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Tip calculator

Enter the bill total, pick a tip percentage and the number of people — see everyone's share in real time.

💡 Tip on the pre-tax subtotal if you want to follow etiquette — or the full total for convenience. Either way, the difference is tiny.

How much should you tip?

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Sit-down restaurant

15% is the minimum for acceptable service; 18–20% is the norm for good service in the US. Tip 22–25% for excellent service or when the server went above and beyond.

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Rideshare & taxi

10–15% for a standard ride, 20% if the driver helped with bags, used a preferred route, or gave a great experience. Always round up to the nearest dollar at minimum.

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Hair & beauty

15–20% of the service price is standard for hairdressers, nail techs and massage therapists. Tip in cash when possible so the worker keeps the full amount.

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Food delivery

15–20% or $3–5 minimum, whichever is more. Delivery drivers often receive little of the platform fee — the tip is usually their main income from the order.

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Hotels

$2–5 per night left in the room daily for housekeeping, $1–2 per bag for bellhops, 15–20% of the bar tab. Leave the housekeeping tip each day, as staff may rotate.

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Coffee & takeout

Not expected but appreciated — $0.50–$1 for a basic coffee order, 10–15% for table service-style cafes. If the card reader pushes a 25%+ default, 10% is plenty.

Tipping norms vary enormously

Tipping is a cultural convention rather than a calculation, and the correct percentage depends entirely on where you are. In the United States, restaurant servers are frequently paid a sub-minimum tipped wage on the assumption that tips make up the difference, which makes tipping effectively part of the wage rather than a bonus — 18 to 20 percent is the common expectation for table service.

Much of Europe includes service in the price and pays full wages, so rounding up or leaving 5 to 10 percent is generous rather than expected. In Japan, tipping is not customary and can cause genuine awkwardness. Attempting to apply American norms universally is neither generous nor polite; it is simply misreading the context.

Within a single country, expectations differ by service type. Counter service, delivery, taxis, hairdressers and hotel staff all carry different conventions from table service, and the prompts on a payment terminal are not a reliable guide to any of them.

Before or after tax, and what service charges mean

Whether to tip on the pre-tax or post-tax total is genuinely contested. Tipping on the pre-tax subtotal is the more defensible position — sales tax is money going to the government, not a measure of the service provided — and etiquette guidance generally supports it. The difference is small in absolute terms, a few percent of the tip.

A service charge already added to the bill is a different matter, and worth reading for. Where a mandatory service charge or gratuity is included — common for large groups — an additional tip is not expected. Paying both is a frequent and expensive mistake on a large bill.

It is also worth knowing that a service charge does not necessarily reach staff. Practices vary by jurisdiction and establishment, and some legal regimes now require it to be distributed. Where you want to be certain the money reaches the person who served you, cash handed directly is the reliable route.

Splitting a bill fairly

Splitting evenly is simplest and is fine when everyone ordered comparably. It stops being fair when consumption differed sharply — someone drinking water and eating a salad subsidising a table sharing wine and steak is a common source of quiet resentment.

Splitting by item is fairer and more work. The reasonable middle ground is to divide shared items equally and assign individual ones, then apportion tax and tip proportionally to each person's subtotal rather than equally. Apportioning the tip equally while splitting the food by item reintroduces the unfairness in a smaller form.

Where rounding leaves the total slightly short, someone must absorb the difference. Rounding each share up to the nearest small unit and letting the surplus go to the tip is the tidiest resolution, and avoids the table hunting for coins.

Tip calculator FAQ

What is the standard tip for a restaurant in the US?

18–20% for good service is the modern American standard — 15% is considered the bare minimum and 25% is generous. Pre-pandemic it was 15–18%; the new norm shifted upward. In other countries tipping culture varies widely — in Japan it can even be considered rude.

Should I tip on the total bill or the subtotal (before tax)?

Technically you tip on the pre-tax subtotal, since the tip is for the service — not the government's cut. In practice, most people tip on the full total for simplicity, and the difference on a $50 bill is only a dollar or so at 20%.

How do you split a bill with different amounts ordered?

This calculator splits evenly. For uneven splits, use the "bill" field to enter each person's sub-total separately and calculate their tip and share one at a time.

Is 15% an acceptable tip in 2026?

Yes, but it's on the low end — it signals "service was fine but not exceptional." 18–20% is now the expected baseline at sit-down restaurants in the US, with 20–25% for great service.

Should I tip on the total before or after tax?

Before tax is the more defensible convention, since tax is not part of the service. The difference is small either way.

Do I still tip if a service charge is on the bill?

Generally no. A mandatory service charge or included gratuity is the tip. Paying both is a common and costly mistake, particularly on large group bills.