The Complete Guide to Splitting Costs with Roommates

METHOD 1 — EQUAL SPLIT: Everyone pays the same. Best for: similar room sizes, similar usage. Downside: unfair if rooms or usage differ significantly.

METHOD 2 — PROPORTIONAL BY ROOM SIZE: Split rent based on square footage. Best for: apartments with very different room sizes. Calculate: (your room sqft / total room sqft) × total rent.

METHOD 3 — INCOME-BASED: Higher earners pay more. Best for: roommates with significantly different incomes. Requires trust and transparency.

METHOD 4 — USAGE-BASED: Track actual usage (electricity, water). Best for: when one roommate clearly uses more. Use HomeCo to log and split accordingly.

METHOD 5 — HYBRID: Combine methods. Split rent by room size, utilities equally, groceries individually. Most fair but most complex. HomeCo handles the complexity.

The best method is the one everyone agrees to and can stick with.