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Best Home Poker Game Apps (2026): Buy-ins, Cash-outs and Settle-up Compared

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The best home poker game app depends on who keeps the list. If the host runs the night, OctoCoach (free) records buy-ins of any amount as cash or credit, takes credit off a stack first, checks the count against the money in and settles in few payments, with a live link for the table; PokerTab (free) and PokerNight by Krackin (free with ads) cover the same core. If every player should enter their own buy-ins, Poker Night: Home Games is built for that, and Tilt and Poker Homie let players request buy-ins from their seat. Splitwise and Settle Up work too, once someone has worked out the results.

Disclosure: OctoCoach appears in this comparison and is our product. Every claim about the other apps comes from their own sites and US App Store or Google Play listings, checked October 28 to 31, 2026, with a link to each.

TL;DR

  • A home game app does three jobs: keep the list of buy-ins, check the counted stacks against the money in, and work out who pays whom in as few payments as possible.
  • Host-run picks: OctoCoach (free; buy-ins of any amount, cash or credit on each, a live summary link, hand the game to another host), PokerTab (free; chips counted by denomination) and PokerNight by Krackin (tournaments and a blind clock too).
  • Player-run picks: Poker Night: Home Games (everyone enters their own buy-ins, free for 3 games a month), plus Tilt and Poker Homie (players request buy-ins or rebuys from their seat).
  • Splitwise and Settle Up settle debts well, but know nothing about buy-ins or chips.
  • Most poker-specific apps here are new, with few or no store ratings yet, so judge them by the features they list.

What should a home poker game app do?

Three things: record every buy-in and rebuy when it happens, check that the counted stacks add up to the money that went in, and turn the results into as few payments as possible. Everything else is a bonus: a live view for the players, a season table, splitting the food.

The math is the same in every app. Each player’s result is what they finished with minus what they put in, the results add up to zero, and matching the biggest loser with the biggest winner settles any table in at most one payment fewer than the number of players (a cash box counts as one more player). How to settle up a home poker game walks through it with an example night.

What differs between the apps is who types the buy-ins, what happens when the count comes up short, and what the players can see while the game is on.

Which home poker game apps are worth comparing in 2026?

Eleven apps come up when you look for a way to run a home game in October 2026: nine built for poker nights and two general expense splitters, Splitwise and Settle Up, that many groups already use. Every one of them can be started free.

Two of them share a name: Poker Night: Home Games and PokerNight: Home Game Manager, from Krackin Software, are different apps. Most of the poker-specific apps are new: in October 2026 none of them showed more than 8 ratings in the US App Store, so the stars tell you little yet.

AppPlatformsPrice (US, October 2026)What players seeStands out for
OctoCoachWeb app; installs on iPhone and AndroidFree (home game manager on every plan)Live summary link, no sign-inCash or credit per buy-in, choices for a count gap, hand off the game
Poker Night: Home GamesiOS, Android, webFree for 3 games a month; Pro $4.99/mo or $39.99/yrShared group via link; players enter their own buy-insGroup leaderboards; AI recaps in Pro
Tilt: Poker Tracker & ManageriOS, AndroidFree, no ads; Game Tickets from $3.99Own live view, joined with a 6-letter codeRebuy requests from the seat, the host approves
ChipUpiOS, AndroidFree; Premium $4.99/mo or $29.99/yrPrivate groupCombined balances across your poker group, outside costs
PokerTabiOS, AndroidFree (optional tips)Invite by QR or group codeChips counted by denomination, roles for who records
PokerNight: Home Game ManageriOS, AndroidFree with ads; Pro unlock $4.99; Series credits from $9.99Text recap or results card; web link for season standingsTournaments, blind clock, season points
Poker SettleUpiOS, AndroidFreeFinal results shared with the groupFood and venue costs in the settlement
Poker BossWebFree, no adsLive view with a code, no accountVenmo, Cash App and PayPal links (USD only)
Poker HomieiOS, Android, browser demoFree, no adsLive view, joined with the table’s code; buy-in requests from the seatPass the host role, shared expenses, buy-in approvals
SplitwiseiOS, Android, webFree with a daily expense limit; Pro as in-app purchaseShared groupSimplify debts, 100+ currencies
Settle UpiOS, Android, webFree with ads; Premium $3.99/mo or $19.99/yrLink or QR, read-only accessLive exchange rates, works offline

Which app is best when the host runs the night?

OctoCoach, if you want the host’s list to handle a real table: buy-ins of any amount, cash or credit on each, early cash-outs where the stack pays off the player’s credit first, and a choice of how to settle a count that comes up short or over. PokerTab, also free, counts chips by denomination, and PokerNight by Krackin adds tournaments and a blind clock.

In OctoCoach the home game manager is free on every plan. The host sets the usual buy-in, the currency (₪, $, € or £) and whether players count chips or money at the end. The chip value can be set as “1 chip =”, as chips per buy-in, or worked out at the end from the money in. A player can come in for any amount: one tap on + repeats their last buy-in and payment, and Other takes any other amount. Every buy-in is either cash into the box or credit, and any single one can be switched or fixed later. A player who leaves early is cashed out on the spot, and the stack pays their own credit first: someone leaving with $200 and $100 on credit takes $100, and tapping Paid from the box fills that in. A stack smaller than the credit shows what is still owed, and the rest goes to the settle-up.

