Inflation Made Bill Splitting the Norm: How 85 Million Americans Are Managing Rising Dining Costs

The Inflation-Splitting Connection

Something fundamental shifted in how Americans handle shared expenses over the past three years, and the catalyst was not a new app or a social media trend. It was inflation. According to a Nasdaq-cited study, 47% of U.S. payment app users adopted bill-splitting features specifically because of rising prices. When restaurant meals, groceries, and everyday costs began climbing relentlessly, Americans did what practical people do: they found ways to share the burden.

The result is staggering: over 85 million U.S. adults used a bill-splitting app at least once in 2024. That is roughly one in three American adults, up from a fraction of that figure just five years earlier. Bill splitting has gone from a convenience feature buried in payment apps to a mainstream financial behavior that millions rely on weekly.

This is not just about splitting a dinner check. The inflation-driven bill-splitting movement encompasses rent, utilities, subscription services, group travel, and shared household expenses. When the cost of living rises across every category simultaneously, splitting becomes a survival strategy, not just an etiquette question.

The $1.55 Trillion Restaurant Industry

To understand why bill splitting has become essential, you need to understand what has happened to restaurant prices. The National Restaurant Association projects that restaurant and foodservice sales will reach $1.55 trillion in 2026—a record figure that reflects both growing demand and significantly higher prices.

The numbers are sobering. Full-service restaurant menu prices rose 4.7% year-over-year as of January 2026. Limited-service (fast food and fast casual) prices increased 3.2% over the same period. Restaurant meal prices overall climbed more than 3% in 2025, and food-away-from-home costs are projected to increase an additional 4.6% in 2026.

Perhaps the most striking figure: food costs at restaurants are now approximately 35% above pre-pandemic levels. A dinner that cost your group $120 in 2019 now costs $162 for the same items. That $42 difference is not trivial when you are dining out weekly or even biweekly. Over the course of a year, the accumulated price increase can reach well into the thousands of dollars.

Restaurant inflation has also outpaced grocery store inflation. In 2025, eating out became nearly twice as expensive on an inflation-adjusted basis compared to cooking at home. This widening gap has pushed more Americans to be deliberate about their dining-out spending, and bill splitting is one of the primary tools they are using to maintain their social dining habits without breaking their budgets.

Why restaurants keep raising prices

Restaurant price increases are driven by a combination of factors that show no signs of abating: labor costs (minimum wage increases across many states), food supply chain pressures, commercial real estate costs, and the lingering effects of pandemic-era supply disruptions. Restaurants operate on thin margins—typically 3-5% profit—and pass cost increases directly to consumers.

State of Bill Splitting in 2026

The following table summarizes the key data points that define the current state of bill splitting in America. These figures paint a picture of a behavior that has moved from niche to mainstream in just a few years.

Gen Z Leading the Charge

While bill splitting has grown across all demographics, Gen Z is leading the charge. A remarkable 50% of Gen Z adults make group payments on a daily basis—not weekly, not monthly, but daily. This generation has normalized expense sharing to a degree that previous generations would find astonishing.

Several factors explain Gen Z's outsized role in the bill-splitting boom:

• Digital-native behavior: Gen Z has never known a world without Venmo, Zelle, and Cash App. Sending money to a friend is as natural as sending a text message. The friction that made older generations reluctant to split small amounts simply does not exist for them.
• Economic reality: Gen Z entered the workforce during or immediately after the pandemic, facing elevated living costs from day one. They never experienced the lower-price baseline that millennials remember. Splitting is not a response to inflation for them; it is the default financial behavior they grew up with.
• Social norms: In Gen Z social circles, splitting is expected, not awkward. The social stigma that once surrounded asking to split a bill has evaporated. Requesting your share on Venmo after a meal is as routine as saying thank you.
• Shared living: With housing costs at record levels, more Gen Z adults live with roommates, creating daily opportunities for shared expenses beyond just dining out.

Among millennials, the adoption rate is also significant: 42% regularly use digital expense-sharing tools. The difference is that millennials adopted these tools reactively (in response to rising costs), while Gen Z adopted them natively (as the default way to handle money among friends).

