RentSplitter

RentSplitter aims to make split payments seamless, and stress free. The website allows you to put in designated payment amounts, set reminders, and add roommate groups. hi

Timeline

July-August 2024

(2 months)

Role

Product Designer

UX researcher

Tools

Figma

Team

Maura Sweeney

Project overview

Rent Splitter is a seamless rent management platform designed to help roommates track payments, communicate effortlessly, and ensure financial accountability. By centralizing shared expenses, it eliminates financial miscommunication and simplifies rent tracking—making co-living stress-free and transparent.

Problem

One payer... so much stress

Sharing apartments or houses often puts the responsibility of paying the total rent on one individual, who then has to collect repayments from the others. This can create a significant burden for the main payer, from chasing payments to managing due dates and amounts. Not only does this add stress in terms of keeping track of finances, but it can also lead to confusion or strain relationships when payments are late or unclear.

While this project envisions a comprehensive rent management platform, this case study focuses on designing the core features that have the highest impact: Dashboard, Payments, Roommates, and Messages. These four areas are essential for simplifying rent tracking and roommate collaboration.

Understanding Our Target Audience

The Transition to Financial Independence: Rent & Responsibility

Since our app focuses on rent splitting, our main demographic is college students, Gen Z, and young adults. For many, managing rent and utilities is a new challenge, as they transition from financial dependence to independence. Tracking payments, meeting deadlines, and handling roommate dynamics can be stressful, making financial organization and accountability a major pain point. They seek simple, automated solutions to avoid the awkwardness of reminders and the hassle of tracking shared expenses.

Surveys

Understanding User Challenges: Getting Quantitative Data

To understand how young adults manage rent and shared expenses, I began with a broad survey targeting 60 college students and young professionals. This allowed me to collect quantitative data on general pain points, helping me identify trends and common challenges across a larger group. Based on these findings, I conducted follow-up interviews to dive deeper into specific behaviors, frustrations, and unmet needs.

Interviews

Understanding User Challenges: Getting Qualitative Data

While the survey provided useful data, it lacked the depth to understand why these pain points existed. To explore the underlying challenges and emotional aspects of rent-splitting, I conducted one-on-one interviews with select participants from the survey group. This helped me uncover deeper frustrations, behaviors, and expectations that guided my design decisions.

Synthesizing our Research

After collecting responses, I used an affinity diagram to identify key patterns and pain points. Instead of focusing on individual responses, I grouped findings into major themes that highlight users' biggest struggles and needs when managing shared rent and expenses.

Understanding Our Target Audience

Understanding the Market Landscape

To better understand the strategies and features that resonate with users, we conducted a competitive analysis of four platforms: Splitwise, Venmo, Cashapp, and Tricount

Competitive Analysis findings

Gaps and Opportunities in RentSplitter

01.

Integrated Communication: None of the platforms include a built-in chat system to discuss rent-related issues—adding this would improve clarity and roommate coordination.

02.

Automated Reminders & Due Dates: Existing apps rely on users to manually check their balances; a dashboard with upcoming due dates would improve usability.

03.

Multi-User Shared Expense Management: Most solutions (except Splitwise) are focused on one-time payments rather than recurring costs like rent, utilities, and shared household expenses.

OUR DESIGN GOAL

How might we design a seamless rent-splitting solution that simplifies and streamlines communication and payment management for roommates?

Key Goals

Building a Strong, User-Friendly Solution

After our research, we aimed to focus on the key objectives to build an effective rent-splitting tool:

Centralized features

Payment Transparency & Accountability

Flexible Payment Splitting and Seamless Communication

Automated notifications and reminders

User Flow

Mapping the User Journey

This user flow outlines the core pathways users take to navigate RentSplitter. The goal was to ensure a seamless, intuitive experience

Low Fidelity Prototype

Refining Concepts

After identifying key user pain points, I explored different solutions to improve rent tracking, automate reminders, and simplify roommate communication. Through quick sketches and iterations, I refined the features that would have the most impact.

Early Sketches

Mid-Fidelity Prototype

Iterations

User Testing With Diverse Perspectives

To ensure RentSplitter met real-world needs, we tested the platform with both renters who actively split bills and financially experienced users. This helped validate everyday pain points as well as high-level expectations around clarity and ease of use. Below are some key iterations informed by this feedback.

Payment Tab

Users struggled to compare monthly payments because the line chart implied continuous data rather than distinct monthly values. Displaying “amount owed” and “owed to you” together also created unnecessary cognitive load.

Design Improvements↴

Replaced the line chart with a bar chart to support clearer month-to-month comparisons.
Relocated “amount owed” into the Bills section to streamline information and reduce confusion.

Replaced the line chart with a bar chart to support clearer month-to-month comparisons.
Relocated “amount owed” into the Bills section to streamline information and reduce confusion.

Roommate Tab

Extra roommate details overcrowded the page and didn’t contribute to decision-making. The close placement of the “View Bill” and “Message” buttons also caused frequent accidental taps.

Design Improvements↴

Removed non-essential roommate information to create a cleaner, more focused page.
Increased spacing and reorganized actions to reduce accidental clicks and improve scannability.

Removed non-essential roommate information to create a cleaner, more focused page.
Increased spacing and reorganized actions to reduce accidental clicks and improve scannability.

Final Design

Introducing RentSplitter!

My Dashboard

The dashboard gives users a clear overview of shared financial activity, improving transparency in group expenses. Users can quickly see what’s been paid, what’s upcoming, and any outstanding actions. By surfacing key information at a glance—like transaction history, next payments, and reminders—the dashboard reduces confusion and keeps every roommate aligned.

My Payments

The Payments page offers an organized snapshot of monthly expenses, helping users track what they owe, what others owe, and when payments are due. Features like transparent breakdowns, automated reminders, and upcoming bill previews help prevent missed payments and eliminate uncertainty around shared expenses.

Roommates Page

The Roommates page centralizes all roommate-related actions, making it easy to view contacts, shared expenses, and past interactions. Users can message roommates, request information, and access bill history in one place—reducing the need for outside apps and keeping communication and payments streamlined.

Message Center

Shared expenses often require coordination, questions, and quick decision-making. The Message Center pulls these conversations into one place, reducing app-switching and preventing lost context. Whether discussing rent, sending receipts, or approving payments, users can manage communication and transactions seamlessly within the platform.

Reflection

Bridging UX and Business Strategy

Throughout this project, I focused not only on designing a seamless user experience but also on understanding how RentSplitter could provide real business value. This process deepened my appreciation for the intersection of UX and product strategy—how design decisions impact user adoption, retention, and long-term viability.

Iterating with User-First Mindset

One of the biggest challenges was balancing usability with feature complexity. Users wanted a clean, intuitive interface, but also detailed control over expenses. Through multiple iterations and user testing, I refined the dashboard layout to optimize clarity without sacrificing functionality. This experience reinforced the importance of lean, user-centered design principles.

Next Steps

Beyond the Screen

A business analysis class at Gonzaga University recently reviewed RentSplitter as part of a case discussion, providing strategic feedback on its financial viability and potential market positioning. Their outside-in evaluation challenged me to think beyond design details and consider product-level decisions that influence long-term success.