Apartment move-in cost calculator

What to add up before move-in

Add every cost you pay once before you get the keys, not only the first month’s rent. The calculator has a box for each:

• First month’s rent and the security deposit. Usually the two biggest lines.
• Last month’s rent. Only when the landlord asks for it up front. Otherwise 0.
• Application fees. One for each person applying.
• Move-in or admin fee. A one-time charge from the landlord or building.
• Pet deposit or fee. 0 unless there is a pet. If one person pays it alone, leave it at 0 and add it to that person afterwards.
• Utility activation fees. Set-up charges for power, gas, water or internet.
• Truck, supplies and other costs. Anything else paid once, such as boxes or a rented truck.

Enter the amounts from your lease and listing. The calculator does not know what a landlord may charge where you live. It counts the full deposit and every other amount you enter, whether or not some of it comes back later.

Application fees are per person

The application fee is charged to each applicant, so four applicants at $50 each is $200, not $50. It is easy to enter the fee once instead of once per applicant. The calculator keeps the fee per person and the number of people applying in separate boxes, because someone can apply without sharing the other costs.

Worked example: four roommates and $5,550

Say four roommates take a $2,400 apartment. These are made-up amounts, not typical prices.

Cost	Amount
First month’s rent	$2,400
Security deposit	$2,400
Application fees, 4 × $50	$200
Move-in fee	$300
Utility activation	$90
Truck and supplies	$160
Total	$5,550
Each of 4 people	$1,387.50

The total is $2,400 + $2,400 + $200 + $300 + $90 + $160 = $5,550, and $5,550 ÷ 4 = $1,387.50. When a total does not divide evenly, the calculator shows the lower share and how many people pay one cent more.

When the rents differ

The calculator splits every line equally, but the first month’s rent should follow each room’s rent, and the deposit can too. Only the fees and moving costs are split equally.

Say the four rents are $800, $700, $500 and $400, which add up to $2,400, and the deposit is one month’s rent, split by rent. Set the first month and the deposit to 0 and the total drops to $750, which is $187.50 each for the fees and moving costs. Each person then adds their own rent twice, once for the first month and once for the deposit.

Room rent	First month plus deposit	Pays in total
$800	$1,600	$1,787.50
$700	$1,400	$1,587.50
$500	$1,000	$1,187.50
$400	$800	$987.50

The four totals add up to $5,550, the same as the equal split. How to split a security deposit between roommates covers the deposit on its own.

Common mistakes

• Entering the application fee once. Enter the fee per person and the number of applicants.
• Adding monthly costs. The calculator is for one-time costs. Rent and bills after move-in belong in a monthly budget, which the roommate expense calculator works out.
• Adding last month’s rent when the lease does not ask for it. With the example’s $2,400 rent and 4 people, that is $600 more each.

Next steps

In EvenOut, make a Household group, log the deposit as a normal expense so it counts in balances straight away (if EvenOut asks “Track as pending?”, choose “Save normally”), and use the “Exact amounts” split when each person’s share differs, as in the second table. A pending expense is not counted in balances, so it is the wrong place for a deposit the roommates owe each other.

Apartment move-in costs and how roommates split them explains each line. The roommate budget template covers the monthly costs that start after move-in.