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Farely helps groups plan trips and events everyone can afford through four simple steps:
Yes. Everyone in the group needs to download Farely to submit their budget, view expenses, and settle payments. When you create a group, members receive an invitation to download the app and join.
Farely works great for almost any group size. The sweet spot is 3–12 people (perfect for friend trips, bachelorette parties, and group events), but you can use it with larger groups too. The minimum is 3 people to maintain budget anonymity. Keep in mind that larger groups may take longer to reach budget approval since everyone needs to vote.
Farely is free to download and use for budgeting and expense tracking. We charge a platform fee (about 4% of settlement amounts) only when groups settle up after their trip. This fee is split fairly across everyone based on their budgets.
With anonymous budgeting, your personal budget stays private from start to finish. Each member enters their budget individually so only the total is visible. Throughout the trip, anyone can log expenses, and the app tracks them against the group budget. When it’s time to settle, you make just one payment (or receive one lump sum), and Farely distributes funds behind the scenes so everyone is covered without revealing who paid what.
No. Individual budgets are completely private. You’ll only see:
Other group members cannot see your budget, your settlement amount, or reverse-engineer your contribution.
Everyone pays for expenses based on what they originally budgeted. If you budgeted $500, you’ll pay $500 toward trip expenses. Farely’s calculations are consistent and verifiable. Your individual budget stays private throughout, and your settlement amount can’t be reverse-engineered by other members. Groups can request verification of budget calculations through support if additional peace of mind is needed.
Once you’ve submitted your budget, it’s locked in. You won’t be able to see anyone else’s number or the group’s progress — only how many members have submitted so far. This keeps the process genuinely anonymous from start to finish. If the group doesn’t reach a budget goal or approve the budget, you’ll have an opportunity to adjust your budget.
In the current version of Farely, your submitted budget isn’t displayed after submission — so a glance over your shoulder or an unlocked phone can’t break your anonymity. Your number is yours from the moment you hit submit to the moment the group settles up. Before you submit, jot your number down or make a quick note in your phone — that’s the easiest way to keep track of it. If you absolutely need to confirm your submitted amount, reach out to our support team and we’ll help where we can.
Tap “New Group” on the home screen, give your trip a name (like “Nashville Bachelorette”), set your trip dates, and add group members by email or phone number. You’ll become the group organizer and can start collecting budgets.
Set a Goal: The organizer proposes a target budget (e.g., “$5,000 trip”). Everyone submits what they can contribute anonymously. If the total meets or exceeds the goal, you’re approved. Great for groups that already have an idea of how much they want to spend.
Collect Budgets: No goal set. Everyone simply submits what they’re comfortable spending, and the group plans based on the collective total. Great when you want to see how much your group can afford before diving into planning.
Budget approval requires unanimous consent — everyone in the group must vote to approve. If the budget is not approved, everyone will have the chance to adjust their personal budgets and vote again. This ensures the whole group is comfortable with the plan before moving forward.
Once a budget is approved and locked, the only way to change the goal or total budget amount is to create a new group. This keeps budgets fair and ensures everyone is aligned on the same plan.
Yes! You can create or join as many groups as you want. Each group operates independently with its own budget, expenses, and settlement.
Tap the “+” button in your group, select “Add Expense,” enter the amount, choose a category (lodging, food, activities, etc.), indicate who paid, and optionally attach a receipt photo. The expense will be submitted for group approval.
Yes. Expenses require approval from a simple majority of group members (50% + 1) to ensure everyone agrees the expense should be shared. This prevents unauthorized charges while keeping things moving smoothly.
All approved expenses are shared among the group. If you believe an expense shouldn’t be a shared cost, vote to deny it during the approval process. Our approach is that over the course of a trip, some expenses benefit certain people more than others, but as long as everyone pays what they budgeted, it evens out fairly.
No. Expenses cannot be edited or deleted once submitted. Please double-check the amount, category, and details before adding an expense. If you need to make a correction, you’ll need to add a new expense to offset the error (for example, a negative expense) or contact support for guidance.
The best way to minimize settlement amounts and fees is for everyone to pay for expenses close to what they budgeted throughout the trip. When people pay for expenses roughly equal to their budget amount during the trip, there’s less to settle up afterward — which means lower settlement amounts and lower fees for everyone.
Instant payouts let you get reimbursed immediately for large expenses (like booking an Airbnb) instead of waiting until the trip ends. If you pay $2,000 for lodging and are owed money based on your budget, you can request payment right away.
Yes. Getting paid early creates additional payment processing costs, so our service fee will apply to the instant payout transaction in addition to the fee on final settlement.
Once all group members pay their share of the instant payout, you’ll receive the money in 1–2 business days via your connected bank account.
Yes, multiple group members can request instant payouts for different expenses. Each request is processed separately.
After your trip, Farely calculates everyone’s fair share based on what they budgeted and what they actually paid. You’ll see one simple amount: “You owe $237” or “You’re owed $96.” Everyone pays or gets paid at once — no breakdown of who owes whom.
Payments are not processed until everyone who owes money has submitted their payment. This ensures that those who are owed get paid back in one single payment, and the entire group settles up together.
You’ll receive your payment 1–2 business days after everyone in the group has submitted their settlement payment.
We accept all major credit cards, debit cards, and bank account transfers (ACH) through Stripe. If you are receiving money, you will need to connect a bank account through Stripe (similar to how Venmo works).
If someone doesn’t settle within the payment window, the organizer can send reminders through the app. If payment still isn’t received, the group can contact Farely support for assistance. Users with a pattern of not settling may have their accounts restricted.
Yes. Farely uses Stripe, a trusted third-party payment processor that meets industry standards for encryption and data security. We do not store your payment information — Stripe handles all payment processing and security.
