Tip Split Calculator
Eight friends, one shared bill, and the awkward moment where someone pulls out a calculator and squints. This splitter does the arithmetic without drama: enter the bill, tip percentage and group size, and get a per-person amount — with options to round up to a clean number so nobody owes $23.47 in Venmo, plus an uneven-split mode for when someone skipped the cocktails.
How to split a bill
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1
Enter the subtotal
The restaurant's pre-tax total.
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2
Add tip percentage
Default 18-20% for US; adjust for other regions.
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3
Enter party size
Number of people splitting.
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4
Choose rounding
Exact, round up to next dollar, or round up to nearest 5.
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5
Optional: uneven split
Enter what each person actually consumed if the bill isn't even.
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6
See per-person amount
Plus the total tip and grand total for the table.
Even split vs itemised split
| Situation | Recommended split |
|---|---|
| Everyone ordered similar meals and drinks | Even split |
| One person skipped drinks / had the salad | Itemised |
| Group ordered family-style | Even split |
| Someone paid a separate bar tab | Itemised |
| Friends you eat with often | Even (it evens out) |
| First date or business lunch | Pay separately |
Even split wins for speed; itemised wins for fairness on uneven orders.
Rounding strategies
- Round up to nearest dollar. Keeps things clean without shortchanging anyone.
- Round up to nearest 5. Faster mental maths on bigger bills.
- Buffer round: per-person amount × number of people > total. The overage becomes extra tip for the server.
The buffer-round trick is especially handy — everyone pays a round number, the server gets a slightly better tip, nobody has to chase 17 cents.
When someone doesn’t drink (or eats less)
The “subtract their share and split the rest” method:
- Compute the abstainer’s items + tax + their proportional tip.
- Subtract from the bill.
- Split the remainder evenly among the rest.
Or the simpler honour-code approach: drinkers throw in an extra $5-10 and call it even.
Sales tax and tip tricks
- Pre-tax tip, post-tax split: tip calculated on the pre-tax subtotal, then tax added, then the total split.
- Tip-included pricing (some European restaurants): no separate tip, so split is just
total ÷ people. - Gratuity auto-added on parties of 6+: check the bill before calculating another tip on top.
Payment apps
Venmo, PayPal, Cash App, Zelle all round to the cent, so itemised splits with amounts like $23.47 land correctly. For cash, round up — trying to produce exact change is rarely worth the effort.
Frequently Asked Questions
Among regular friends, yes — you’re paying for the group convenience. For one-off meals or noticeable imbalances, itemise. Some people prefer to always split for simplicity; others feel pinched if they ordered a side and paid for someone’s steak.
If the group agreed on a tip, trust the group — don’t single them out. If they’re chronically stingy, offer to collect and settle the bill next time so you control the tip amount.
Either is fine. Splitters in big groups often just apply tip to total for simplicity. Pre-tax saves a few cents per person, which matters less than picking one convention and sticking with it.
No. The calculator runs in your browser and none of your amounts are uploaded.