How to · Restaurants
How to split a restaurant bill with friends
The fair way to split a restaurant bill is to charge each person for what they actually ordered, then add a share of tax and tip in proportion to that subtotal. Even splits feel easier, but they punish the one friend who only got a salad and let the steak-and-cocktail orderer off cheap.
Short answer
Add up each person's items, then give them a share of the tax and tip in the same proportion. If your items were 30% of the subtotal, you cover 30% of the tax and tip.
Step-by-step
- 1
List everyone's items
Go around the table and write down which items belonged to which person. For shared plates (appetizers, a bottle of wine), note who actually shared so the cost can be split between just those people.
- 2
Total each person's subtotal
Add up the price of each person's own items. Add their cut of any shared items. That gives you a per-person subtotal before tax and tip.
- 3
Split tax and tip proportionally
Calculate each person's share of the overall subtotal (your subtotal ÷ the group's subtotal). Multiply that percentage by the tax and tip to get each person's share of those.
- 4
Send the totals out
Tell each person their final amount. A one-tap payment link to Venmo, Cash App, or PayPal with the amount pre-filled is the fastest way to actually get paid back.
A worked example
Three friends. Alex orders $30 of food. Bo orders $20. Casey orders $10. Subtotal is $60. Tax is $5 and tip is $12, so the total is $77. Alex covers 50% ($30/$60) of the tax and tip — that's $8.50 — for a $38.50 share. Bo covers 33.3% — $5.67 — for $25.67. Casey covers 16.7% — $2.83 — for $12.83. The shares add up to $77.
Common pitfalls
- Splitting evenly when one person ordered a lot more than the others — the under-orderers end up subsidizing the over-orderer.
- Tipping on the post-tax total without telling the group — that quietly bumps each person's share by a few dollars.
- Forgetting about shared items like a bottle of wine, then sticking one person with the whole cost.
- Rounding too aggressively per person — the small differences add up and someone ends up short.
Let SplitterBot® handle the math
SplitterBot scans the receipt, lets each person tap the items they ordered, and handles the tax and tip math automatically. Each person gets a one-tap payment link with their exact share pre-filled.
FAQ
Is it rude to ask for separate checks?
Not at large tables, but most servers prefer one check for the kitchen and POS. Splitting after the fact takes 30 seconds with a receipt-splitting app and keeps the server happy.
Who pays for a shared appetizer?
Only the people who ate it. Divide its cost evenly between just those people, then add each person's share into their subtotal before tax and tip.
Should I split the tip evenly even if the bill isn't?
No. Tip in proportion to what each person ordered, the same way you split tax. Otherwise the person who ordered the least subsidizes the tip for the person who ordered the most.
More how-to guides
Split your next bill in seconds.
Snap a photo of the receipt. Tap who had what. SplitterBot sends each person their share with a one-tap payment link.