Restaurant Bill Calculator

Splitting a restaurant bill should not ruin the end of a great meal. Jig calculates each diner's fair share in seconds, including tax and tip.

The End-of-Meal Problem

Restaurant bills are uniquely tricky to split. Unlike a simple purchase, a restaurant check includes line items at different prices, shared appetizers and sides, drinks that only some people ordered, tax calculated on the subtotal, and a tip on top of everything. Splitting it “evenly” punishes the person who ordered the cheapest dish. Splitting it “by item” manually takes forever.

Jig is a free restaurant bill calculator designed specifically for this problem. You snap a photo of the check, the AI reads every item, you assign items to diners, and Jig does the rest. Tax and tip are distributed proportionally, shared items are split among the right people, and everyone gets a link showing exactly what they owe.

How to Split a Restaurant Bill with Jig

  1. Photograph the check. When the bill arrives, snap a photo with your phone. Jig works with receipts from any restaurant — fast food to fine dining.
  2. Review the AI scan. Jig's AI extracts every item name, price, tax, and tip from the receipt. Review the results and make any corrections if needed.
  3. Add your dining group. Enter each person's name. Whether it is a date night for two or a birthday dinner for fifteen, Jig handles any group size.
  4. Assign items. Tap each menu item and select who ordered it. If three of you shared the nachos, assign that item to all three and Jig splits it evenly among you.
  5. Share the results. Jig generates a link showing each person's total with an itemized breakdown. Share it with the group and everyone can pay through Venmo with one tap.

Handling Common Restaurant Scenarios

Shared Appetizers

Ordered a plate of wings for the table? Assign that item to everyone who ate them. Jig divides the cost equally among those people and factors it into their subtotal before calculating tax and tip.

Drinks vs. Non-Drinkers

One of the most common sources of bill-splitting friction is alcohol. Some people order cocktails and wine while others stick to water. With Jig, drinks are assigned to whoever ordered them. Non-drinkers do not subsidize the bar tab.

Large Parties

Large group dinners are where manual bill splitting truly falls apart. With ten or more people, the receipt is long, the math is complex, and the chance of errors multiplies. Jig handles large parties effortlessly — the AI reads the entire receipt regardless of length, and the assignment interface scales to any group size.

Automatic Gratuity

Many restaurants add automatic gratuity for large parties, typically 18-20%. Jig recognizes this on the receipt and distributes it proportionally just like any other tip. If the group wants to add additional tip on top, that works too.

Tax on Different Items

In some states, food and alcohol are taxed at different rates. Jig reads the total tax from the receipt and distributes it proportionally based on each person's share of the subtotal. The result is fair and accurate without anyone having to look up local tax rates.

Fair Tax and Tip Distribution

The hardest part of splitting a restaurant bill is not dividing the food — it is handling tax and tip fairly. Jig uses proportional distribution for both. If your food cost 40% of the subtotal, you pay 40% of the tax and 40% of the tip. This is mathematically the fairest approach and matches how restaurants themselves calculate auto-gratuity.

Want to understand the math in more detail? Check out our tip calculator guide with worked examples.

Better Than Splitting Evenly

Splitting the bill evenly is the default at most group dinners because it is easy, not because it is fair. When one person orders a salad and another orders a steak with two cocktails, an even split means the salad person is subsidizing the steak person's meal.

Jig makes item-level splitting just as easy as an even split. Assigning items takes about thirty seconds, and the result is a split where everyone pays for exactly what they ordered. No awkward conversations, no resentment, no overpaying.

Read more about restaurant bill splitting strategies in our restaurant use case guide or our blog post on how to split a restaurant bill.

Split Your Restaurant Bill Now

Snap a photo of the check. Jig handles the rest. Free, no account needed.

Start Splitting Now