For millions of people, summer means festivals. Days of music, friends, and freedom turn into stories you talk about long after the stage lights go out. But the price of those weekends is higher than most expect. Tickets are just the start. Food, drinks, travel, and accommodation often cost just as much, and small extras pile on quickly.
That is why more people now use tricount to keep festival spending fair and simple. You add expenses as you go, everyone can see the balance, and settling up takes seconds. No stress. No chasing. Just clarity that keeps the focus on the fun.
Festivals cost more than expected
As festival season wraps up, we asked 4,000 people across Spain, France, Germany and the UK about their festival spending. The results show how quickly budgets slip:
44% spent more than €400, even though only 36% planned to
65% admitted they lost track of where their money went
1 in 4 argued with friends over shared costs
85% said proper tracking would have avoided those conflicts
Money fights aren’t on the line up
Festivals are meant to bring people closer, not drive them apart. Yet almost half of UK festival-goers said they ended up in conflict because someone did not pay their share. In Spain, 31% had arguments with friends or family about festival costs.
tricount makes those moments avoidable. When everyone sees what has been spent, there is no room for confusion or resentment.
How it looks across Europe
The details differ by country, but the challenge is the same: costs are underestimated, and groups struggle to split them fairly.
Germany: 41% think festivals are too expensive. More than half underestimated food and drink costs.
France: 7% spent more than €800 on a single festival. 32% already use an app like tricount.
UK: 68% still rely on verbal IOUs. Nearly half ended up in money disputes.
Spain: 6 in 10 admitted losing control of spending. Accommodation alone took up 35% of the budget.
Wherever you go, the pattern repeats. Festival costs are higher than planned, and friendships can take the hit.
What tricount data shows
Surveys reveal expectations. tricount shows reality.
This summer alone:
More than 7,000 tricounts were created with festival names
Nearly €100 million was split between friends
Average spend per person was €79
Highest average was at Awakenings with €218 per person
Lowest average was at BBK with €38 per person
With tricount, there is no guesswork. Every expense is logged, balances stay clear, and settling up is quick.
The bottom line
Festival spending gets messy when it is left untracked. People overspend, budgets break, and friendships take the hit. tricount by bunq makes it easy to split costs fairly and settle up quickly.
tricount makes it easy to split fairly and settle quickly. So when the music stops, the good times do not.
