Free, no account
Splitting rent by what each of you earns
Add both take-home figures together, work out what share of that total each person earns, and apply that share to the rent. On $4,200 and $3,100 with rent at $2,400, that is roughly $1,380 and $1,020 — and both people are handing over about 33% of what they earn. An even split would be 29% of one salary and 39% of the other, for the same flat.
58% of the rent · 33% of what they take home
42% of the rent · 33% of what they take home
Split down the middle instead and it would be $1,200 each, which is 29% of what Alex earns and 39% of what Sam earns. Same rent, different sting.
Opens on these exact numbers for whoever you send it to.
The two salaries from the worked example above. Replace them with yours and watch the percentage column, not the dollar column.
Take-home, not gross
Use what actually lands in the account. Gross salaries can be a long way apart in a way take-home is not, because tax is progressive — splitting on the headline figures usually overstates the gap and asks the higher earner for more than the method intends.
What the method does and does not claim
A proportional split is not more generous than an even one, it is differently distributed. The higher earner pays more dollars; both people give up the same slice of their month. Which of those two things you believe fairness means is the actual disagreement, and it is worth having out loud rather than through the rent.
The percentage column is there for that conversation. Most people cannot feel the difference between $1,200 and $1,380, and everybody can feel the difference between 29% and 39% of what they earn.
Decide now what happens when a salary moves
A raise, a redundancy, a switch to freelance. Agree today whether the split recalculates automatically when the numbers change or gets renegotiated each time. Both answers work; not having one means the change arrives and the split silently stays where it was.
Questions people ask
- Should you split rent by gross or take-home income?
- Take-home. Tax is progressive, so gross figures usually overstate the gap between two salaries and ask the higher earner for more than the proportional method actually intends.
- Is splitting rent by income fairer than splitting it evenly?
- Neither is objectively fairer — they answer different questions. An even split means the same dollars leave both accounts; a proportional split means the same share of each month does. Deciding which of those you mean by fair is the real conversation.
Other ways to split it
- Splitting rent by room sizeWork out each room's share of the rent by square footage, then adjust for the ensuite. Free calculator, no account, and a link you can send to the house.
- Splitting rent three waysThree people, one rent, and a number that rarely divides cleanly. Even, by income or by room size, with the leftover cents handled. No account needed.
- When somebody moves out mid-monthProrating the last month, redividing the rent between whoever is left, and what happens to the deposit. Calculator for the new split, no account needed.
Agreeing it once is the easy half
Applying it to the rent, the power, the internet and the four subscriptions, every month, is the half that needs help. Pairly holds the split and does that part — no bank connection, no card to start.