Tip Calculator
How much should I tip, and what is everyone's share of the bill?
No more awkward bill math. Get the tip, the total, and everyone's share. The math is simple, tip = bill × tip percentage, but the etiquette varies. In the United States, 15-20% is the standard range for sit-down table service: 15% for adequate service, 18-20% for good service, and 20% or more when it is excellent. For bars, $1-2 per drink is customary; for food delivery, 15-20% with a $3-5 minimum is a fair rule.
No more awkward bill math. Get the tip, the total, and everyone's share.
Last updated: October 2026
How tipping works
The math is simple, tip = bill × tip percentage, but the etiquette varies. In the United States, 15-20% is the standard range for sit-down table service: 15% for adequate service, 18-20% for good service, and 20% or more when it is excellent. For bars, $1-2 per drink is customary; for food delivery, 15-20% with a $3-5 minimum is a fair rule.
Tips are conventionally figured on the pre-tax subtotal, though many people just tip on the total to keep it simple, the difference is usually a dollar or two. Watch for automatic gratuity: parties of 6 or more often have 18-20% added automatically, so check the bill before tipping twice.
Tipping beyond restaurants
Tipping culture now extends well past table service. Food delivery (DoorDash, Uber Eats): 15-20%, more in bad weather, drivers see the tip before accepting, so low tips mean slow food. Coffee shops and counter service: tipping is optional; $1 or rounding up is generous, and tip screens are a prompt, not an obligation. Rideshares: 10-20% in the app, more for help with luggage. Hotels: $2-5 per night for housekeeping (left daily, since staff rotates), $1-2 per bag for bellhops, and 15-20% for room service if gratuity is not included. Salons and barbers: 15-20% is standard.
The unifying rule: tip when someone provides personal service, especially where wages assume tips. US federal law still allows a tipped minimum wage of $2.13/hour in many states, which is why restaurant and delivery tips are not really optional, they are the wage.
Splitting fairly
Even splits are easiest, but they are only fair when everyone ordered similarly. If one person had the steak and two cocktails while another had a salad, consider splitting the food portion by what each ordered and dividing only tax, tip, and shared items evenly. When in doubt, the person who ordered more should offer to cover the difference, it is cheaper than the resentment.
For group dinners, nominate one person to run the numbers before the bill arrives, this calculator's split mode does exactly that. And decide the approach up front: "splitting evenly, cool?" takes five seconds and prevents the awkward end-of-meal math standoff.
Tipping abroad
US tipping norms do not travel well. In Japan and South Korea, tipping can offend, good service is the standard, not a surcharge. In much of Europe, a service charge is built into the menu price, and rounding up or leaving 5-10% is generous. In the UK, 10-12.5% at restaurants is customary but always optional. When traveling, check local norms before you go: over-tipping marks you as a tourist, and in some cultures it genuinely insults the staff.
Smart tipping habits
Tip on service, adjust at the margins. The 15-20% band already has room for judgment, use it. Punishing a server for kitchen mistakes is misdirected; rewarding great service generously is how the system is supposed to work.
Carry small bills. Cash tips go straight to the worker with no processing delay or fee skimming, and they are still king for valet, housekeeping, and bartenders.
Do not double-tip. Check for "service charge" or "gratuity included" on the receipt, common for large parties, hotels, and delivery apps during promotions. Anything beyond that is your call, not an obligation.
Tip delivery drivers more than feels necessary. They pay for their own gas, insurance, and vehicle wear. A $3 tip on a $15 order is 20% but barely covers costs, the $5 minimum exists for a reason.
Worked example: a $184.50 bill, 20% tip, split four ways
Dinner comes to $184.50 and the service was great, so 20% it is. The tip is $184.50 x 0.20 = $36.90, making the total $221.40. Split evenly four ways, each person pays $221.40 / 4 = $55.35.
If one person had two cocktails more than everyone else, the fair move is to settle the extras first: that person adds the cost of the extra drinks plus tax and tip on them, then the remainder splits evenly. The calculator above handles the even split; the honor system handles the cocktails.
Tip-pooling math, step by step
Many restaurants pool tips and split them by hours worked. Say the pool is $300 for the night: Server A worked 8 hours, Server B worked 6, and Server C worked 6. Total hours are 20, so each hour is worth $300 / 20 = $15. Server A gets 8 x $15 = $120, and Servers B and C each get 6 x $15 = $90.
Hour-weighted pooling is the fair standard because it pays for time on the floor rather than who happened to get the big table. Some houses weight by role instead (bartenders at a different rate than bussers), but the math is the same: divide the pool in proportion to each person's share of the weighted total.
Tip FAQs
How much should I tip at a restaurant?
In the US, 15-20% is standard for table service: 15% adequate, 18-20% good, 20%+ excellent. Bars: $1-2 per drink. Adjust within the band for the service you actually received.
Should I tip on the pre-tax or post-tax amount?
Conventionally pre-tax. On a $100 bill with 8% tax, 20% pre-tax is $20.00 vs $21.60 post-tax, a small difference either way, so tipping on the total to keep it simple is perfectly fine.
How do you split a bill evenly?
Add the tip to get the total, then divide by the number of people. Set the headcount above and the calculator handles it. Even splits are fairest when everyone ordered similarly, otherwise split food by order and share tax and tip.
How much should I tip for food delivery?
15-20% with a $3-5 minimum, more in bad weather or for long distances. Delivery drivers see the tip before accepting the order, so a low tip often means slower service, and they cover their own gas and vehicle costs.
Do I have to tip at coffee shops with tip screens?
No. Counter-service tipping is optional, those screens are a prompt, not an obligation. Rounding up or adding $1 is generous; tipping 20%+ on a grabbed coffee is not expected.
What is automatic gratuity and how do I avoid double-tipping?
Restaurants often add 18-20% automatically for parties of 6 or more; hotels and delivery apps add service charges too. Always scan the receipt for 'service charge' or 'gratuity included' before adding a tip on top.
What is tip pooling?
A system where some or all tips go into a shared pool that is divided among staff, usually in proportion to hours worked. In our example, a $300 pool split across 20 combined hours pays $15 per hour: $120 to the server who worked 8 hours and $90 each to the two who worked 6. Pooling evens out the luck of which tables you get.
How much should I tip a bartender?
$1 to $2 per drink is the standard for beer, wine, or simple mixed drinks, and 15 to 20% of the tab for cocktails or when you run a tab. If the bartender is slammed and still takes care of you, tipping toward the high end is noticed and remembered.
Do you tip the same percentage on alcohol as on food?
Generally yes: 15 to 20% on the full bill including drinks is the norm at full-service restaurants. The exception people debate is expensive wine: some diners tip a flat generous amount rather than a full 20% on a $300 bottle. Either way, the server typically tips out the bartender from your tip, so shorting the alcohol portion lands on the staff.
How do I calculate a 20% tip in my head?
Move the decimal one place left to get 10%, then double it. On $184.50, 10% is $18.45, so 20% is $36.90. For 15%, take the 10% figure and add half of it: $18.45 plus $9.23 is about $27.68.