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How to split a restaurant bill fairly
The short version: everyone pays for what they ordered, and the tax and tip are shared in the same proportion. Here's how that works in practice, including the awkward parts.
Even split vs. split by order
An even split divides the total by the number of people. It's quick, and it's fine when everyone ordered roughly the same.
A split by order charges each person for their own food and drinks. It takes a little more work, but it's the only split that's fair when orders differ. In a group of four where one person had a $14 salad and another had a $48 steak and two cocktails, an even split quietly moves money from the light orderer to the big one.
A good rule: if any one person's order is more than about 25% above or below the average, split by order.
How to split tax and tip fairly
Tax and tip should follow the food. Work out each person's share of the subtotal, then give them that same share of the tax and the tip.
Each person pays: their items + (their items ÷ subtotal) × (tax + tip)
So if your food was $30 of a $120 subtotal, you ordered 25% of the food and pay 25% of the tax and 25% of the tip. Splitting tax and tip evenly instead would make the salad subsidize the steak all over again.
Tip is customarily calculated on the pre-tax subtotal. If the restaurant added an automatic service charge or gratuity, treat it like the tip and share it the same way.
Shared plates
Appetizers, a bottle of wine, a dessert for the table: split each shared item evenly among the people who actually had some, then add that slice to their order before working out tax and tip. If two of the four people split the nachos, only those two pay for the nachos.
Drinks
Drinks are where even splits feel most unfair, because they vary the most. Count them like food: each person pays for their own drinks, and a pitcher or bottle the table shared is a shared plate.
Birthdays and treating someone
When the group is covering the birthday person, take their order out first, then add it as a shared plate split among everyone else. Tax and tip on their meal get shared the same way.
Rounding to the cent
Proportional shares rarely come out to whole cents. Round each share, then give any leftover penny to someone so the shares add up to exactly what the restaurant charged. Otherwise whoever paid the bill ends up a few cents short.
Worked example
Four friends, $120 subtotal, $11.40 tax, 20% tip ($24.00). Maya and Ben split a $16 appetizer.
| Person | Own order | + shared | Share of food | Tax | Tip | Pays |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maya | $22.00 | $8.00 | 25.0% | $2.85 | $6.00 | $38.85 |
| Ben | $40.00 | $8.00 | 40.0% | $4.56 | $9.60 | $62.16 |
| Chris | $26.00 | $0.00 | 21.7% | $2.47 | $5.20 | $33.67 |
| Dana | $16.00 | $0.00 | 13.3% | $1.52 | $3.20 | $20.72 |
Total: $155.40, exactly the bill. An even split would have been $38.85 each, which would have had Dana paying almost twice what she ate. Try your own numbers in the split the bill calculator.
Let the receipt do the math
Pareto scans the receipt, lets you tap each dish onto whoever ordered it, splits tax and tip in proportion, and texts everyone a Venmo link for their share.
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