Last updated: March 2026
What Is the Receipt Splitter?
The receipt splitter is a free tool that divides a shared bill by item rather than equally. Traditional bill-splitting apps divide the total by the number of people, which feels unfair when one person ordered a $12 salad and another ordered a $45 steak. This tool fixes that by letting you assign each menu item to the person who ordered it.
Tax and tip are then distributed proportionally based on each person's share of the subtotal. If your food was 30% of the subtotal, you pay 30% of the tax and 30% of the tip. The result is a fair, transparent breakdown that everyone at the table can agree on.
Everything runs in your browser. No account needed, no data stored, no ads. Enter the items, assign them, and copy the summary to send via Venmo, Zelle, or your group chat.
How to Split a Bill by Item
Step 1: Add everyone at the table. Each person gets a color so you can quickly see assignments. You can rename people to their actual names for a cleaner summary.
Step 2: Enter each item from the receipt. Type the item name and price, then hit Enter or the + button. Work down the receipt from top to bottom to make sure nothing gets missed.
Step 3: Assign items to people. Tap a person's name next to each item to assign it. If an item was shared (appetizers, desserts, bottles of wine), assign it to everyone who shared it — the cost splits equally among them.
Step 4: Add tax and tip. Enter the tax from the receipt (as a dollar amount or percentage) and choose a tip percentage or enter a custom amount. The tool distributes both proportionally so the person who ordered more pays a larger share of tax and tip.
Step 5: Review and share. Check each person's total, then hit "Copy Summary" to get a clean text breakdown for Venmo requests or group messages.
Why Proportional Splitting Is Fairer
Consider a dinner for four people with a $200 subtotal, $16 tax, and $40 tip. If one person ordered $80 of food and another ordered $20, an equal split charges both $64. That means the person who ordered $20 of food is paying three times what they should.
With proportional splitting, the person with $80 in food (40% of the subtotal) pays 40% of the tax ($6.40) and 40% of the tip ($16), for a total of $102.40. The person with $20 in food pays $20 + $1.60 tax + $4 tip = $25.60. Everyone pays exactly their fair share.
This approach is especially important when dining with people who have different budgets, dietary restrictions (non-drinkers shouldn't subsidize cocktails), or when one person splurged on an expensive entree. Fair splitting keeps friendships intact and takes the awkwardness out of group dining.
Frequently Asked Questions
How does the receipt splitter work?
Add the people who are splitting the bill, then enter each item from the receipt with its price. Assign each item to the person (or people) who ordered it by tapping their name. Tax and tip are automatically distributed proportionally based on each person's share of the subtotal. The result shows exactly what each person owes.
What if multiple people shared an item?
Simply assign the item to everyone who shared it. The cost will be split equally among all assigned people. For example, a $20 appetizer shared by 4 people means each person pays $5 for that item, plus their proportional share of tax and tip on that $5.
How are tax and tip calculated per person?
By default, tax and tip are distributed proportionally — someone who ordered $40 worth of food pays twice the tax and tip of someone who ordered $20. You can toggle 'Split tax & tip equally' if your group prefers an even split of those charges regardless of what each person ordered.
Can I use this for any type of bill, not just restaurants?
Yes. The receipt splitter works for any shared expense — grocery runs, group gift purchases, hotel minibar charges, shared supply orders, or any situation where multiple people need to split costs by item rather than evenly.
Is my receipt data saved or shared?
No. All calculations happen entirely in your browser. Nothing is sent to any server, nothing is stored, and nothing is shared. When you close or refresh the page, the data is gone. The 'Copy Summary' feature copies text to your clipboard so you can paste it into Venmo, Zelle, or a group chat.