Quick Links

Summary

  • Siri will calculate tips for you, just ask “$45.70 plus 20%” to get the amount, then follow up with “divide by three” to split.
  • The Apple Watch has a built-in feature for calculating tips and splitting bills efficiently.
  • iPhone users can download a shortcut to calculate tips and split bills effectively, which they can customize for the perfect tip percentage.

You could calculate tips and split bills manually, or you could use your iPhone or Apple Watch to do it for you. Here’s how.

Ask Siri to Calculate Your Tip

Let’s start with the easiest way: by asking Siri. Since Apple’s assistant is available on both devices (and your Mac, Apple Watch, HomePod, and so on), this is easy. Just trigger Siri by either saying “Hey Siri” or pressing the Side button (on an iPhone) or holding the Digital Crown (on a Watch) and saying “$45.70 plus 20%.”

Make sure what you say matches this perfectly, for example ” forty-five dollars seventy cents plus twenty percent” and Siri will understand and (hopefully) tell you $54.84. You can follow this up with “divide by three” or however many people are splitting the bill ($18.28 each).

Calculate Tips and Split Bills Using an Apple Watch

watchOS has a built-in feature that lets you calculate tips and split bills in no time. It’s available in the Calculator app and is pretty easy to use.

Remove Ads

Start by opening the Calculator app on your Apple Watch. Then, enter the amount of bill you want to calculate the tip on and split. Now, tap the “Tip” button—it’s the one to the left of the divide button.

Tip button in the watchOS Calculator app on an Apple Watch.

Next, with the Tip field highlighted in green, turn the Digital Crown up or down to change the tip percentage.

Choosing tip percentage on a bill in the Calculator app on an Apple Watch.

Finally, tap “People.” Then, use the Digital Crown to change the number of people splitting the bill, and you’ll see the split for each person at the bottom of the screen.

Remove Ads
Choosing number of people to split the bill with in the Calculator app on an Apple Watch.

Using an iPhone to Calculate Tips and Split Bills

Unlike the watchOS Calculator app, the iOS Calculator app doesn’t have a built-in tip and split feature. As such, you need to use the Calculate Tip & Split shortcut to calculate tips and split bills on your iPhone. For this, first, add the Calculate Tip & Split shortcut to the Shortcuts app library (via the ShortcutsGallery website).

Now, open the Shortcuts app. Locate and tap the “Calculate Tip & Split” shortcut to run it. If you don’t see the shortcut, make sure “All Shortcuts” is selected in the “Shortcuts” tab.

When you see a prompt asking for the total bill, enter the amount of bill you want to calculate the tip on and split and hit “Done.”

Entering the bill amount in the Calculate Tip & Split shortcut on an iPhone.
Remove Ads

Next, choose the percentage of the bill you’d like to tip.

Choosing tip percentage in the shortcut.

You’ll now see the tip and the total amount. Hit “OK.”

Calculate Tip & Split shortcut showing the tip and the total amount on a bill.

When prompted with the “Are You Splitting the Bill?” message, tap “Yes.”

Calculate Tip & Split shortcut asking if you'd like to split the bill.

Then, enter the number of people you’re splitting the bill with and hit “Done.”

Remove Ads
Entering the number of people to split a bill with in the Calculate Tip & Split shortcut.

You’ll now get the tip and each person’s share.

Calculate Tip & Split shortcut telling the total bill split with the tip.

By default, the lowest tip percentage you can calculate using the Calculate Tip & Split shortcut is 10%. But if you want, you can edit the shortcut to add 5% or your preferred percentage. To do this, tap the three dots in the top-right corner of the shortcut to open it.

Then, hit “Add New Item” on the “Choose From Menu With” card and type 5% (or your preferred percentage.) Drag it to the top of the list.

Remove Ads
Adding a new tip percentage in the Calculate Tip & Split shortcut on an iPhone.

After this, hit the search field, search for “Number,” and tap it to add it to the shortcut. It’ll be added to the bottom, so scroll down and drag it below the “Choose From Menu With” card under the 5% action. Tap the field and enter 0.05 (or the equivalent number for your preferred percentage tip.)

Adding the tip percentage equivalent number in the Calculate Tip & Split shortcut.

Hit “Done” to save the shortcut. You should now see the new tip percentage when you run the shortcut.

While you can run the Tip & Split shortcut from the Shortcuts app, you want it to be more easily accessible, especially if you think you’ll need to use it frequently. There are several ways to do this.

Remove Ads

For instance, you could set double-tap or triple-tap Back Tap gestures on your iPhone to run the shortcut. Or assign the shortcut to the Action Button if your iPhone has one. Alternatively, you can put the shortcut on a Shortcuts widget on your iPhone Home Screen.


If you go out to eat regularly with friends or colleagues, knowing how to calculate tips and split bills efficiently can make your life easier. While both methods work well, the ability to do it on the Apple Watch is really impressive since you can get the total split right from your wrist without having to pull out your iPhone every time you want to calculate a tip and split the bill.