Split electricity, water and internet between housemates

Utility bills arrive at different times, from different companies, and usually in one person’s name. The utility bill splitter above turns each bill, or the whole month’s bills added together, into an exact share for every housemate. It works for electricity, water, gas, internet and any other bill the house shares.

Most of the time an even split is the fair answer. Below is a worked example for a typical month, a table for the cases where it is not, and a simple way to split by days at home.

How to use the utility bill splitter

1. Type the bill amount, or the month’s bills added together, as the Bill total.
2. Set Number of people to the number of housemates sharing the bill.
3. Leave the tip on No tip.
4. Read Each person pays, and the note that says who pays the extra cent when it does not divide evenly.
5. Tap Share result to post the split in the house group chat.

Worked example: one month, three housemates

Aisha, Ben and Carlos share a flat. This month’s bills:

Bill	Amount
Electricity	$142.18
Water	$63.40
Internet	$59.99
Gas	$48.75
Total	$314.32

Enter $314.32 and 3 people. The exact share is $104.7733, which no one can pay. The calculator works in cents: 31,432 ÷ 3 is 10,477 cents each with 1 cent left, so one person pays $104.78 and two pay $104.77. Check: $104.78 + $104.77 + $104.77 = $314.32.

Splitting one bill at a time works the same way. The $59.99 internet bill is 5,999 cents, which is 1,999 cents each with 2 cents left, so two people pay $20.00 and one pays $19.99.

Take turns with the extra cent. It is only a cent, but if the same person always pays it, rotate it, or let the person who holds the account keep it.

When an even split is not fair

Bill	Usual fair split	When to change it
Internet	Evenly	Almost never
Water	Evenly	Someone away for a week or more
Electricity	Evenly	Away for part of the month, home office heater, electric car charging
Heating or gas	Evenly	Away for part of the month
Streaming services	Only the people who watch	When someone does not use it

Splitting by days at home. Carlos was away for 10 days of a 30 day month, so he was home 20 days. Aisha and Ben were home all 30. Split the $142.18 electricity bill by days: 30 + 30 + 20 = 80 days in total.

Housemate	Days at home	Arithmetic	Pays
Aisha	30	$142.18 × 30 ÷ 80 = $53.3175	$53.32
Ben	30	$142.18 × 30 ÷ 80 = $53.3175	$53.32
Carlos	20	$142.18 × 20 ÷ 80 = $35.545	$35.54
Total	80		$142.18

The same method works when someone moves in or out in the middle of a billing period.

Heavy users. If one person works from home with a heater running all day, a simple fix is to agree a fixed extra amount each winter month and split the rest evenly. It avoids arguing over meter readings every month.

When a calculator is not enough

Utilities are a monthly routine, and the person who holds the accounts can end up a few hundred dollars out of pocket without noticing. Half Tab keeps a group for the house: add each bill when it arrives, record who paid, and split it equally, by exact amounts, by percentage or by shares, which is how you enter the 30, 30 and 20 days above. Leave a housemate out of a bill they do not share, like a streaming service. The app keeps a running balance and shows the fewest payments to settle up. It works offline on iPhone and iPad, and housemates do not need the app unless they add bills themselves.

More calculators and guides

• The rent split calculator for rent by room size or income.
• The couples expense calculator if you share the bills with a partner.
• The main split bill calculator.
• Our guide on how to split bills with roommates.