Flatmates · Bills
How to split electricity and Wi-Fi bills with flatmates
Wi-Fi is the easy one. Electricity is where the arguments start — especially the month the summer AC bill lands. Here's a fair split for both, and a way to stop re-negotiating it every month.
Split Wi-Fi equally — everyone uses the same connection. For electricity, split equally too if usage is roughly even; switch to a usage-weighted split when someone runs an AC, a gaming rig, or is simply home far more than everyone else. Pick one person to pay the bill, log it, and settle up the same way every month so it never becomes a monthly debate.
Shared utilities cause more flat friction than rent does, because rent is fixed and bills aren't. Rent gets agreed once; the electricity bill changes every month and quietly nudges the question "is this actually fair?" back open. The fix isn't a spreadsheet argument each month — it's agreeing a rule once, then letting it run.
Wi-Fi: just split it flat
Wi-Fi is a single shared pipe. Nobody uses "more internet" in a way you can meaningfully meter at home, and everyone benefits from the connection being there. Split it equally by the number of flatmates and move on. A ₹1,000 plan across four people is ₹250 each — don't overthink it.
The only fair exception: someone who is genuinely never home (working in another city for a month, say). If that comes up, treat it as a one-off adjustment for that month, not a reason to rebuild the whole system.
Electricity: the one that actually needs a rule
Electricity is different because usage genuinely varies. Two things drive the bill: how many hours the flat is occupied, and what high-draw appliances people run. An air conditioner, a water heater in winter, a gaming PC, or someone who works from home all day pulls far more than a flatmate who's out until 10pm every night.
You have three fair options. Pick the one that matches your flat.
Three ways to split the power bill
1. Equal split — simplest, and correct when everyone's usage is roughly similar. Same rooms, same hours, no AC. Divide by heads and you're done.
2. Usage-weighted split — when one or two people clearly draw more. Agree a simple weighting (e.g. the two AC rooms carry 1.5 shares each, the non-AC rooms carry 1 share) and divide the bill by total shares. It's an estimate, but a shared, agreed estimate beats a monthly argument.
3. Base-plus-appliance — split a base amount (lights, fridge, Wi-Fi router, common areas) equally, then add a fixed monthly surcharge for each big private appliance. "Everyone pays the base; AC rooms add ₹400 in summer." Clean and transparent.
The summer AC problem
The AC bill is where flats fall out. The person without an AC understandably resents subsidising the person who runs one at 22°C all night. Solve it before summer, not during the argument: agree that AC rooms carry an extra, fixed share of the electricity bill for the hot months. It doesn't have to be metered to the rupee — a number everyone nods at in April saves five fights in June.
If you want it truly precise, cheap plug-in energy meters exist, but for most flats an agreed weighting is plenty. Fairness people accept beats accuracy they argue about.
Pick one payer, then settle up
Don't try to pay the bill four ways at the counter. One person pays the whole electricity and Wi-Fi bill, and the others settle their share to that person. It's faster, it keeps a clean record of who paid, and with UPI the paying-back takes seconds. Rotate the payer if you like, or leave it with whoever's name is on the connection — either works, as long as the settle-up actually happens.
Make it the same every month
The real win is turning a monthly negotiation into a monthly routine. Once you've agreed the split rule, the only thing that changes is the amount. Log the bill, apply the rule, and everyone knows their share the same day it arrives.
This is exactly where Dutcho helps: set the electricity and Wi-Fi bills up as recurring shared expenses, and it applies the split you agreed automatically each month, keeps a running tally of who's paid, and hands you UPI details to settle. The rule you decided once just runs — no spreadsheet, no re-litigating the AC bill in the group chat.
Agree the rule once in April, and the June AC bill is just a number — not a fight.
Split the bills once, settle every month
Dutcho runs your recurring flat bills on the split you agreed — free.
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