Tip calculator
Tip, service charge and per-person split — worked out before the card machine reaches you.
| Tip you are adding | £8.45 |
|---|---|
| Total to pay | £92.95 |
| Each person pays | £23.24 |
| What you are really tipping | 10.0% |
Check the bill before you tip
The most common tipping mistake in the UK is not the percentage — it is tipping twice. Many restaurants add a "discretionary service charge" of 12.5% to the bill, and the card terminal then offers a tip prompt on top of that. Unless the service was exceptional, that is 25%.
Look for a line reading service charge, optional service or gratuity before deciding.
Your rights on service charges (UK)
- Discretionary means optional. If the bill says discretionary, you can ask for it to be removed and the restaurant should comply.
- Compulsory charges must be flagged up front. A mandatory charge has to be made clear before you order, typically on the menu.
- Tips must now reach staff in full. The Employment (Allocation of Tips) Act 2023 came into force on 1 October 2024. Employers must pass on 100% of tips and service charges to workers and keep a written policy you can ask to see.
- Poor service is a separate issue. If the food or service was genuinely below standard, that is a complaint to raise, not something to communicate silently through the tip line.
Rough guide to UK tipping
| Situation | Usual |
|---|---|
| Sit-down restaurant | 10–12.5%, or nothing extra if service charge already added |
| Ordering at the bar in a pub | Not expected |
| Café / coffee shop | Not expected; change in the jar if you like |
| Takeaway collection | Not expected |
| Food delivery | £1–3, or 10% |
| Taxi | Rounding up is normal |
| Hairdresser | Around 10%, common but not obligatory |
| Hotel housekeeping | £2–5 per night, left at the end |
Norms differ sharply abroad. The US expects 18–22% at restaurants because tipped wages are lower. Japan does not tip at all and it can cause genuine awkwardness. Much of continental Europe rounds up rather than percentages.
Splitting the bill without an argument
Even split
Simplest, and fine when everyone ordered similarly. Divide total including tip by the number of people, then round each share up to the nearest pound — the small surplus covers the person who ends up paying the card.
By what each person had
Fairer when one person had three courses and another had a salad. Apply the tip and service charge proportionally to each person's subtotal rather than splitting them evenly, or the light eater subsidises the tip too.
One card, then transfers
Usually the least painful. One person pays, everyone sends their share. Round up when you send — the payer has taken on the risk and the admin.
The calculation happens in your browser, works with no signal in a restaurant basement, and leaves no record on any server.
Common questions
Cash or card?
Since October 2024 employers must pass on card tips in full, so the old advice to always tip in cash matters less than it did. Cash still reaches the individual most directly.
Do I tip on the drinks too?
Convention is to tip on the whole bill, though some people exclude an expensive bottle of wine on the grounds that carrying it took no more effort than carrying a cheap one. Both are defensible.
Is it rude not to tip in the UK?
Less so than in the US, and it is not expected everywhere. Removing a discretionary service charge because the service was poor is entirely legitimate.
Related calculators
Everyday maths and time: Percentage calculator · Discount calculator · Unit converter · Date calculator · Age calculator · Time zone converter · Pomodoro timer · QR code generator
More free tools
Unit converter · Subscription tracker · UK tax estimator · Net worth tracker · Discount calculator
Palarid is free and private. See all tools → · Embed this calculator · Trust Centre · About