Split bill calculator: how to share a check fairly and settle up fast

How to use the split bill calculator

There are two modes. In Split evenly, type the total, choose how many people are paying (from 2 to 30), and add a tip or service percentage if it is not already on the check. The result shows what each person owes. You can also pick a rounding unit, such as one cent, five cents or one dollar, and decide who covers the small leftover that rounding creates.

In Split by item, add everyone by name (up to 20 people) and then add each dish or drink with its price. Every item is shared by everyone by default, and you simply switch off the people who did not have it. Optional tax and tip percentages are added in proportion to what each person ordered, so the person with the small salad pays a smaller tip than the person with the steak. Everything is calculated in your browser, and nothing is sent to a server.

• Pick your currency; decimals work with a dot or a comma.
• Use Copy result to paste a plain-text summary into WhatsApp, iMessage or any group chat.
• Use Share as link to put your inputs into the link itself, after the # sign, so friends open the same calculation without an account.
• Your last inputs are remembered on this device only.

Equal split or split by item: which is fairer?

An equal split is the fastest and usually the friendliest choice when everyone ordered about the same, when most of the table was shared, or when the amounts are small enough that nobody wants to argue over a few dollars. Tapas, hot pot, pizza for the table and a round of shared drinks all fit this pattern. The cost of being precise is more than the difference you would save.

Splitting by item is better when orders were clearly different. If one person had two cocktails and a steak while another had a soup and tap water, an equal split quietly makes the lighter eater subsidize the rest. Tax and tip are then shared in proportion, which keeps the result fair without anyone doing the math on a napkin.

• Shared starters: leave everyone switched on for that item.
• Someone who did not drink: split the drinks by item and share the food equally.
• The birthday person: it is customary to cover their share, so spread it across the others or leave them out of the item list.
• Mixed groups: split shared dishes equally and personal orders by item.

Tip, service charge and tax around the world

Customs change the total before you even start dividing. In the United States, sales tax is added at the register and a tip of 15 to 20 percent is expected at sit-down restaurants, which is why the calculator offers 15, 18 and 20 percent presets. In the United Kingdom and much of Europe, a service charge is often already included, and otherwise people round up or leave around 10 percent for good service. Always check the check for a line that says service included before adding more.

In Japan, South Korea and mainland China, tipping is not expected and the listed price is normally the final price, so you can leave the tip at zero. Korea has its own habit of 1/N, an even split among everyone, usually run by one organizer who collects the money. In Brazil, restaurants commonly add 10 percent service, called serviço, to the bill. In Thailand, some restaurants add a service charge plus VAT. In Russia, about 10 percent is a common tip when service was good.

Rounding and the leftover remainder

Most totals do not divide cleanly. A hundred dollars split three ways is 33.333 and so on, and nobody can pay a third of a cent. If you round every share to the nearest cent, the shares add up to 99.99 or 100.01, and someone has to absorb the difference. The calculator handles amounts in whole cents and tells you exactly how the leftover is assigned, so the shares always add up to the bill.

Here is the worked example. For a $100.00 bill and three people, two people pay $33.33 and the last person pays $33.34, so the total is exactly $100.00. If you choose a bigger rounding unit, such as one dollar, the shares become $33, $33 and $34. There are two ways to handle the leftover. Either the host, meaning the organizer, pays the leftover on top of their share, or the remainder is spread across people so that nobody carries all of it.

• Host pays the leftover: simple, and the organizer is usually happy to round in everyone else's favor.
• Spread the remainder: the shares differ by at most one rounding unit.
• Bigger rounding units give friendlier numbers but a larger leftover.

Settling up when someone paid first, and etiquette

Usually one person pays the whole check with a card and everyone else owes them. In the optional Who paid first section, enter each person who paid and how much, and the calculator shows a short list of transfers such as Alex pays Sam $12.50. It uses as few transfers as possible, and it checks that the payments you entered add up to the total, so a typo is caught before anyone sends money.

A few habits keep things smooth. Pay your share back the same day, while everyone still remembers the evening. Send the copied summary to the group chat so there is one clear record. Use whatever your friends already have, such as Venmo, Cash App, Zelle, PayPal or a bank transfer, and include a short note. Do not make the birthday person pay, and do not chase a friend for a few cents; round gently and move on.

• Settle within a day, ideally right at the table.
• One organizer collects and pays, so the restaurant gets a single payment.
• Keep the shared link or summary so questions can be checked later.