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A restaurant check gets annoying when the tip comes out to an odd amount. Add a few friends who ordered different meals, and figuring out who owes what takes even longer. A tipping calculator can settle the numbers without everyone pulling out their phones. A basic percentage calculation works for a simple bill, but splitting individual orders takes a little more effort. Choosing the right tip for an unfamiliar service is a different question altogether. The three tools below address these situations in their own ways.
What Does a US Tip Calculator Do?
Not every bill comes with a suggested tip. After a haircut, the receipt may show only the service price, leaving you to work out the gratuity. A tip calculator uses the percentage you’ve chosen for that payment. It’s handy when the service costs $47.85 instead of an even $50. The tool can show how much the gratuity adds to the final payment. Choosing a fair percentage still comes down to the customer and their experience with the service.
How Does a Tipping Calculator Work?
If you want to know how to calculate a tip, take the subtotal and multiply it by your tip rate written as a decimal. Take a $63 restaurant meal before tax. For an 18% tip, the math is $63 × 0.18, leaving $11.34 for the server. Your meal now costs $74.34 before sales tax. At 20%, the tip would be $12.60 instead. That’s a difference of $1.26, which the calculator can show without having to redo the math.
Three Tipping Calculators in the US
A percentage calculation takes seconds, so basic arithmetic alone isn’t much of a selling point. If a tool makes you enter five details just to figure out a $3 tip, it’s hardly helping. A single percentage box isn’t enough for a restaurant check with several individual orders, either. Then there’s the question of choosing a tip amount when the usual rate isn’t obvious. The three tipping calculators in the US below are intended for these situations.
1. TippingGuide.com — For Checking Tipping Customs
An 18% restaurant tip is easy enough to work out. After a long moving job, though, there’s the question of how much to give each crew member. TippingGuide.com has advice organized by service, so you can check what’s customary for the work you’ve paid for. A moving tip, for instance, is often figured per worker instead of as a percentage of the company’s invoice. You can use the suggested figure to decide what feels appropriate for the job.
2. Calculator.net — For a Quick Answer
A bill for $86.43 doesn’t need rounding when you use Calculator.net’s Tip Calculator. Type in the amount, choose your percentage, and the tool shows exactly what the tip adds to your check. The Shared Bill Tip Calculator also lets you enter the number of diners. Four friends splitting dinner equally can each see their share of the check. You can open it directly in your browser, with nothing to install.
3. Plates by Splitwise — For Itemized Restaurant Bills
Plates by Splitwise works with individual orders, which makes it practical for splitting restaurant checks with friends. Each dish is entered and assigned to the person who ordered it. Shared appetizers can be divided among the diners who actually ate them. Tax and tip are calculated for the resulting shares, and the app supports groups of up to 10 people. There’s even a Split the Rest option for dividing the remaining balance evenly.
Which Calculator Is Worth Using?
Knowing what to leave a mover or house cleaner isn’t as simple as choosing 20% on a restaurant screen. A cleaning tip might be based on the bill, whereas movers are often tipped per worker. TippingGuide.com covers these differences, with recommendations for different types of services. Calculator.net is fine for a restaurant check when the percentage has already been decided. Plates by Splitwise is better suited to restaurant groups paying for individual orders.