Farely charges a service fee of approximately 4% of settlement amounts, applied only when groups settle up after the trip. This fee covers third-party payment processing, the anonymous budgeting platform, expense tracking, and secure payment coordination. The fee is split fairly across everyone based on their budgets.
The 4% fee is split proportionally across all group members based on what they originally budgeted. If you budgeted $600 for the trip, you’ll pay 4% of that ($24) in fees.
For those who owe money: the fee is added to your settlement amount. For those who are owed money: the fee is deducted from what you receive. The fee is built into the final number you see, so there are no surprises.
No hidden fees. The service fee (about 4% of settlement amounts) is the only cost, and it’s shown clearly before you settle up. There are no monthly subscriptions, setup fees, or charges for budgeting and expense tracking.
Your budget is encrypted and stored securely. Our system only uses your budget amount for calculations. Settlement amounts don’t reveal budgets because multiple people could arrive at the same settlement through different budget combinations. Groups can request verification of calculations through support if needed.
Farely staff have limited access to user data and only see what’s necessary to provide support and ensure the platform functions correctly. Any information we can access is solely to provide clarity to the group upon request.
We do not store your payment information or process payments directly. All payment processing and storage of financial details is handled securely by Stripe, our payment processor. Farely never has access to your full payment credentials.
Never. We don’t sell user data, and we don’t share your information with third parties except as necessary to provide our service (payment processing through Stripe).
Before the budget is approved: They can simply leave the group and the remaining members can resubmit their budgets.
After the budget is approved: You have two options:
Once budgets are approved, group membership is locked to ensure fairness and maintain budget anonymity. Options:
We’re exploring features to make late additions easier in future updates.
Farely uses atomic settlement — all payments are processed together. If one person doesn’t pay, no one receives money and all payments are returned. This built-in accountability protects the group: no one gets left holding the bag, and social pressure ensures everyone follows through.
If someone isn’t paying, the organizer can send reminders through the app, or extend/cancel the settlement deadline. Note: users with a pattern of not settling may have their accounts restricted.
Going over (or under) budget is completely normal and Farely handles it automatically. Your budget determines what percentage of expenses you’ll pay, not a fixed dollar amount.
Example: You budgeted $600 (20% of the $3,000 group budget). The group actually spent $4,000. You’ll pay 20% of $4,000 = $800. Your percentage stays the same either way.
You’ll receive an immediate notification and can update your payment method in the app. You’ll have 24 hours to retry before the settlement is canceled. If you don’t fix it within 24 hours, all payments will be returned and the organizer can restart the settlement process once you’ve updated your payment method.
The simplest solution is for people to Venmo or pay the person directly for their share. If it’s a significant expense, contact our support team — we can help facilitate a second mini-settlement for just that expense.
Your settlement amount is calculated based on your percentage of the total budget, what you actually paid during the trip, and your share of total expenses. Your settlement screen shows your budget percentage. Review the expense list to see what you paid vs. what was approved.
If you still believe there’s an error, review the expense list, contact the organizer, or reach out to Farely support with your group details.
The smoothest trips happen when groups set clear expectations upfront.
Before creating the group: Confirm everyone is committed, discuss general budget range verbally, and make sure everyone understands budgets are anonymous.
When submitting budgets: Be honest about what you can afford. Budget for 10–15% over initial estimates — things always cost more than expected.
During the trip: Upload expenses daily, attach receipt photos to large expenses (over $100), and vote on expenses promptly.
At settlement: Review the expense list before initiating, ensure you have a valid payment method on file, and settle within the deadline (usually 7 days).
Good organizers respond to questions promptly, upload expenses regularly, send reminders when people need to vote or settle, communicate clearly about deadlines, and address concerns fairly.
Organizers should NOT approve their own large expenses without a group vote, pressure people to vote a certain way, share individual budget information, or make unilateral decisions about major changes. Your job is to facilitate, not control.
The pitch: “Hey everyone! For this trip, I’m thinking we use Farely. It lets us all submit what we’re comfortable spending anonymously, and then we see the total group budget without anyone knowing individual amounts. Then we track expenses and settle in one payment at the end. It keeps things fair and removes the awkwardness.”
If people are hesitant, emphasize that budgets stay private from start to finish, explain that it prevents the “who can afford what” conversation, and mention that settlement is one payment — not a bunch of Venmo requests.
Once submitted, budgets cannot be changed. If the budget hasn’t been approved yet and you made an error, wait for the budget vote. If it’s not approved, everyone can resubmit with corrected amounts. If it is approved, the group would need to create a new group to start over with corrected budgets. Please double-check your budget before submitting.
If problems persist, contact support through the app or email [email protected].
Farely provides the platform and calculations, but we can’t mediate personal disputes. We recommend discussing issues with your group first. If there’s a technical error in calculations or payment processing, contact support and we’ll investigate.
Go to Settings > Privacy > Delete Account. Note that you cannot delete your account if you have active groups with pending settlements. You’ll need to settle up or leave those groups first.
Your profile and budget history are permanently deleted. However, settled trip data may be retained in anonymized form for financial compliance and record-keeping as required by payment processors.
You’ll need either an email address or phone number to create an account and enable two-factor authentication for security. This information is kept private and never shared with other users unless you’re added to a group.
Currently, Farely supports payments in USD for users with US bank accounts and cards. International support is coming soon. If you’re planning an international trip with US-based friends, you can still use Farely — just be aware all settlements will be in USD.
Absolutely! While Farely is designed for group trips and events, you can use it for any shared group expense: concerts, sporting events, group dinners, weekend getaways, bachelor/bachelorette parties, or any event where friends want to contribute fairly.
No. The organizer has the same view as everyone else — they can only see the group total, not individual budgets. This ensures fairness and prevents any perception of favoritism.
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