How to split expenses as a couple

There are three ways to share household costs as a couple: 50/50, in proportion to what each of you earns, or with a joint pot. Here's how each one works, with real numbers, a calculator and a way to close the month without arguing.

Free, on Android, iPhone and in your browser.

The three ways to split

1. Fifty-fifty (50/50)

Every shared cost is split down the middle. It's the simplest option and works well when you earn roughly the same: no awkward maths, and everyone gets it straight away.

The trouble starts when salaries drift apart. If one of you takes home €2,400 and the other €1,600, paying €600 each in rent means 25% of one salary and 37.5% of the other. Equal isn't always fair.

2. In proportion to income

Each of you pays according to what you earn. You both make the same effort, even if it isn't the same amount. There's just one formula:

A's share (%) = A's income ÷ (A's income + B's income) × 100

Example: A takes home €2,400 a month and B €1,600. Together that's €4,000. A pays 2,400 ÷ 4,000 = 60% and B pays 1,600 ÷ 4,000 = 40%. With €1,500 of shared costs a month, A pays €900 and B €600. You both keep 62.5% of your pay for yourselves.

Use net income (what actually lands in your account). If there are bonuses, either spread them over the year or leave them out, but apply the same rule to both of you.

3. Joint account plus personal spending

Each of you pays a fixed amount into a joint account every month —50/50 or in proportion, as above— and rent, bills and groceries come out of it. Whatever stays in your own account is yours, no questions asked.

It works very well for fixed costs, but there's a catch: anything someone pays on their own card by mistake (Saturday's food shop, a dinner out) falls outside the pot. If it isn't written down, the pot balances at the end of the month but the couple doesn't.

Which expenses count and which don't

There's no official list: what matters is deciding together and writing it down. This is what most couples do:

Usually shared

• Rent or mortgage on the home you live in.
• Utilities: electricity, water, gas, internet and service charges.
• Groceries and household products.
• Going out together: dinners, the cinema and the streaming you both watch.
• Trips and weekends away together.

Usually personal

• Clothes, haircuts, the gym and your own hobbies.
• Your phone, your commute and little treats.
• Presents for your own family or friends.
• Debts or loans from before you moved in together.

There are grey areas —the car one of you uses more, the pet, presents from both of you. There's no right answer; the wrong one is not deciding. If you own the home 50/50, some couples pay the mortgage half each even when everything else is proportional.

How to settle up each month

When each of you pays for different things, you square up once a month. It takes five steps:

1. Choose the model. 50/50, proportional or joint pot. If proportional, work out the percentage from net income.
2. Agree which expenses are shared. List what counts and what doesn't, and keep it written down.
3. Log each expense when it's paid. Who paid, how much and whether it's shared or personal. Better on the spot than from memory.
4. Close the month with a single payment. Add up what each of you paid, compare it with each person's share, and whoever paid less sends the difference by bank transfer.
5. Review the percentage when pay changes. A promotion, losing a job or going part-time changes the split. Review it at least once a year.

Example: with a 60/40 split and €1,500 of costs, A's share is €900. If this month A paid €700 and B €800, A sends B €200 and you're even.

How Cuentas Claras does it

If you'd rather not do the maths by hand, Cuentas Claras handles everything above. It's the app for couples we've used as the example in this guide:

• Fixed couple split: 60/40 or whatever you agree, and every new expense is split that way automatically. You can also split 50/50, by exact amounts or by percentage, expense by expense.
• “Repeat every month”: rent, electricity or Netflix are added on their own every month, on the same day and with the same split, even if nobody opens the app.
• Month wrap-up: from the 25th to the 5th, the app shows what you spent that month and who pays whom, with a “Settle up now” button.
• Personal expenses: log them in the same group to keep track, but they don't count towards the split.
• Bizum or IBAN in one tap: copy the details of whoever's being paid, and the payment is closed when they confirm it.

It's free and works on Android, iPhone and in the browser. If you share a flat with more people, see shared flat expenses.

Frequently asked questions