How to split shared expenses
- List the people, one per line.
- Add each expense. Enter the amount, who paid, and who shared it. Everyone is ticked by default.
- Read the result. It lists the payments that settle everyone up, and a table of what each person paid, their share and their balance.
- Share it. Copy the summary into a message, or copy a link that opens the same split.
The method
Each expense is divided equally between the people who shared it. A person's balance is what they paid minus what they owe. Positive means they are owed money, negative means they owe it, and all the balances add up to exactly zero.
To settle, the person who owes the most pays the person who is owed the most, as much as covers the smaller of the two amounts. That repeats until everyone is at zero. It never takes more than one fewer payment than the number of people, so a group of five settles in at most four payments.
For example, say Ana pays 90.00 for a dinner shared by Ana, Ben and Cy, and Ben pays 24.50 for a taxi shared by Ben and Cy. The dinner costs 30.00 each and the taxi 12.25 each. Ana is owed 60.00, Ben owes 17.75 and Cy owes 42.25, so Cy pays Ana 42.25 and Ben pays Ana 17.75: two payments for three people.
Tips for trips and shared homes
- Enter expenses as they happen. It is much easier than reconstructing a week of receipts.
- Untick people who did not take part. A taxi shared by two should not be charged to four.
- Agree the currency first. The splitter treats every amount as the same currency, so convert foreign receipts before entering them.
- Settle once at the end rather than after every purchase, so there are fewer payments.
Doing the same for working time? The meeting cost calculator shows what a meeting costs. For deadlines, try the business days calculator.
Questions people ask
How does the splitter work out who owes what?
For each expense it divides the amount between the people who shared it, adds up what each person paid and what each person owes, and takes the difference. People with a positive balance are owed money; people with a negative balance owe it.
How many payments does it take to settle up?
Never more than one fewer than the number of people. The person who owes the most pays the person who is owed the most, and this repeats until everyone is at zero.
What happens when an amount does not divide evenly?
Money is counted in whole cents, so 10.00 split three ways becomes 3.34, 3.33 and 3.33. The extra cents go to the first people in the list, so the parts always add up to the exact amount.
Can some people skip an expense?
Yes. Each expense has a 'Shared between' list. Untick anyone who did not take part, such as someone who skipped the taxi.
Are the names and amounts stored anywhere?
No. Everything runs in your browser. A share link carries the names and amounts in the part after the # in the address, which browsers never send to a server, so only people you give the link to can see them.