App Market Explosion

The behavioral shift toward bill splitting has created a booming market for splitting technology. The global bill splitting apps market was valued at $612 million in 2025 and is projected to reach $1.25 billion by 2033, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7-8.4%.

This growth is being driven by several technological trends:

• OCR receipt scanning: Modern splitting apps can photograph a receipt and automatically identify individual items, tax, and tip, assigning costs to specific people without manual entry.
• AI expense categorization: Apps now automatically categorize shared expenses (dining, transportation, groceries, entertainment) and track spending patterns over time.
• Multi-currency support: With international travel rebounding, splitting apps have added robust currency conversion features, settling debts across currencies at real-time exchange rates.
• Integration with payment platforms: Splitting features are being built directly into Venmo, Cash App, Apple Pay, and Google Pay, eliminating the need for separate splitting apps.
• Group ledgers: Advanced platforms maintain ongoing balances among groups of friends, roommates, or travel companions, settling net amounts rather than individual transactions.

The market is also seeing consolidation. Major payment platforms are acquiring or building splitting features to keep users within their ecosystems, while dedicated splitting apps like Splitwise continue to deepen their functionality with subscription-tier features like automated reminders, recurring expense tracking, and financial reports.

Comparing Bill Splitting Methods

Not all splitting methods are created equal. The right approach depends on the situation, the group dynamic, and the size of the price differences involved. Here is how the three primary methods compare.

When equal splitting costs you more

Equal splitting is the fastest and most socially frictionless method, but it systematically disadvantages lighter spenders. If you ordered a $15 salad and water while the table average was $45 per person including cocktails, an equal split costs you three times what you actually consumed. Over a year of weekly group dinners, this can add up to hundreds of dollars in overpayment.

The math is simple: if you dine out with friends twice a month and the equal split overcharges you by an average of $15 each time, that is $360 per year you are subsidizing others' meals. Switching to itemized splitting in high-variance situations can recover that money without creating social friction—especially when you use a calculator tool that makes the process fast and transparent.

When proportional splitting makes sense

Proportional splitting, where shares are adjusted based on income or agreed-upon percentages, is most appropriate for recurring expenses among people with significantly different earning power. This method is particularly common among roommates splitting rent and utilities, couples with income disparities sharing household costs, and friend groups where one member recently lost a job or is still in school.

The key to proportional splitting is transparency and agreement. The arrangement should be discussed openly, agreed upon by all parties, and documented. Without clear communication, proportional splitting can breed resentment from higher earners who feel they are subsidizing others, or guilt from lower earners who feel like a burden.

Smart Strategies to Save

With restaurant prices 35% above pre-pandemic levels and still climbing, here are practical strategies to maintain your social dining life without overspending.

1. Set a personal spending cap before you go out

Decide your budget before you see the menu. If your cap is $30, order within that range regardless of what others order. When the bill comes, request an itemized split. You stay within budget, and no one else is affected.

2. Use a splitting calculator for every group meal

The two-minute investment of entering items into a bill-splitting calculator saves real money over time. Tools like N-Bang calculate each person's share including tax and tip, eliminating the guesswork and social discomfort of mental math at the table.

3. Alternate who covers shared items

For groups that regularly share appetizers, bottles of wine, or desserts, establish a rotation for who covers the shared items. Over time, this balances out without requiring per-item accounting at every meal.

4. Take advantage of happy hours and specials

Group dining during happy hours can reduce the per-person cost by 20-40%. When the bill is already lower, the difference between equal and itemized splitting shrinks, making the social experience easier and cheaper for everyone.

5. Cook together more often

The most effective way to manage dining costs with friends is to shift some meals from restaurants to homes. Group cooking sessions cost a fraction of restaurant meals and can be equally social. Split the grocery bill using the same apps you would use at a restaurant.

6. Track your dining spending monthly

The average American family spends $3,639 per year on food away from home, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Most people underestimate their restaurant spending by 30-50%. Tracking your actual numbers, including your share of split bills, creates awareness that naturally moderates spending.

Frequently Asked Questions