OctoCoach home game player sheet for Maya: buy-ins $50 cash and $100 credit, total $150, then Left the game: Cashed out early $200, $200 minus $100 credit = takes $100, Result +$50, with the payment from the box filled in at $100

A player’s sheet after leaving early: the stack pays the credit first, and the box pays what is left. A separate example from the night on the settle-up screen. Example data.

At the end the app checks the count against the money in, and if it is off, settling waits until you fix it or choose: spread the gap by stack size, or give all or part of it to one player. Who pays whom then lists a short set of payments, with the box as one more party when buy-ins were cash, and each payment gets a ✓ when it is paid.

OctoCoach home game settle-up screen: Settled, Who pays whom with Noa to Dan $120 and Avi to Maya $70 marked paid, Noa to Tom $30 and Avi to Ben $10 still open, then Results: Dan +$120, Maya +$70, Tom +$30, Ben +$10, Avi -$80, Noa -$150, and Adjustments: Rounded to $1, No shared costs

OctoCoach’s settle-up screen: who pays whom with the paid marks, the results, and the adjustments. Example data.

Run your next home game in OctoCoach (free)

One thing no other app here lists: recording each buy-in as cash or credit. The host can also hand off the game with a one-time link that moves it to the new host’s account; Poker Homie also lets a host pass the role. Players follow on a public summary link that opens without signing in: who is in for how much, what should be in the box, and at the end who pays whom. The trade-off is that the host types everything; players can watch the link but cannot enter their own buy-ins. If you played, your own result can go into History and your bankroll as a home cash session, and the Season table adds up every settled game this year per friend, visible only to you in the app. If you are also logging a live session that night, the session wins: while it is live the game does not save a second result, and you can link the two and move between them with a tap. OctoCoach runs as a web app you install on iPhone or Android, in English and Hebrew, and the host needs an account. Once your result is saved as a session it is part of your bankroll, and on Pro the AI mental coach sees it too.

PokerTab is free; its in-app purchases are optional tips, from $1.99. It counts chips by denomination, checks for a missing amount before the session is finalized, and works out a settlement with “fewer transactions”. Players join by QR or group code, guests can claim their history later, and roles control who manages the game. It also keeps group leaderboards and personal stats, works offline and syncs later, and you can start without an account.

PokerNight: Home Game Manager from Krackin Software (Poker Home Game Manager on Google Play) keeps its data on your device, with no account. It tracks buy-ins, reloads and cash-outs, warns when the totals don’t match, and offers an “advisory settlement with fewer payments”. It is the one to pick if your group also plays tournaments: it runs a blind clock and season points leaderboards that players can follow on a web link, and shares a night as a text recap or a results card. Free with ads; a one-time Pro unlock is $4.99 in the App Store, and a season beyond one free preview (9 players, 3 events) needs a Series credit from $9.99.

Poker SettleUp is free. Along with OctoCoach and Poker Homie, it folds shared costs into the settlement (“split food or venue costs”), and it shares final results with the group.

Which app lets every player track their own buy-ins?

Poker Night: Home Games, where everyone enters their own buy-ins and chip counts, free for 3 games a month; and Tilt and Poker Homie, where players request a rebuy or buy-in from their seat and the host approves it. Poker Boss, a free host-run web app, gives players a live view with a code and no account.

Poker Night: Home Games (Poker Home Games on Google Play) describes itself as a replacement for doing the books on a napkin. Players join a group through a shareable link, and everyone enters their own buy-ins and chip counts. It settles in the fewest payments, tracks who has paid, and keeps monthly and all-time leaderboards. The free plan covers 3 games a month and one group; Pro, $4.99 a month or $39.99 a year with a 7-day trial, adds AI game recaps, play-style profiles, head-to-head stats and a yearly “Poker Wrapped”. iPhone, Android and web.

Tilt: Poker Tracker & Manager calls itself a home poker tracker built for cash games. Players join with a 6-letter code, get their own live view and request rebuys from their seat for the host to approve; the night settles in the “fewest transfers”. It keeps a monthly group leaderboard, trophies and lifetime P&L. The listing says “Free to use. No ads.” and also sells Game Tickets from $3.99, without saying what they unlock.

Poker Boss runs in the browser: the host signs in, and players follow live with a code, “No account or app install”. It settles in the “fewest payments” and adds Venmo, Cash App and PayPal links, USD only. It is free, says “I don’t show ads”, and does not handle tournaments.

Poker Homie is free with no ads, on iPhone and Android, with a browser demo. Players join with the table’s code, follow everyone’s buy-ins live and request buy-ins for the host to approve, and it works out the smallest set of payments. A host leaving early can pass the role to someone still at the table, shared expenses go into the settlement, and one phone can run a whole night offline without an account, though the lasting record needs one.

