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Work out who owes what
A night out, a weekend, a joint present: everyone fronted a different amount. Enter what each person paid — the answer is immediate.
The principle fits in one line: add up everything that was paid, divide by the number of people, and compare that to what each person actually put in. Whoever paid more than their share is owed money; whoever paid less owes some. The calculator then nets the debts against each other to give the smallest possible number of transfers.
The calculator
Free, no account, nothing to install. Nothing is sent anywhere: it all runs in your browser.
The method, in three steps
- Add up everything that was paid. That is the total shared cost.
- Divide by the number of people. That is each person’s share.
- Compare. A person’s balance is what they paid minus their share. Positive, they are owed; negative, they owe.
A useful check: the balances always add up to zero. If they do not, an expense is missing or an amount is wrong.
A worked example
Three people, one night out. Paul paid $120, Julie paid $45, Mark paid $15. Total: $180, so $60 each.
| Person | Paid | Their share | Balance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paul | $120 | $60 | +$60 |
| Julie | $45 | $60 | −$15 |
| Mark | $15 | $60 | −$45 |
The repayments:
- Mark owes $45 to Paul
- Julie owes $15 to Paul
Two transfers for three people. That is the minimum: settling a group of n people never needs more than n−1 transfers.
When this is no longer enough
This calculator assumes everything splits equally between everyone. That is the most common case, and the simplest. But real life spills over fast:
- Someone skipped dinner but shares the rental.
- A couple counts double on rent and single on groceries.
- An expense was paid in another currency.
- The costs spread over a week and nobody wants to keep the list.
In those cases a single column is not enough: each expense needs recording with its own participants. That is exactly what the app does, with the same maths as above.
Can the maths be trusted?
Yes, and it is checkable. The calculator on this page is not a reimplementation: it runs exactly the same code as the WeSplit app, injected as-is into the page.
That code is compared automatically against the app’s logic on 400 randomly generated scenarios — mixed split modes, partial participants, rounding to the cent — and any divergence fails the build. Two implementations drifting apart is the likeliest defect in a tool like this; this one is built so it cannot happen.
Frequently asked questions
How do you work out who owes what?
Add up everything that was paid, divide by the number of people to get each share, then compare that share to what the person actually put in. The difference is their balance: positive, they are owed money; negative, they owe some.
Do I need an account to use the calculator?
No. The calculator works with no account and no installation. Nothing is sent to a server: it all runs in your browser.
How do you reduce the number of transfers?
By netting debts against each other rather than repaying expense by expense. If A owes B and B owes C, a single transfer from A to C can settle it. Settling a group of n people never needs more than n−1 transfers, and that is what the calculator suggests.
What if not everyone took part in every expense?
This calculator only handles an equal split between all the people entered. For changing participants, uneven shares or several currencies, each expense has to be recorded separately: that is what the app does.
Are the amounts stored?
No. Nothing is sent, nothing is saved. Close the tab and it is all gone.
More than two expenses? Create a group
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