Who owes who calculator
Quick answer
Enter how many people share the costs and what each one paid. The calculator adds it all up, divides it equally to get each person's fair share, and compares that with what each person paid. Anyone who paid less owes the difference. It then lists the payments that settle everyone, never more than the number of people minus 1.
Key points
- A person's balance is what they paid minus the fair share, which is the total divided by the number of people.
- All balances add up to zero, so what the group owes always equals what the group is owed.
- A group of N people never needs more than N minus 1 payments, and anyone who is even makes none.
- When a total does not divide evenly, the odd cents go to the lowest person numbers so the shares still add up.
On this page
Each person's fair share $60.00
Person 1 is owed $90.00
Person 2 is owed $30.00
Person 3 is even $0.00
Person 4 owes $60.00
Person 5 owes $60.00
Person 6 (not sharing) $0.00
Payments needed to settle everyone 3
Person 4 pays Person 1 $60.00
Person 5 pays Person 1 $30.00
Person 5 pays Person 2 $30.00
Payment 4 (not needed) $0.00
Payment 5 (not needed) $0.00
All balances added together $0.00
Show the formula
- Fair share = everything paid by the people sharing ÷ people sharing (odd cents go to the lowest person numbers)
- Balance = what the person paid minus their fair share. Positive means they are owed, negative means they owe, and all balances add up to 0
- To settle: the person who owes the most pays the person who is owed the most, the smaller of the two amounts. Repeat until every balance is 0
- This takes at most people sharing minus 1 payments. Ties go to the lowest person number
When to use this calculator
Use it when several people each paid for part of a shared cost and everyone owes an equal share. A weekend rental where one person paid for the house and another for groceries is the usual case. The calculator shows who is owed, who owes, and the payments that square everyone up.
It assumes equal shares. If the only question is what one total comes to per head, the split bill calculator is quicker.
How the calculator works
Three steps, all done in whole cents:
- Fair share. Add up everything the group paid and divide by the number of people sharing. Someone who paid nothing still counts as a person.
- Balance. Subtract the fair share from what each person paid. A positive balance means the person is owed that much. A negative balance means they owe it. All the balances add up to zero, and the last line of the results shows that sum.
- Payments. The person who owes the most pays the person who is owed the most. The amount is the smaller of the debt and the credit, so at least one of them is settled. Repeat until every balance is zero. When two people tie, the lower person number goes first.
Every payment settles at least one person and the last one settles two, so a group of N people never needs more than N minus 1 payments. Someone whose balance is zero makes and receives no payment.
Worked example: five friends at a lake house
Say five friends share a weekend. Person 1 paid $150 for the house, Person 2 paid $90 for groceries and Person 3 paid $60 for gas and firewood. Persons 4 and 5 paid nothing. That is $300 in total, so the fair share is $300 ÷ 5 = $60.
Persons 1 and 2 are owed money, Persons 4 and 5 owe it, and Person 3 paid exactly a fair share.
| Person | Paid | Balance |
|---|---|---|
| Person 1 | $150 | Owed $90 |
| Person 2 | $90 | Owed $30 |
| Person 3 | $60 | Even |
| Person 4 | $0 | Owes $60 |
| Person 5 | $0 | Owes $60 |
The payments, in order:
- Persons 4 and 5 both owe $60, so Person 4 goes first. Person 1 is owed the most, so Person 4 pays Person 1 $60. Person 1 is now owed $30.
- Person 5 still owes $60. Persons 1 and 2 are both owed $30 now, and the lower number wins the tie, so Person 5 pays Person 1 $30.
- Person 5 owes $30 and Person 2 is owed $30, so Person 5 pays Person 2 the last $30.
That is 3 payments for 5 people, against a ceiling of 4. Person 3 never pays or receives anything.
What happens to odd cents
When the total does not divide evenly, fair shares differ by a cent. Say Person 1 paid $70 for a group of three. $70 ÷ 3 is $23.333, so the shares are $23.34, $23.33 and $23.33, with the extra cent on the lowest person number.
Person 1 paid $70 against a fair share of $23.34, so Person 1 is owed $46.66. Persons 2 and 3 owe $23.33 each, which adds up to $46.66, and the balances still add to $0.00.
Common mistakes
- Entering personal purchases. Only what was bought for the whole group belongs here. Your own coffee stays out.
- Leaving out someone who paid nothing. They count in “People sharing”. Drop Persons 4 and 5 from the example above and the fair share jumps from $60 to $100.
- Typing amounts above the number of people. Amounts for people numbered higher than “People sharing” are ignored, and the calculator warns you.
- Mixing currencies. Enter every amount in one currency. The calculator does no conversion.
Keeping the balance without redoing the math
Running the numbers once for a weekend is fine. A household repeats them with every purchase. In an EvenOut group, each member sees their own balance with each person under Balances, and Simplify debts (on by default) reshuffles who pays whom so the group makes fewer payments while everyone’s total stays the same. Settle up records a payment. EvenOut does not move the money.
For the reasoning behind the steps, see how to figure out who owes who after shared expenses. Debts that already run between several people can be cut down with the debt simplification calculator, and how settling up works covers what recording a payment does and does not do.
Frequently asked questions
Is this the smallest possible number of payments?
Not always. The rule never needs more than the number of people minus 1 payments, but it does not test every combination. When three people are owed $40, $30 and $20 and two people owe $50 and $40, it makes 4 payments. The person owing $40 paying the person owed $40, and the person owing $50 paying $30 and $20, makes 3.
What if someone has already paid back part of what they owe?
Add that amount to what the sender paid and take it off what the receiver paid, then read the balances again. If Person 4 already sent Person 1 $20, Person 4's paid amount goes up by $20 and Person 1's goes down by $20.
What if there are more than six people?
The steps work for any number of people. Only this calculator stops at six. An EvenOut group holds up to 200 people, and its Simplify debts setting cuts down the number of payments the group makes.
Keep reading
- Guide How to figure out who owes who after shared expenses Add up what each person paid, divide by the people sharing, and subtract. Four friends and five expenses settle in 3 payments instead of 6 pairwise debts.
- Calculator Debt simplification calculator: the fewest payments for four people Enter up to six IOUs among four people and see the fewest payments that settle them. The example turns six IOUs worth $175 into 2 payments worth $95.
- Guide How simplify debts works, with worked examples Simplify debts cuts the payments a group needs without changing anyone's total. Six IOUs worth $105 become 3 payments worth $50, with the arithmetic shown.
- Calculator Split bill calculator with tax, tip and discount Enter the subtotal, discount, tax and tip to split one bill equally. See the tip on the pre-tax and post-tax amount side by side, to the cent.