemates choosing to do things in a simple and practical way, so money never overshadows the memories they’re creating together.”