# Tip calculator: how much to tip, by service

> Free US tip calculator using customary ranges for restaurants, delivery, rideshare, salons, bartenders, housekeeping, valets and movers. Split and round up.

URL: https://courteo.us/tip-calculator/
Type: Interactive tool (works in any browser; core guidance is in the text below)

## How the calculator decides

Each service carries the customary US range from our [tipping guide](https://courteo.us/tipping-guide/), which follows the [Emily Post Institute’s general tipping guide](https://emilypost.com/advice/general-tipping-guide). The quality slider places you inside that range rather than beyond it: good service lands in the middle, exceptional service at the top. For services tipped by the night, the car or the drink, the calculator multiplies the customary dollar amount instead of using a percentage.

Two services get words, not numbers. A bellhop customarily receives “a few dollars per bag,” and a moving crew’s tip “varies by job.” Rather than make up a figure, the calculator shows the guidance our sources give.

## Why US tips are so large

In the United States, the tip is often part of a worker’s wage rather than a bonus. Federal rules let employers pay tipped workers a cash wage as low as $2.13 an hour and count tips toward the rest of the minimum wage ([29 CFR Part 531](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-29/subtitle-B/chapter-V/subchapter-B/part-531)). Many states require more, but the custom of tipping a sit-down server 15–20% grew up around that structure.

- **72%** say tipping is expected in more places than five years ago [Pew, 2023](https://www.pewresearch.org/2023/11/09/tipping-culture-in-america-public-sees-a-changed-landscape/)
- **35%** of diners typically tip 20% or more [Bankrate, 2025](https://www.bankrate.com/personal-finance/tipping-survey/)
- **38%** are annoyed by pre-entered tip screens [Bankrate, 2025](https://www.bankrate.com/press-releases/63-of-americans-have-a-negative-view-about-tipping-with-41-saying-tipping-culture-has-gotten-out-of-control/)

## What people actually tip

Customary ranges and real behavior differ, and it helps to know both. In Pew Research Center’s 2023 survey, [57% of adults said they would leave 15% or less for an average meal](https://www.pewresearch.org/2023/11/09/tipping-culture-in-america-public-sees-a-changed-landscape/), while about a quarter would leave 20% or more. Bankrate’s 2025 survey found that [35% of diners typically tip 20% or more](https://www.bankrate.com/personal-finance/tipping-survey/), with a steep generational gradient: 16% of Gen Z versus 49% of baby boomers.

The calculator shows the etiquette range, not the average. Where you land inside it is yours to decide.

## Splitting the bill gracefully

- **Agree on the tip first.** Settle the percentage before anyone pays so one person isn’t left topping up a short tip.
- **Tip on the pre-discount value.** If someone used a coupon or a gift card, base the tip on what the meal would have cost.
- **Large table, upper range.** Many restaurants add an automatic gratuity for six or more; if they don’t, large parties take more work and the upper end of the range is kind.
- **Check for a service charge.** If gratuity is already included, an additional tip is not expected.

> **Working the other side of the counter?**

> If you’re the one receiving tips, many restaurants pool them among staff. The free [tip pool calculator from All Things AI](https://allthingsn.com/tools/tip-pool-calculator/) divides a pool by hours, points or equally, to the cent.

For the full reasoning behind each range, read the [US tipping guide](https://courteo.us/tipping-guide/). Traveling? Customs abroad can be the opposite of home; try the [tipping-around-the-world explorer](https://courteo.us/tipping-abroad/#explorer). And for the people who help you all year, see [holiday tipping](https://courteo.us/holiday-tipping/).

## Sources

- [Emily Post Institute — General Tipping Guide](https://emilypost.com/advice/general-tipping-guide)
- [Pew Research Center — Tipping Culture in America: Public Sees a Changed Landscape (Nov. 2023)](https://www.pewresearch.org/2023/11/09/tipping-culture-in-america-public-sees-a-changed-landscape/)
- [Bankrate — Tipping survey 2025 (YouGov, 2,277 U.S. adults, April 2025)](https://www.bankrate.com/personal-finance/tipping-survey/)
- [Bankrate — Press release: 63% of Americans have a negative view about tipping (June 2025)](https://www.bankrate.com/press-releases/63-of-americans-have-a-negative-view-about-tipping-with-41-saying-tipping-culture-has-gotten-out-of-control/)
- [eCFR — 29 CFR Part 531 (tip credit and $2.13 cash wage)](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-29/subtitle-B/chapter-V/subchapter-B/part-531)

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Courteous (courteo.us) — Modern manners, researched. Markdown version of https://courteo.us/tip-calculator/