Rent Split Calculator
Split rent between roommates or partners by income, evenly, by bedroom size (with shared space and couples), or a blend of income and even — plus room premiums, shared bills and each person’s rent-to-income ratio.
How it works
By income: share = rent × (income ÷ combined income) · Evenly: share = rent ÷ people · By room size: room = rent × (1 − shared%) × (room size ÷ total bedroom size) + rent × shared% × (people in room ÷ all people) · Blend: share = rent × [b × income ÷ combined income + (1 − b) ÷ people] · Premiums are taken off the rent first and added back to the person who has them
Pick how you want to split. By income gives everyone the same fraction of the rent as their share of the household’s combined income, so rent takes a similar bite out of each paycheck — use the same basis for everyone (all gross or all take-home). Evenly divides the rent by the number of people. By room size prices the bedrooms by floor area and splits the shared space — kitchen, living room, shared bathrooms — equally per person, so a couple in one room pays one room plus two shares of the common area. Blend puts part of the rent through the income split and the rest evenly, a middle ground many couples choose. Room premiums (a private bathroom, a parking space) come off the top and are added back to whoever has them, and shared bills can be split evenly or in the same proportions as the rent. Amounts are rounded to the cent so they always add up to the rent, and the table shows each person’s yearly cost and, when incomes are entered, rent plus bills as a share of gross income.
Worked example
$2,400 rent between incomes of $60,000 and $45,000: combined $105,000. Person 1 pays 60/105 of the rent = $1,371.43; Person 2 pays $1,028.57. An even split would be $1,200 each. A 50% blend instead gives $1,285.71 and $1,114.29. By room size with bedrooms of 180, 140 and 110 sq ft and 50% for shared space, the $1,200 bedroom part costs $2.791 per sq ft and the shared $1,200 is $400 a person, so the rooms pay $902.32, $790.70 and $706.98 (rounded so they add up to exactly $2,400).
Frequently asked questions
Is splitting by income actually fair?
It’s one common definition of fair — equal burden rather than equal dollars. Alternatives are a straight even split, splitting by room size and amenities, or a blend of income and even. Many households combine approaches; the right one is whatever everyone agrees to before signing.
Should we use gross or take-home income?
Either works as long as everyone uses the same basis. Take-home reflects real capacity better when tax situations differ a lot (e.g. one person has heavy student-loan withholding).
How do I split rent when the bedrooms are different sizes?
Choose By room size and enter each bedroom’s floor area. The shared-space percentage decides how much of the rent covers the kitchen, living room and shared bathrooms, which everyone uses equally; that part is split per person and the rest by bedroom size. Around 30% to 50% is typical — 0% charges purely by bedroom size, which can make a small room almost free.
How should a couple sharing a room pay?
Enter 2 in People in each bedroom for their room. They pay for one bedroom plus two shares of the common area, and the result shows the amount for each of them — usually less per person than a single in a room of the same size.
What about a private bathroom or parking space?
Put a monthly value on it in Room premiums, e.g. 150 for an en-suite. The calculator takes premiums off the rent, splits the rest with your chosen method, then adds each premium to the person who has the perk. A minus sign gives a discount, say for a room with no window.
How much of my income should go on rent?
A common guideline is no more than about 30% of gross income on housing. When you split by income or blend, the table shows each person’s rent plus bills as a percentage of their gross monthly income and flags anyone above 30%.
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This calculator is for educational purposes. Double-check important results before acting on them.