How to Set Up EvenUS With Your Partner, Step by Step

To set up EvenUS with your partner, each of you creates an account, one of you creates the household and the other joins it with an eight-character invite code, which works for seven days. Each of you confirms your email before creating or joining a household. You each add your income and paid work hours, then add your chores with an owner, a rough time and a frequency. It takes about five minutes each. The second partner joining is the step that matters most.

An earlier version of this page promised setup in under 60 seconds. That was not accurate. Five minutes each is honest, and most of it is thinking about your chores rather than tapping.

What do you need before you start?

Both of you, a rough idea of your take-home income, and your usual paid work hours. Nothing needs to be exact.

• Your income, monthly, fortnightly, weekly or yearly, whichever you know. Zero is fine if you have none right now.
• Your paid work hours per week, so the app does not expect the same household load from someone working sixty hours as from someone working twenty.
• Your currency. EvenUS supports USD, GBP, EUR and INR.
• Ten minutes on the same evening, ideally together. It goes faster if one of you can read the invite code out to the other.

EvenUS is currently in closed testing and not yet on the app stores, so these steps describe the app as testers see it now.

How do you set up EvenUS, step by step?

Seven steps, split between the person who creates the household and the person who joins it.

Step 1: Create your account

Each of you signs up with your name, email and a password, then taps the link EvenUS emails you to confirm the address. The app asks for this before you create or join a household, because an invite is matched to your email. It then shows four short welcome cards, and the last one takes you to household setup rather than a tour, because the app does very little with one person.

Step 2: One of you creates the household

Choose "Create a household". Give it a name, pick your currency, and enter your income (choosing how often you are paid) and your paid work hours. The setup screen explains that income is used only to work out a fair share.

Step 3: Invite your partner

Until your partner joins, the This week tab says that EvenUS needs both of you and offers an invite. There are three ways to do it:

1. Send them a message. This shares an invite into whatever you already use to talk. Tapping the link takes them to the join screen with the code filled in.
2. Save their email. This does not send an email. It means that when they sign up with that address, they join your household automatically. Still send the message, because nothing reaches them on its own.
3. Read out the code. Eight letters and numbers, with no I, O, 0 or 1 to mix up. It works for seven days. If you are sitting together, this is usually quickest.

Step 4: Your partner joins

Your partner signs up, confirms their email from the link EvenUS sends, chooses "Join with a code", and enters the eight characters. They also add their own income and paid work hours. Once both of you are in, the app confirms you are both there.

Step 5: Add your chores

Start from the 29 starter chores or add your own. Each chore has a name, an owner, a rough number of minutes and how often it happens. You can also note what "done" looks like, for example "washed, dried, folded and put away", which saves the "you did it but not properly" conversation later.

Include the planning chores alongside the physical ones. Meal planning, booking appointments and keeping on top of school emails are where much of the household load hides. How to add chores, bills and mental-load tasks has worked examples.

Step 6: Answer the mental-load questions

The app asks each of you who mainly handles areas such as meal planning, groceries, money admin and the social calendar, plus children's and pet areas if they apply. You answer separately, and neither of you sees the other's answers until you have both finished. What the mental load is explains why this planning work matters. Each area carries an estimated number of hours a week, and once you have both answered, those hours count inside each person's time, the same as any other hours.

Step 7: Choose how bills are split

By default, shared bills are split in proportion to income. You can change this to “Split evenly”, “End up with the same” (you both finish with the same left over) or “Split what's spare” (each of you keeps a personal floor first, then the rest is shared in proportion). How to split bills when you earn different amounts compares all four.

What does a worked setup look like?

Here is Maya and Jordan's, from start to finish, on a Thursday evening.

Their shared costs are £1,500 a month. On the default proportional split, Maya earns 2,400 of their combined 4,400, so her share is about 55%, or £818. Jordan's is about 45%, or £682. Both have the arithmetic on screen, line by line.

What happens after setup?

You live a normal week, log it once at the end, and get your first weekly picture.

The weekly catch-up pre-ticks recurring chores against their usual owner. You untick what did not happen, set how long your own chores really took, and tap Log these, which takes a minute or so each. There is also a private two-question check-in that only you can read. On Sunday at 6pm, household time, you both get a short summary of the week and, usually, one suggested swap. Your first 30 days with EvenUS sets out what the first month looks like.

What if something goes wrong during setup?

Most problems are the code or the order you signed up in.

• The code is not accepted. Codes are exactly eight characters, letters and numbers, and each one works for seven days. If it has run out, the invite screen (Us, then Invite your partner) says so and offers a fresh one.
• Joining waits on your email. If the app asks you to verify your email first, tap the link in the email EvenUS sent. Your invite is saved, and joining carries on once the address is confirmed.
• Your partner signed up before using the invite. If you saved their email, they join automatically. Otherwise they can choose "Join with a code".
• You are not sure about your income. Use a rough figure. You can edit it later.

How much does EvenUS cost?

A 7-day free trial with no card needed, then $9.99 a month or $79.99 a year. One subscription covers both partners. If you stop subscribing, everything you have recorded stays readable and exportable, and you can delete your account at any time.

Common questions

Do both partners need their own account?

Yes. Each of you signs in separately and joins the same household, so your private check-in answers stay private to you.

Can we change how bills are split later?

Yes. Proportional to income is only the default. You can switch to “Split evenly”, “End up with the same” or “Split what's spare” from your household's money settings at any time.

Can we set up EvenUS on our own first?

One of you can create the household and add chores, but every result compares two people, so there is very little to see until your partner joins.

Can we try it without signing up?

Yes. The household fairness calculator runs the same time sum in your browser, with no account and nothing stored.