Diner Relationships

47 Restaurant Tipping Statistics for 2024

March 28, 2024

A look into how diners feel about the current state of tipping culture.

Understanding changes in the restaurant industry is paramount for any successful restaurateur, especially when it comes to trending topics like restaurant tipping. BentoBox talked to more than 2,500 U.S. diners about their tipping habits, preferences, and general outlook on the matter. You can check out the full report here, and below are the high-level statistics to know.

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Overall Restaurant Tipping Sentiment

Tipping fatigue is very real these days, and that’s reflected in the metrics below. However, diners do like being in control of tipping and agree it drives better service.

66% of diners feel too many places are asking for tips these days
68% of diners say full-service dining always deserves a tip
48% of diners say fast food never deserves a tip
62% of diners say they would not miss tipping if it were gone
80% of diners say tipping rewards good service
69% of diners think the practice of tipping leads to better service overall
56% of diners believe that a small tip is a good way to reprimand tipped employees for poor service

Restaurant Tipping Demographics

Here, the key findings are that older diners are less likely to tip for conventionally untipped services. And, when it comes to income, higher earners support replacing tipping with automatic gratuity while those who earn under $100,000 per year like choosing their own tipping amount.

By Generation

Boomers

64% do not usually tip for fast food
41% do not usually tip for coffee from a cafe
40% do not usually tip for takeout/pickup

Gen X

51% do not usually tip for fast food
27% do not usually tip for coffee from a cafe
29% do not usually tip for takeout/pickup

Millennials

37% do not usually tip for fast food
18% do not usually tip for coffee from a cafe
19% do not usually tip for takeout/pickup

Gen Z

33% do not usually tip for fast food
18% do not usually tip for coffee from a cafe
16% do not usually tip for takeout/pickup

By Income

Diners who earn more than $100,000 per year

85% think establishments should pay their staff a living wage instead of asking patrons to tip
53% would be more likely to patronize a restaurant if they found out tipping was replaced with automatic gratuity
47% prefer to choose their own tipping amount
45% prefer having the restaurant add an adequate percentage to the bill
74% believe the practice of tipping leads to better overall service
68% believe a small tip is a way to reprimand an employee for poor service
70% believe tipped workers are more accommodating than non-tipped workers

Diners who earn between $50,000 to $100,000 per year

77% think establishments should pay their staff a living wage instead of asking patrons to tip
35% would be more likely to patronize a restaurant if they found out tipping was replaced with automatic gratuity
69% believe the practice of tipping leads to better overall service
53% believe a small tip is a way to reprimand an employee for poor service
65% believe tipped workers are more accommodating than non-tipped workers

Diners who earn less than $50,000 per year

69% think establishments should pay their staff a living wage instead of asking patrons to tip
40% would be more likely to patronize a restaurant if they found out tipping was replaced with automatic gratuity
68% believe the practice of tipping leads to better overall service
54% believe a small tip is a way to reprimand an employee for poor service
61% believe tipped workers are more accommodating than non-tipped workers

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Automatic Gratuity vs. Automated Tip Prompts

Automatic gratuity adds a predetermined percentage to a full-service restaurant bill, while automated prompts provide a range of tip options for diners to select.

Here’s what diners had to say:

72% of diners have encountered automated tip prompts
56% of diners prefer to choose their own tipping amount
22% of diners prefer to choose between several acceptable percentages
14% of diners prefer having an adequate percentage automatically added to the bill
8% of diners prefer to pay a slightly higher price for items to get rid of tipping

In general, there were positive feelings about automated tip prompts:

64% of diners think automated prompts make tipping easier
50% of diners say prompts help them determine an appropriate tip amount
41% of diners like that they don’t have to do math with automated tip prompts

However…

55% of diners feel pressure with automated prompts to leave a tip when they didn’t want to
43% of diners believe that the tip amounts presented in prompts are too high
41% of diners don’t think certain services should ask for tips