How to split rent with a friend: two rooms, one fair price

Should two friends split the rent equally?

Split equally when you would each be happy with either room at the same price. On a $2,260 two-bedroom, equal is $1,130 each, and there is nothing else to work out.

Test it by asking each other whether you would swap rooms at the same price. If both say yes, split equally. If either says no, something about one room is worth money. The usual differences are the size, a private bathroom, a bigger closet, the light and the noise.

How do you price two different rooms?

Price the difference with a rule you both accept, then compare it with equal. Say the larger room is 13 by 12 feet (156 square feet) with a private bathroom, and the smaller room is 11 by 10 feet (110 square feet).

Method	Larger room pays	Smaller room pays	Gap
Equal	$1,130.00	$1,130.00	$0.00
By square feet	$1,325.41	$934.59	$390.82
Equal plus a $120 bathroom premium	$1,190.00	$1,070.00	$120.00

Each row adds to $2,260.

• By square feet. The rooms total 156 + 110 = 266 square feet, so the larger room pays $2,260 × 156 ÷ 266 = $1,325.41. This spreads the whole rent by bedroom size. Measuring, and taking a share out first for the shared rooms, are covered in how to split rent by room size.
• A flat premium. Take $120 off the rent and split the rest equally, which is $2,140 ÷ 2 = $1,070. Add the $120 to the room with the bathroom, which makes $1,190. How to price a single feature is in how much more the master bedroom should pay.

If the bedrooms are close in size and one feature separates them, the premium method has only one number to agree on.

What is the name-a-price, pick-a-room trick?

One friend names the prices and the other picks the room, the way one person cuts a cake and the other chooses a slice. Use it when you cannot agree on a number.

1. Friend A writes two prices that add up to $2,260. Say $1,250 for the larger room and $1,010 for the smaller.
2. Friend B picks the room they want at those prices.
3. Friend A takes the other room.

Friend A does not know which room they will get, so a price set too high or too low for one room can leave A living in it. That pushes A toward prices they would accept for either room, and B gets a free choice. The two prices must still add up to the full rent: $1,250 + $1,010 = $2,260.

What should you agree in writing?

Put five lines in one message, and have each of you reply “agreed”.

1. The split. The dollar amount for each room, and the date it starts.
2. Who pays the landlord. And the date the other share arrives, such as the 27th for rent due on the 1st.
3. The deposit. Who paid it, and who gets how much back.
4. Leaving. How much notice a friend gives and what they still pay during it. Say you agree on 2 months. A friend in the smaller room then owes 2 × $1,010 = $2,020 over that time.
5. Bills. Which ones are shared and how, as in how to split utilities between roommates.

The roommate agreement template is a printable grid for the house rules, and its money block points to where your rent and deposit are written down.

How do you set it up in EvenOut?

Add your friend, who can scan your EvenOut code or open your invite link, and make a “Household” group for the two of you.

1. Tap “Add expense”, type $2,260, and set “Paid by” to whoever sends the rent to the landlord.
2. For the named prices, choose “Exact amounts” and type $1,250 and $1,010. The pill reads “All assigned”. For a split by size, choose “Shares” and type 156 and 110, and the sheet shows each person’s dollar amount under their name.
3. Under “Photo, repeat, pending or note”, set “Repeat” to “Monthly”. EvenOut adds each later one for you, with the same payer and split.

Your friend then sees “You owe” with “settle up” on the group page. Record each transfer with “Settle up”. EvenOut records the payment, and you send the money yourselves.

What should you do next?

Run your own rooms through the table, pick the method that you both think is fair, and send the five lines. If the numbers feel close, equal is fine. For the bigger picture, how to split rent fairly compares the main methods side by side.