The fifteen country guides on this site each answer one question: what is normal in that country. This page puts the answers side by side, so that you can see the pattern before you travel. The figures are taken from the guides and the calculator on this site. The table and the groups below are our own comparison.
| Country | Usual tip | Tip on a bill of 100 (in the local currency) | Service charge may be on the bill |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 15–20% | 15 to 20 | No |
| United Kingdom | 10–15% | 10 to 15 | Yes |
| France | Usually included | Small amount, no percentage | Yes |
| Italy | Small amounts | Small amount, no percentage | Yes |
| Netherlands | 0–10% | 0 to 10 | No |
| Japan | 0% | 0 | Yes |
| Saudi Arabia | 0–15% | 0 to 15 | Yes |
| Qatar | 0–15% | 0 to 15 | Yes |
| Australia | 0–10% | 0 to 10 | No |
| Canada | 15–20% | 15 to 20 | No |
| Mexico | 15–20% | 15 to 20 | Yes |
| Brazil | 10–13% | 10 to 13 | Yes |
| Thailand | Optional, small | Small amount, no percentage | Yes |
| South Korea | 0% | 0 | Yes |
| Singapore | 0% | 0 | Yes |
Where the table gives a range, the first number is the low end and the second is the high end of the usual tip. For Italy, France and Thailand the guides give a small amount, not a percentage. For the United Kingdom the range applies only when no service charge has been added.
A tip is the custom. The United States, Canada and Mexico. In these three countries the usual range is 15% to 20%. A bill of 100 gives a tip of 15 to 20.
A service charge often does the work. The United Kingdom, Brazil, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and France. In these five, a service charge is common and it usually replaces the tip, so the first step is to read the bill. A service charge may also appear in six other countries in the table, but there it is less common or less often the whole answer.
Small and optional. Italy, the Netherlands, Australia and Thailand. A rounded-up bill or a small cash amount is enough. For Italy and Thailand the guides give amounts, not a percentage. For the Netherlands and Australia the usual range runs from nothing up to about 10%, and leaving nothing is normal.
Tipping is not practised. Japan, South Korea and Singapore. Leaving money can cause confusion, and some upscale places add a service charge instead.
In 11 of the 15 calculator entries, the note mentions a service charge or a service line on the bill. This is the reason that the most useful single habit is to read the bill before you work out a tip. Only three countries in the table, the United States, Canada and Mexico, have a usual range that starts at 15%. In the other twelve, the low end of the usual tip is 10% or less, or it is a small fixed amount.
The same bill of 100 therefore gives a tip of 0 in three countries and 15 to 20 in three other countries. If you travel between these groups, the calculator on this site lets you set the percentage for each country with one tap.
Read the bill before you decide. In eleven of the fifteen countries a service charge can appear on the bill, and in five of them it usually replaces the tip. Reading the bill first is the single habit that prevents the most common mistake on this site, which is tipping twice.
Carry a little local cash. In the countries where tipping is expected, cash reaches the person directly. In the countries where a service charge is added, the guides for Qatar and Thailand both note that little of the charge may reach staff, so a small cash amount given by hand is worth more than the same amount added to a card. In Japan and South Korea, keep the cash in your pocket.
Work out the tip on the pre-tax amount. Canada, the United States and Mexico all calculate the tip before sales tax. Singapore and Thailand add the service charge before the tax, so the bill grows in two steps. The calculator on this site takes the amount you enter, so enter the pre-tax figure where that is the custom.
The largest gap in the table is between neighbours. The United States and Mexico expect 15% to 20%; cross from the United States into Canada and the custom is the same, but cross the Atlantic to the United Kingdom and the expected amount halves and is usually already on the bill. Within Europe the range runs from France, where service is included in the menu price, to the Netherlands, where card terminals now prompt for a tip that most people decline. Within Asia the range runs from Thailand, where a small cash tip is valued, to Japan, where the same gesture causes embarrassment.
The practical lesson is that the habit from home travels badly. A traveller from the United States who tips 20% in Tokyo is making a mistake, and a traveller from Japan who leaves nothing in New York is making one too. The country guides exist to replace the habit with the local rule, and this page is the quickest way to see how far the rules differ.
The amounts in each guide are typical figures, not rules, and each guide lists its own sources. Customs change, so check your bill.
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