How to Split a Restaurant Bill Fairly

Three ways to split a restaurant bill

Almost every bill split comes down to one of three approaches. The right one depends on how different everyone's orders were and how much effort you want to spend.

• Split evenly. Divide the total by the number of people. Fast, but it overcharges anyone who ordered less.
• Split by item. Each person pays for what they ordered, plus a fair share of tax and tip. The fairest method, and the one most arguments are about.
• One card, then reimburse. One person pays the whole bill and everyone pays them back later. Convenient at the table, but someone has to chase the money afterwards.

How to split the bill evenly

Add up the subtotal, tax and tip, then divide by the number of people. You can do this in your head or use our free bill split calculator. An even split works best when everyone ordered roughly the same thing — shared plates, a set menu, or a round of the same drinks.

How to split the bill by item (the fair way)

When orders are uneven — one person had a steak and a cocktail, another had a side salad and water — an even split isn't fair. Splitting by item means each person covers their own dishes, and shared items (a bottle of wine, a platter for the table) get divided between the people who had them.

The fiddly part is tax and tip. The fair approach is to share them in proportion to what each person ordered rather than evenly — here's how that works.

One person pays and gets reimbursed

Sometimes one card is simplest — especially if the restaurant won't split the payment. The catch is remembering who owes what afterwards. A clear, itemised breakdown of each person's share (including their part of tax and tip) makes paying back painless and keeps everyone honest. And if some of the paying-back happens later, our sister app PayMeLater keeps track of who owes you until everyone's square.

The fastest way: scan and split with AI

Check Please! is an AI bill splitter app built for exactly this moment. You snap a photo of the receipt, the AI reads every item and price, and you drag each dish to whoever ordered it. Tax and tip are split proportionally, everyone at the table can join from their own phone, and you get an IOU plan showing precisely who owes the bill payer and how much — on iOS and Android.