Calculate each person's share of the rent
Pick the method that matches how your home thinks about fairness. Room size is the default when the bedrooms aren't equal, income keeps the burden even when the salaries aren't, and occupancy is the one that finally answers what the couple in the master bedroom should pay.
Enter the rent and at least two rows to see the shares.
Which rent split method should you use?
Each method answers a different version of "what's fair here?" — and the right one depends on what's actually unequal in your flat: the rooms, the incomes, or the headcount.
- By room size: add up the private bedroom areas, ignore the shared space, and give each room its share of the total. A 20 m² room out of 45 m² of bedrooms pays 20/45 of the rent. The best default when rooms differ and incomes are in the same ballpark.
- By income: everyone pays the same percentage of their net income, so rent takes an equal bite out of every paycheck. The honest choice when one person earns much more — it does mean putting rough income numbers on the table.
- By occupancy: half the rent buys the private rooms and splits per room; half buys the shared home and splits per person. It's the cleanest answer to the classic question of what a couple sharing one bedroom owes — more than one single roommate, well short of double.
Rent split examples: one $2,400 apartment, three methods
To see how much the method matters, take one three-bedroom apartment at $2,400 a month and run it all three ways.
The totals always add back to $2,400; what moves is who carries the difference. Run your own numbers in the calculator above, then compare the result with a plain even split ($800 each here). If a method moves someone a long way from even, agree on the reason out loud before anyone signs.
| Method | Inputs | Result |
|---|---|---|
| By room size | Rooms of 18, 14, and 10 m² | $1,029 · $800 · $571 |
| By income | Take-home pay of $3,000, $4,000, and $5,000 | $600 · $800 · $1,000 |
| By occupancy | A couple in one room, two singles | $1,000 for the couple ($500 each) · $700 · $700 |
What else should change the split?
The three methods cover most homes. A few recurring cases need a small adjustment on top of the result:
- An ensuite bathroom or a balcony. Add a flat premium to that room and take it off the others equally, instead of inventing a new method.
- Parking or storage only one person uses. Price it separately, at roughly what it costs locally, and deduct it from everyone else.
- Someone working from home in the living room. If shared space has become one person's office most of the week, a small premium is fairer than a quiet grudge.
- Moving in mid-month. Divide the monthly share by the days in the month and multiply by the days actually lived there: $800 × 17/30 = $453 for someone arriving on the 14th of a 30-day month.
What do you do with the number?
Agree on it before anyone signs, write it down where the whole flat can see it, and decide in the same conversation whether the other bills follow the same shares: fixed housing charges often should, since they scale with the apartment like rent, while the everyday utilities usually split evenly. The full methodology behind all three methods, with worked examples and the arguments each one prevents, lives in how to split rent with roommates.
The split is a one-time decision; the tracking is every month, forever. Homies, the app for running a shared home, picks up where the calculator stops: log a shared bill once, the split applies automatically, and the whole home settles in one transfer each on a fixed day — alongside the chores and the shopping list. It's in closed beta now on iPhone and Android — join now to get in early — free while we build it, with one signup covering the whole home.
Frequently asked questions
How do you split rent fairly when bedrooms are different sizes?
Weight the rent by room size: add up the private bedroom areas, ignore the shared space, and give each room its share of the total. The calculator above does the math — enter the total rent and each room's square meters, and the shares come out exact.
How should a couple sharing one room split rent with roommates?
Use the occupancy method: half the rent splits per room and half per person. The couple's bedroom pays one room share like every other bedroom, and the two of them split their room's total — so together they pay more than a single roommate, but each of them pays clearly less.
Should roommates split rent by income?
When incomes are far apart, yes: add up everyone's net income and charge each person the same fraction of the rent, so it eats the same percentage of every paycheck. It requires sharing rough numbers, which is why many flats split rent by income and everything else evenly.
Is this rent split calculator free?
Yes — free, no signup, and it runs entirely in your browser, so nothing you type is sent anywhere. It's built by the team behind Homies, the app that handles the rest of the month. Homies is in closed beta — the first homes get in early and help shape v1, free during the beta, and pricing will be announced before the beta ends.
How do you prorate rent when a roommate moves in mid-month?
Divide their monthly share by the number of days in that month, then multiply by the days they actually live there. An $800 share in a 30-day month, moving in on the 14th, is 17 days: $800 × 17/30 = $453. Agree up front whether move-in day itself counts.
Let Homies run it for you
What these guides set up by hand, the app runs on its own: the chore chart fills itself, balances settle in a tap, and the shopping list stays current for everyone. Homies is in closed beta now: join and you're in early, free while we build it.