Split Expenses Calculator
Share trip or household costs fairly: list who paid what, choose equal, custom or income-based shares, and get each balance and the fewest payments to settle up.
Result…
How it's calculated
Share of person i = total × wᵢ ÷ Σw (wᵢ = 1 for an equal split, a share count, or an income), rounded to the cent so the shares add up to the total Balance = paid − share (the balances add up to zero) Fewest payments = people with a balance − the most groups whose balances cancel out
List what each person paid and the calculator adds it up, works out everyone's share and their balance: what they paid minus what they should have paid. A positive balance is owed money, a negative one owes. Shares can be equal, by a share count (someone who stayed two nights carries 2), or in proportion to income, as some couples and households split bills. To settle up it finds the fewest payments: if some people's balances cancel among themselves, they settle within that group, so a group of g people needs g − 1 payments. That search is exact for up to 16 people with a balance; beyond that it matches the largest debts to the largest credits. Shares are worked to the cent and rounded so they add up to the total exactly.
Your numbers, step by step
About the Split Expenses calculator
This split expenses calculator settles shared costs after a trip, a holiday house, a group dinner or a month of household bills. List who paid what, one line each, like “Ali paid 120 for hotel”, and name everyone who shares the costs, including anyone who paid nothing. It adds up the total, works out each person's share and each balance, then lists the fewest payments that square everyone up: who pays whom and how much. Shares can be equal, by a share count for someone who stayed longer or had a bigger room, or in proportion to income, as some couples and housemates prefer. Shares are worked to the cent and add up to the total exactly, and every step is shown, so anyone in the group can check the sums. It works in any currency.
How to use it
- Type everyone's names in “People sharing”, separated by commas.
- In “Expenses, one per line: who paid, how much, what for”, start each line with a name, then the amount, like “Sara 45.50 dinner”.
- Choose “Equally”, “By shares” or “By income” under “Split”, and for the last two enter one number per person in the same order.
- Read the payments to settle up, then each person's share, what they paid and their balance below.
Worked example
Four friends share a weekend away. Ali paid 120 for the hotel and 24.50 for snacks, Sara paid 45.50 for dinner, Omar paid 30 for fuel and Lena paid nothing. The total is 220, so an equal share is 220 ÷ 4 = 55 each. The balances are Ali +89.50, Sara −9.50, Omar −25.00 and Lena −55.00, and three payments settle everything: Sara pays Ali 9.50, Omar pays Ali 25.00 and Lena pays Ali 55.00. Split by income instead (3000, 2000, 2500 and 2500), the shares become 66, 44, 55 and 55.
Updated
Questions people ask
How do I split shared expenses fairly between friends?
Add up everything spent, divide it by the number of people (or by each person's share), and subtract each share from what that person paid. A positive balance is owed money and a negative one owes it; the balances always add up to zero.
How are the fewest payments to settle up worked out?
If some people's balances cancel out among themselves, they can settle within that small group, and a group of g people needs only g − 1 payments. The calculator searches for the most such groups, exactly for up to 16 people with a balance, so nobody makes a payment that isn't needed.
How do I split bills by income?
Choose “By income” and enter each person's income for the same period, in the same order as the names. Each person then pays total × their income ÷ the incomes added up, so someone earning 30% of the household income pays 30% of the bills.
What if not everyone shared every expense?
Each expense here is shared by everyone in the list in the same way. For a cost only some people shared, such as one couple's room, work that cost out separately with just those names, then add the two sets of payments together.
Why does one person's share have an extra cent?
A total like 100 doesn't divide evenly by 3, so the shares are rounded to the cent in a way that still adds up to the total exactly: 33.34, 33.33 and 33.33. For splitting a single restaurant bill with a tip, the tip calculator may be quicker.