How to split trip costs when not everyone is there every day
Four of you rent a house from Friday to Sunday. Bea can't make it until Saturday. Carlos skips Friday dinner because he arrives late. And someone says the usual thing: "let's just split it evenly".
Even is easy, but it isn't fair. Bea pays for a night she didn't stay and Carlos for a dinner he never ate. Nobody says anything, but everybody notices.
The rule that works
Each cost is split among the people who actually had it:
- The house, by nights. Two nights pay twice what one night pays.
- Each meal, among those at that meal. Friday dinner, among those having Friday dinner.
- A day's cost, among those there that day. Saturday's outing, among those there on Saturday.
- Things for the whole trip (oil, salt, coffee), by how many meals each person has, or among the people you pick.
An example
Ana, Bea, Carlos and Dani. The house costs €300 for two nights (Friday and Saturday). Bea arrives for Saturday lunch, so she stays one night; the rest, two. That's 7 person-nights: about €42.86 per night.
| Nights | House | |
|---|---|---|
| Ana | 2 | €85.71 |
| Bea | 1 | €42.86 |
| Carlos | 2 | €85.71 |
| Dani | 2 | €85.71 |
Friday dinner costs €45 and only Ana and Dani have it, so it's €22.50 each. Split evenly, Bea and Carlos would have paid €11.25 for a dinner they never ate, and Bea €75 for the house instead of €42.86.
You can do this in a spreadsheet. With ten costs, five meals and someone leaving on Sunday morning, good luck.
How Cobote does it
Cobote is a free web app for the money of a group with dates: a trip, a weekend away, a stag or hen do. No sign-up, nothing to install: create the trip, share the link on WhatsApp and everyone joins from their phone.
- In the Plan, everyone ticks the meals they'll be at (breakfast, lunch and dinner each day). One tap removes a meal or a whole day.
- The house is split by nights automatically, from those meals.
- Each meal's costs are split among those at that meal. Extras with a day, among those there that day; without a day, by meals. And you can always pick the people by hand.
- In Balance you get the fewest payments to settle up ("Ana pays Dani €23") and, tapping someone, where their share comes from.
Cobote only keeps track: it never charges or moves money. And besides costs, it keeps the shopping list and the games' pot in the same balance.