Travel expense splitter for group trips
This tool splits shared trip costs between friends or family and shows the smallest set of payments that settles everyone up. Add the people, enter each expense with who paid and who shared it, and it does the rest.
It works for any currency, and it is handy for things like a private airport transfer, where one person pays the driver and the cost is divided per person.
How the split works
Each expense has an amount, a person who paid and the people who shared it. The amount is divided equally between the sharing people. If the amount does not divide evenly, the extra cents are given one at a time to the first people in the list, so the total always adds up exactly.
A person's balance is what they paid minus their own share of everything. A positive balance means the group owes them money, and a negative balance means they owe the group. All balances add up to zero.
How the fewest payments are found
The tool uses a greedy method. It takes the person who owes the most and the person who is owed the most, and has the first pay the second as much as possible. One of the two is then fully settled. It repeats until everyone is at zero.
With n people with a non-zero balance this needs at most n minus 1 payments. It is simple and gives a short list, though in rare cases a cleverer grouping of balances could save one more payment.
Splitting a private transfer
A private transfer is priced per vehicle, not per seat. If one traveller books and pays, add one expense for the full price, choose them as the payer and tick everyone riding. Leave out anyone who is not in the car, for example a person who arrives on a different day.
The same method works for a rental car, a group apartment, a restaurant bill or a shared tour. Add each as a separate expense so the result stays clear.
Tips and limits
The currency label is only text. The tool does not convert between currencies, so enter every expense in the same currency. If someone paid in another currency, convert it first using the rate you actually got.
Equal shares are the only split option. If one person ate far more than the others, enter that part as its own expense shared by that person alone. Nothing is saved or sent anywhere. Use Copy summary to paste the result into your group chat.
A worked example
Anna, Ben and Chloe share a trip. Anna pays 90 for a private transfer that all three ride in, so each share is 30. Ben pays 30 for tickets that only he and Chloe use, so each share is 15. Anna ends up owed 60, Ben owes 15 and Chloe owes 45, because her shares total 45 and she paid nothing.
The settle-up result is two payments: Chloe pays Anna 45 and Ben pays Anna 15. Nobody has to pay everyone, and the group does not need a running tab for the rest of the trip.
For a longer trip, enter expenses as they happen, then settle once at the end. That means fewer bank transfers and fewer awkward reminders. If someone joins or leaves halfway, simply untick them on the expenses they did not share. Agree the currency and rounding with your group before you start, and keep photos of larger receipts in case anyone wants to check a figure later.
Questions
Can I split an expense between only some people?
Yes. Each expense has a checkbox for every person. Untick anyone who did not share that cost.
Does it convert currencies?
No. The currency label is just text. Enter all amounts in one currency.
Is the number of payments really the minimum?
It is short and never more than the number of people minus one. In rare cases a different grouping of balances could save one payment.
Is my data stored?
No. Everything is calculated in your browser and disappears when you close the page.
How do I split a private transfer cost per person?
Add the full transfer price as one expense, pick the person who paid and tick everyone who rode in the vehicle.
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