For a regular group that wants running balances from week to week, ChipUp tracks buy-ins, rebuys and cash-outs, who owes whom, and “combined balances across your poker group”. Its version history adds an expense feature for a group’s outside costs, and its App Store listing includes English and Hebrew among eight languages. It is free on iPhone and Android; Premium, $4.99 a month, $29.99 a year or $2.49 for a single game on iPhone, adds statistics, larger groups and “smart payment suggestions”.

Can you use Splitwise or Settle Up for a poker night?

Yes, for the last step. Both settle a group’s debts in few payments and handle many currencies, but neither knows what a buy-in, a rebuy or a chip is, so someone still has to work out each player’s result before entering it.

Splitwise offers to “simplify debts into the easiest repayment plan”, supports more than 100 currencies, and in the US lets you pay friends directly in the app with Splitwise Pay. The free plan limits how many expenses you can add each day, so enter the night’s results, not every rebuy; Pro adds unlimited expenses and currency conversion.

Settle Up cuts the number of transfers, converts currencies at live exchange rates, works offline, and shares a group by link or QR with read-only access, so not everyone needs the app. It is free with ads; Premium is $3.99 a month or $19.99 a year.

The catch for both is that a home game’s books are the buy-ins and the count. An expense app starts after that, so it cannot tell you the count is $10 short or that a rebuy was paid in cash.

How do home game apps handle the money?

The poker apps keep the books; none of them lists moving money. Poker Night: Home Games, ChipUp, PokerTab, PokerNight by Krackin, Poker SettleUp and Poker Boss say outright that they don’t, and Poker Boss links out to Venmo, Cash App and PayPal in the US; of the expense apps, Splitwise can send money inside the app in the US with Splitwise Pay. OctoCoach is the only app here that lists tracking each buy-in as cash in the box or credit.

That difference matters at a real table. With a cash box, the box pays out the stacks and nobody owes anybody; on credit, losers pay winners after the game. Many games mix the two, and an app that doesn’t record which buy-in was which leaves the host doing that part on paper. In OctoCoach a player’s stack pays their own credit first, so the box pays out only what is left and the settle-up carries the rest. The trade-offs between the two are in cash box or credit.

If the host buys food and drinks, OctoCoach, Poker SettleUp and Poker Homie can fold that into the settlement; ChipUp lets you add an outside expense to the group. Split what it actually cost: in many places a private game stays legal only while nobody profits from running it, so check whether the host can take a cut where you live. This is general information, not legal advice.

OctoCoach is a coaching and session-journaling tool; it does not host games, take deposits, or involve real money. In a home game the amounts are your table’s record; the money changes hands between the players.

How much does a home poker game app cost?

Every app here can be started free, and OctoCoach’s home game manager is free on every plan. Where the poker apps sell a monthly plan, it is $4.99 (Poker Night Pro, ChipUp Premium); PokerNight by Krackin sells a one-time $4.99 Pro unlock and Series credits from $9.99 instead.

Prices in the US App Store, October 2026:

  • Poker Night Pro: $4.99 a month or $39.99 a year, 7-day trial.
  • ChipUp Premium: $4.99 a month, $29.99 a year, or $2.49 for a single game.
  • PokerNight by Krackin: free with ads; Pro unlock $4.99, one time; a season beyond one free preview (9 players, 3 events) is a Series credit from $9.99.
  • Tilt: Game Tickets at $3.99 for 1, $9.99 for 4, $19.99 for 10.
  • Settle Up Premium: $3.99 a month or $19.99 a year.
  • PokerTab, Poker SettleUp, Poker Boss and Poker Homie: free (PokerTab with optional tips).

OctoCoach Pro, $12 a month or $96 a year after a 7-day free trial, adds the AI coach, hand analysis, voice and the bankroll advisor. The home game manager does not need it.

How do you choose a home poker game app?

  • The host keeps the list and your game mixes cash and credit: OctoCoach.
  • You want it free, with chips counted by denomination and offline sync: PokerTab.
  • Your group also plays tournaments: PokerNight by Krackin.
  • Every player should enter their own buy-ins: Poker Night: Home Games, or Tilt or Poker Homie if the host approves each request.
  • Nobody wants to install anything: Poker Boss in the browser, or OctoCoach’s summary link for the players.
  • You already share an expense app and only need the payments: Splitwise or Settle Up, after you work out the results.
  • You also want your own result in your bankroll and a coach that knows your game: OctoCoach.

Key takeaways

  • A home game app keeps the list of buy-ins, checks the count, and settles in as few payments as possible; the math is the same everywhere.
  • The real differences are who enters the buy-ins, what happens when the count is off, and what the players can see.
  • OctoCoach is the only app here that lists cash or credit per buy-in, and its home game manager is free.
  • Most poker-specific apps here are new, with few or no ratings yet; judge them by the features they list.
  • None of the poker apps here lists moving money: they keep the books, and the players pay each other outside the app.

Run your next home game from your phone: OctoCoach, free, with a live link for the table. Related: how to settle up a home poker game, how to track live poker sessions.