Tip Calculator
You're wrapping up dinner with three friends in Chicago, the check lands at $87.50, and everyone reaches for their phone at once.
- Formula explained step by step
- Worked examples with real figures
- 100% local math — nothing is uploaded
Tip Calculator
Enter your numbers and press Calculate
How to use the tip calculator step by step
You only need three numbers:
1. Bill amount: what the check says, before the tip (say, $87.50). In the US, most people tip on the pre-tax subtotal, though tipping on the total is also common. 2. Tip percentage: 15% is the baseline for table service in the United States, 18% is typical, and 20% or more rewards great service. 3. Number of people: how many ways you are splitting the total.
Here is the exact formula the tool runs, in plain text:
tip = bill × percentage / 100
total = bill + tip
per person = total / people
Worked example: an $87.50 dinner with a 20% tip split four ways. Tip = 87.50 × 20 / 100 = $17.50. Total = 87.50 + 17.50 = $105.00. Per person = 105.00 / 4 = $26.25. Everyone drops $26.25 and you're done.
Set the percentage to 0 if a service charge was already added to the check — in that case the calculator simply splits the bill evenly.
Tip examples for common situations
Common scenarios with the math worked out:
- Quick lunch for two: $24 bill, 15% tip, 2 people → tip $3.60, total $27.60, $13.80 each.
- Date-night dinner: $87.50 bill, 20% tip, 2 people → tip $17.50, total $105.00, $52.50 each.
- Group dinner, great service: $250 bill, 18% tip, 6 people → tip $45.00, total $295.00, $49.17 per person.
- Coffee counter: a $5.25 latte with a $1 tip works out to about 19% — counter tips are discretionary, but a dollar in the jar is a friendly norm.
- Delivery order: $42 of takeout with a 15% tip → tip $6.30, total $48.30. For delivery, $5 or 15% (whichever is higher) is a solid rule of thumb.
Notice that large parties often get an automatic 18–20% gratuity added by the restaurant — check the bill before you tip twice.
Tipping culture in the US and what to do abroad
In the United States, tipping is effectively part of the price. Federal law allows a tipped minimum wage as low as $2.13 per hour in many states, so servers genuinely rely on tips: 15% is the floor for acceptable table service, 18% is standard, and 20%+ signals great service. Tipping also extends to bartenders ($1–2 per drink), delivery drivers, hairdressers, and taxi or rideshare drivers (10–15%).
Traveling? The rules flip fast:
- Spain: tipping is genuinely optional — locals round up or leave small change; 5–10% at a restaurant is already generous.
- France: a 15% service charge is included in menu prices by law («service compris»); leaving a euro or two extra is a courtesy, not a duty.
- Germany: round up or add 5–10%, and say the total out loud when paying rather than leaving cash on the table.
- Brazil: a 10% «serviço» appears on the bill as a suggested service charge; it is customary but legally optional.
- Japan: tipping is not practiced and can even cause confusion.
One calculator covers all of it — just change the percentage to match the local custom.
About this calculator
This tip calculator settles it in seconds: enter the bill amount, pick a tip percentage, set how many people are splitting, and you instantly get the tip, the grand total, and each person's share. It works just as well for a $4 coffee as for a $1,200 group dinner, and it follows the standard US convention of tipping 15–20% on table service. No mental math, no awkward rounding debates — just type the numbers and pass the phone around the table.
Frequently asked questions
How much should you tip at a restaurant?
In the United States, 15% is the minimum for acceptable table service, 18% is standard, and 20% or more rewards excellent service. Abroad the norms differ: 5–10% or rounding up in Germany, an optional 10% service charge in Brazil, small change in Spain, and in France a 15% service charge is already built into menu prices.
Do you tip on the pre-tax amount or the total with tax?
Etiquette experts say to tip on the pre-tax subtotal, since the tax isn't a service. In practice, many Americans tip on the post-tax total because it's the number at the bottom of the check — on a $50 bill with 8% tax, the difference between the two methods at 20% is just 80 cents. Either way is acceptable; consistency and generosity matter more.
How do you split the bill when a service charge is already included?
Set the tip percentage to 0 and the calculator becomes a pure bill splitter: enter the total and the number of people to get each share. This is common with large parties in the US, where restaurants add an automatic 18–20% gratuity — always check the bill so you don't tip twice.
Is tipping mandatory?
Legally, no — but in the United States it is a strong social obligation for table service, since the federal tipped minimum wage can be as low as $2.13 per hour and servers depend on tips for most of their income. Skipping the tip is reserved for genuinely unacceptable service, and even then many people leave 10% and speak to a manager instead.