How to calculate a tip
Calculating a tip is simple: multiply the bill amount by the chosen percentage to get the tip amount, add that to the bill to get the total, and if you're splitting it between several people, divide the total by the number of people. This calculator automates that math and also helps with two common situations: figuring out how much to tip to round the total up to a clean number, and quickly comparing different tip percentages.
Formulas used
Tip and bill split: tip = bill × percentage, total = bill + tip, amount per person = total ÷ number of people.
Tip to reach a round total: tip needed = desired total − bill amount, and the equivalent percentage is (tip needed ÷ bill) × 100.
Worked example: tip and bill split
With a $150 bill, a 15% tip, and 4 people at the table, the tip is $22.50, the total comes to $172.50, and each person pays approximately $43.13.
Worked example: tip to reach a round total
With an $86 bill and a desired total of $100, the tip needed is $14, which works out to approximately 16.28% of the bill.
Worked example: comparing common tips
With a $150 bill split between 4 people: at 10%, each person pays $41.25; at 15%, $43.13; and at 20%, $45.00 — a difference of just $3.75 per person between the lowest and highest percentage.
What the calculator doesn't account for
These calculations split the total equally among everyone, without accounting for who ordered more or less. If the group would rather split proportionally to what each person ordered, you'll need to add up each person's items separately before applying the tip.