Tip Calculator

Tip, total and per-person share in one tap — works in any currency, perfect for splitting the bill with friends.

Tipping quick guide

Tipping customs differ hugely: 15–20% is standard in the US and Canada, 5–10% is generous in Pakistan, India and most of the Gulf, and in Japan tipping isn't expected at all. Check the bill for a service charge first — if 10% service is already added, an extra tip is optional. Mental shortcut: 10% is just the bill with the last digit dropped; halve it again for 5%, add both for 15%.

Tipping customs around the world

Expectations vary widely. In the US and Canada, 15–20% is standard and part of servers' income. Across much of Europe, service is often included and rounding up is enough. In Pakistan, India and the Gulf, 5–10% is generous. In Japan, tipping can even cause confusion. When travelling, a quick check of local custom avoids over- or under-tipping.

Splitting a bill fairly

For a shared meal, an equal split is simplest and fairest. When orders differ a lot, have each person cover their own items plus an equal share of the tip and tax. The calculator's split feature divides the tipped total by the number of people, so everyone pays the same round figure without awkward mental maths.

Quick tip cheat sheet

No calculator handy? These round figures make tipping easy to estimate in your head (any currency):

The trick: find 10% by moving the decimal one place left, halve that for 5%, and add them together for 15%.

Splitting a bill when orders differ

An even split is simplest, but it quietly overcharges whoever ate lightly — awkward when one person had a starter and water and another had steak and three drinks. The fair method is to apportion by share: work out each person's subtotal, then add tax and tip in the same proportion.

On a 4,000 bill where one person's items came to 1,000, they owe a quarter of everything — so with 10% tax and 15% tip (total 5,000) they pay 1,250, not the 1,250 an even split would coincidentally give in a four-way. Where it bites is uneven groups: someone with a 600 order in a party of four owes 750, not the 1,250 an even split demands.

A practical middle ground many groups use: split evenly but let anyone who ordered notably less or more adjust, and always calculate the tip on the pre-tax subtotal so nobody tips on tax.

Tip before or after tax?

Convention is to tip on the pre-tax amount, since tax goes to the government rather than the staff. On a 5,000 subtotal with 8% tax, 18% pre-tax is 900; on the post-tax total it is 972. The 72 difference is trivial once, but it adds up across a year of meals.

Nobody will object either way — this is a rounding-level courtesy, not an etiquette rule. If splitting the difference is easier, round the total up to something clean and move on.

Service charge, cover charge and gratuity

Check the bill before adding anything, because it may already be there. A service charge is a percentage the restaurant adds automatically — often 10–15%, and common for larger parties. A cover charge is a flat per-head fee for the table, bread or entertainment, and is not a tip. Gratuity included means exactly that: no further tip is expected.

Tipping on top of an included service charge is the most common way travellers accidentally double-tip. If the service was exceptional and you want to add a little more, that is fine — but it should be a choice, not an accident. When a service charge is present, it is also worth asking whether it reaches the staff; in some places it goes to the house.

Frequently asked questions