How to Split Trip Expenses with Friends Without Arguments
A practical way to share trip costs: one payer or a shared Pool, equal, shares or exact splits, several payers, and settling up in the fewest payments.
Free tool
Split calculator: who owes whom.
Enter what each person paid. Split it equally or by shares, and see the fewest payments that settle the group. It runs in your browser; nothing is sent or saved.
The result
Total0
People0
Fair share–
Balances
Payments to settle
Everyone is square. No payments needed.
How the fewest payments are found
First, each person's fair share is worked out: the total divided equally, or in proportion to their shares. Their balance is what they paid minus that fair share. A positive balance means the group owes them; a negative one means they owe the group.
Then the person who owes the most pays the person owed the most, as much as one of them needs. One of the two is now square, so they drop out. Repeating this settles a group of four in at most three payments, instead of everyone paying everyone.
Keep it going in CashBooklet
A calculator is perfect for one dinner. For a trip or a flat that runs for months, a group in CashBooklet keeps every expense, lets several people pay, holds a shared Pool, and closes each month with a statement everyone can see.
Questions
How does the calculator find the fewest payments?
It works out each person's balance: what they paid minus their fair share. Then it pairs the person owed the most with the person who owes the most, settles as much as it can, and repeats until everyone is at zero.
What does split by shares mean?
Each person gets a number of shares. A couple might take 2 and a single person 1. The total is divided in proportion to the shares.
Is anything I type saved or sent anywhere?
No. The calculator runs in your browser. Nothing you enter is sent to a server or stored.
Which currency does it use?
Any. Type plain amounts; the calculator only does the arithmetic.
How do I keep a running group instead?
Start a group in CashBooklet. It adds a shared Pool, several payers, monthly statements and month close, and a summary you can share on WhatsApp.