RentCalc / Rent split
Rent split calculator
Split the rent between roommates by bedroom size, by income or evenly, add a premium for the room with its own bathroom, and share the utilities on top.
Alex pays
$984
per month, rent + utilities
The floor plan behind a fair split
Nobody rents only a bedroom. You also rent a share of the kitchen, the living room and the hallway. Resize the three bedrooms and move the common-space slider to see how much of a $2,400 rent should follow room size.
At 0% shared, the biggest room pays in strict proportion to its floor area, which punishes whoever has the large room for space everyone else walks through. At 100%, room size doesn't matter at all. Most households settle somewhere between 40% and 60%.
Choosing a method your roommates will agree to
- Equal: the right call when the bedrooms are similar and nobody has a private bathroom. It's also the easiest split to keep going for a whole lease.
- Bedroom size: measure each room (length × width), agree on the common-space share first, then let the numbers settle it. The calculator does the rest.
- Income: pays by ability rather than space, which suits couples or close friends with very different salaries. Revisit it when someone's pay changes.
- Premiums: put a flat monthly price on perks such as an en-suite bathroom, a balcony or a parking space before splitting. It stops a single feature from skewing the square-footage maths.
Whatever you choose, write it down, along with who pays which bill and what happens if someone moves out early. Most leases make every tenant "jointly and severally" liable, which means the landlord can collect the whole rent from any one of you.
Questions people ask
What is the fairest way to split rent with roommates?
When the rooms are about the same, an equal split is simplest. When they aren't, splitting by bedroom size is the most common "fair" method: the shared space (kitchen, living room, hallways) is divided equally and only the private part follows the bedroom square footage. Extras such as a private bathroom or parking spot can be added as a flat monthly premium.
How do you split rent by room size?
Pick how much of the rent pays for shared space (40–60% is typical), split that part equally, then divide the rest in proportion to each bedroom's square footage. A 150 sq ft room next to a 100 sq ft room pays 60% vs 40% of the private share.
Should couples pay more?
Often, yes. Two people use more of the shared space, hot water and utilities. A common approach is to treat the couple as 1.5 to 2 people for the shared portion. Here you can do that by adding a premium to their room.
How do you split rent by income?
Each person pays the same percentage of their income. Two roommates earning $60,000 and $40,000 would pay 60% and 40% of the rent. This is common for couples, less so for friends, because it ties rent to pay rather than to space.
How should utilities be split?
Most households split utilities equally, since usage is hard to measure per person. Enter them separately and they are divided evenly on top of the rent split.