The short answer
Agree on one group currency before you leave. Log each expense with who paid and who it was for, and convert it at that day's rate. At the end, compare what each person paid with their share, then settle with as few payments as you can.
Four steps that keep a trip fair
Agree on a group currency
Usually it's the one most of the group uses at home. Every expense gets converted to it, so you can compare them.
Log expenses as they happen
Write down the amount, who paid and who it was for. It's far easier than rebuilding the trip from memory and bank statements.
Include what was paid before the trip
Flights, hotels and tickets booked weeks earlier are the easiest ones to forget, and usually the biggest.
Settle up soon after you're home
Do it while everyone still remembers the trip, and in one go instead of after every meal.
Which exchange rate should you use?
| Rate | Good | Keep in mind |
|---|---|---|
| The rate on the day of the expense | Fair, and it doesn't change later | Each expense needs its own rate, so an app helps |
| One rate for the whole trip | Very simple to work out by hand | Less accurate on long trips or when rates move a lot |
| What the card actually charged | Exactly what the payer spent, fees included | The group shares that person's card fees, so agree first |
For most groups, the rate on the day is the best choice. The important part is to pick one approach and use it for the whole trip.
Example: three friends, three currencies
Alex, Sam and Jordan settle in US dollars. To keep the math easy, this example uses made-up rates of $1.10 to the euro and $1.30 to the pound.
- Alex paid the hotel, €300 (everyone)
- $330.00
- Sam paid dinner, €90 (everyone)
- $99.00
- Jordan paid the train, £60 (everyone)
- $78.00
- Sam paid a museum, €40 (Sam and Jordan)
- $44.00
- Alex: paid $330, share $169
- gets back $161
- Sam: paid $143, share $191
- owes $48
- Jordan: paid $78, share $191
- owes $113
Each person's share is $507 ÷ 3 = $169 for the things everyone did. Sam and Jordan add $22 each for the museum. Two payments then settle the whole trip: Jordan pays Alex $113 and Sam pays Alex $48.
Common situations
- Someone joins late or leaves early: they only share the expenses from the days they were there.
- Not everyone did the activity: split it between the people who went, like the museum above.
- A couple shares a room: split the hotel by room if the rooms cost different amounts, then split each room between the people in it.
- A shared cash pot: log what each person put in, and treat anything bought from it as paid by the group. Share out what's left at the end.
- Personal shopping: leave it out, or log it as one person's own expense if someone else paid.
Settle your own trip
Add who paid for what and see exactly who pays who. The calculator works in one currency, so convert your amounts first.
Open the Trip Cost CalculatorKeep track in BuddyPay
BuddyPay handles the currency part for free. Add an expense in any currency, and the rate is locked in when you add it. You can also turn on simplified debts in your group's settings to reduce the number of payments at the end.
See BuddyPay for group trips