How do I choose weights?

Use whatever scale makes ranking easy — common choices are 1–5 or 1–10. Higher weights get a larger share of the total. Two recipients with the same weight always get the same amount.

What if I want everyone to get the same?

Give every recipient a weight of 1 (or any equal number). The result is the same as dividing the total by the number of recipients.

Can I lock a specific amount for one person?

Not directly — the tool always distributes the full budget by weight. The workaround is to set that person's amount aside first and enter the remaining budget with the remaining recipients.

Does adding a recipient change other amounts?

Yes — because the total stays fixed, adding a recipient shrinks everyone else's share. This is the point: the calculator keeps you within budget instead of letting the total creep upward.

Does it save my recipients or budget?

No. Everything runs in your browser. Nothing is uploaded or persisted — refreshing the page clears it.

Gift Budget Splitter

Allocate a gift or holiday budget across recipients by weighted share of the total.

Written by Golam Rabbani, Founder & Lead Engineer

This interactive tool requires JavaScript. Read the formula and worked example below; you can compute the result by hand.

How to use this gift budget splitter

Enter the total amount you want to spend on gifts.
List each recipient and assign a weight reflecting how much you want to spend on them (higher = more).
Add or remove recipient rows as needed.
Press Calculate to see each person's portion of the budget.
Copy the breakdown to your notes or share it with a co-shopper.

About this gift budget splitter

The gift budget splitter takes a single dollar amount and divides it across the people you are buying for in proportion to how much you want to spend on each. Instead of guessing per-recipient amounts and adding them up (and inevitably going over), you set the total first and let the weights determine the distribution. The result is always exactly on budget.

Worked example: a $500 holiday budget for Mum (weight 3), Dad (3), Sibling (2), and Friend (1) — total weight 9 — works out to Mum and Dad $166.67 each, Sibling $111.11, Friend $55.56. Sum: $500.00. Need to add a niece? Drop in a row with weight 1 and the calculator re-allocates everyone proportionally, keeping the total fixed.

Weights are relative, not dollars, so you can use any scale that feels natural — 1 to 5, 10 to 100, whatever helps you rank closeness. The math runs locally in your browser.

FAQ

How do I choose weights?: Use whatever scale makes ranking easy — common choices are 1–5 or 1–10. Higher weights get a larger share of the total. Two recipients with the same weight always get the same amount.
What if I want everyone to get the same?: Give every recipient a weight of 1 (or any equal number). The result is the same as dividing the total by the number of recipients.
Can I lock a specific amount for one person?: Not directly — the tool always distributes the full budget by weight. The workaround is to set that person's amount aside first and enter the remaining budget with the remaining recipients.
Does adding a recipient change other amounts?: Yes — because the total stays fixed, adding a recipient shrinks everyone else's share. This is the point: the calculator keeps you within budget instead of letting the total creep upward.
Does it save my recipients or budget?: No. Everything runs in your browser. Nothing is uploaded or persisted — refreshing the page clears it.