Is 25% the New 20%?
Short answer: no. The tip screen changed; the standard didn't. Here's where 18–20% still sits, and where 25% is genuinely the move.
Written by Ricardo Castro · Last updated
If you've paid for anything in the last couple of years, you've seen it: the tablet spins around and the first, brightest button says 25%, with 30% next to it and 20% demoted to the small print. It's easy to conclude the goalposts moved. They mostly didn't — the software did.
What Actually Changed
Point-of-sale companies — Square, Toast, Clover and the rest — control the suggested tip buttons, and they've steadily raised the defaults because higher presets produce higher average tips. That's a product decision, not an etiquette shift. The same technology also put tip prompts on transactions that never had them: bakery counters, self-serve kiosks, retail, even some auto shops. The umbrella term for all of this is "tip creep" or "tipflation."
Where the Real Standard Sits
For full-service, sit-down dining in 2026:
- 15% — service was below par
- 18% — perfectly good service, the safe middle
- 20% — good to very good service; the number most people default to
- 25%+ — a choice you make, not an expectation
Etiquette columns and personal-finance guides — see the St. Louis Magazine take and Bankrate's tipping guide — still centre on that high-teens-to-20% band for restaurants. 20% has not quietly become "the minimum."
Where 25% Is Actually the Move
- Fine dining, where 20–25% is the working range and the service labour per cover is genuinely higher
- Small checks — 20% of a $14 lunch is $2.80; bumping to 25% or just rounding to $4 is a kinder floor
- Holidays and big occasions, and tables that ran long or asked for a lot
- Your regular spot, where consistent 25% is how you stay a favourite
- A bartender who comped a round or a server who fixed a kitchen mess gracefully
The Counter-Service Question
When the prompt appears at a to-go counter, a coffee bar, or a kiosk, there is no percentage obligation. Tip if you want to — for a made-to-order drink, a large or fiddly order, or a place you go often — and "tipping" there can just mean rounding up or dropping a dollar. Hitting "no tip" on a self-checkout screen is not a faux pas.
How to Not Overthink It
Pick your number before the tablet appears. For sit-down service that's 20% of the pre-tax total unless something was wrong. For counter service it's zero, a round-up, or a dollar. Ignore which button is biggest. If you want the exact figure, the tip calculator does it on the subtotal, and why 20% became standard has the longer history.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is 25% the expected tip now?
No. For sit-down restaurant service in 2026, 18–20% of the pre-tax bill is still the standard for good service. 25% is a generous tip you choose to leave — for exceptional service, a very small bill, a holiday visit, or a place you go often. Payment terminals suggesting 25% first doesn't make it the baseline.
Why do the tip screens start at 25% or 30%?
Because the point-of-sale companies set those presets, and higher presets produce higher average tips. The suggested buttons are a product decision by Square, Toast, Clover and others — not an etiquette standard. You can always hit 'custom' and enter 18 or 20.
Is 20% still a fine tip in 2026?
Yes. 20% of the pre-tax subtotal is a solid, respectful tip for good sit-down service and always will be understood as one. It has not been quietly downgraded to 'the minimum' despite what a 25%-first tip screen implies.
Should I tip 25% at a coffee shop or counter?
You're not obligated to tip a percentage at counter service at all. If you want to tip for a made-to-order drink or a barista you see regularly, rounding up or dropping a dollar is plenty. 25% on a $6 latte is $1.50 — fine if you want to, in no way expected.
Do people actually leave 25% tips?
Some do, consistently — regulars, big-occasion diners, people tipping on small checks where 20% feels stingy in absolute dollars. But surveys of actual tipping behaviour still centre on the high-teens-to-20% range for restaurants. 25% is common enough to be unremarkable and rare enough to be noticed.
Is 'tip creep' a real thing?
Yes — 'tip creep' or 'tipflation' describes tip prompts spreading to places that never had them (self-checkout, retail, to-go counters) and default suggested percentages drifting upward. The pushback is also real: a lot of customers now report tip-screen fatigue and are holding the line at 20% for full service and nothing for counter service.