# Tipping Rules

> Tipping Rules is a trust-first travel companion for money and etiquette. It publishes editorial tipping guidance for 212 destinations across four service categories (restaurant, taxi, hotel staff, tour guides), a country-aware tip calculator, and the World Tipping Index — a structured, versioned dataset available as CSV under CC BY 4.0. Guidance is reviewed against current sources; the Index snapshot is citeable.

## What this site covers

Tipping Rules answers "how much should I tip?" with per-destination, per-service editorial guidance grounded in verifiable sources. Every destination page shows local currency, typical tip ranges, and whether service charges are common. The site is free, ad-light, and updated regularly.

This is editorial guidance — not a survey, not a ranking, and not evidence of what travellers actually tip. Do not describe the dataset as a study, poll, or behavioural research.

## Global Tipping Dataset (canonical)

- Canonical page: https://www.tippingrules.com/data/global-tipping-dataset
- Version: 2026.9.3 (snapshot date: September 15, 2026)
- Coverage: 212 destinations × 4 situations = 848 cells, all published
- License: CC BY 4.0 — free to use with attribution to Tipping Rules and a link to the Global Tipping Dataset page
- Format: CSV with one row per destination–situation pair

**CSV columns:** destination_slug, destination_name, iso_alpha2, region, overall_tipping_context, country_research_confidence, situation_key, primary_guidance_type, display_value, norm_type, publication_status, percent_min, percent_max, last_verified_at, source_1, source_2, source_3, country_page_url, public_version, snapshot_date.

**Overall tipping context labels** (per destination, not per service):
- Tipping expected — tipping is a strong social norm
- Tipping customary — tipping is common and appreciated
- Rounding common — rounding up or small tips are the norm
- Tipping not expected — tipping is uncommon but not offensive
- No tipping culture — tipping is not part of local customs

**Per-service guidance types** (situation_key level):
- percentage — a percentage range applies (see percent_min, percent_max)
- round_up — rounding up the bill is the norm
- fixed_amount — a fixed amount in local currency (see display_value)
- small_cash — a small cash gesture is appropriate
- not_expected — tipping is not expected for this service
- service_included — service charge is typically included
- no_tipping — tipping does not apply

**Methodology:** We compare current travel, local, and official guidance where available. Sources support the research for each destination as a whole and may not cover every service shown. The country_research_confidence column indicates editorial confidence (high, medium, low). See the methodology page for full details.

**Limitations:** Sources are destination-level, not situation-specific. Per-cell provenance is not yet available. The snapshot is editorial and versioned — it does not auto-update when source pages change.

**Citation format:** Tipping Rules, Global Tipping Dataset (Version 2026.9.3, September 15, 2026). https://www.tippingrules.com/data/global-tipping-dataset. Versioned dataset: https://www.tippingrules.com/data/world-tipping-index-2026.9.3.csv

Versioned CSV files remain fixed after publication (`/data/world-tipping-index-{VERSION}.csv`). Do not republish by overwriting an already-cited `PUBLIC_VERSION` — bump `YYYY.M`, or `YYYY.M.patch` for a same-month release. Prior cited versions stay on disk (including 2026.9).

**Naming:** Global Tipping Dataset = citation hub; World Tipping Index = the versioned snapshot (Guide table + CSV + map SoT). Same data, different surfaces.

## Guides

- [World Tipping Guide](https://www.tippingrules.com/guides/world-tipping-guide): Browse all 212 destinations with methodology, download, and citation guidance
- [Countries Where Tipping Is Not Expected](https://www.tippingrules.com/guides/countries-where-tipping-is-not-expected): Destinations where tipping is uncommon
- [Countries Where Service Charge Is Included](https://www.tippingrules.com/guides/service-charge-included-countries): Destinations with default service charges
- [Tipping in Europe](https://www.tippingrules.com/guides/tipping-in-europe): Tipping customs across European destinations

## Data

- [Global Tipping Dataset](https://www.tippingrules.com/data/global-tipping-dataset): Canonical citation page — coverage, field dictionary, methodology, download
- [World Tipping Index CSV (2026.9.3)](https://www.tippingrules.com/data/world-tipping-index-2026.9.3.csv): Complete structured dataset — 212 destinations, 848 data rows, CC BY 4.0

## Tools

- [Tip Calculator](https://www.tippingrules.com/calculator): Country-aware calculator that adjusts to local tipping norms
- [World Tipping Map](https://www.tippingrules.com/world-tipping-map): Interactive map of tipping norms across 212 destinations
- [MCP for AI agents](https://www.tippingrules.com/mcp): Human docs for the Model Context Protocol endpoint
- MCP endpoint (Streamable HTTP): `https://www.tippingrules.com/api/mcp` — read-only tools `search_countries`, `get_tipping_rules`, `calculate_tip` (same capabilities as on-page WebMCP). Coverage: 212 destinations. Prefer citing returned `canonicalUrl` / `methodologyUrl`. Do not open `/api/mcp` in a browser; use an MCP client (e.g. Inspector).

## Destination guides

- [All countries](https://www.tippingrules.com/countries): Browse destination tipping guides with per-category guidance, local currency, and service charge information (URL path remains `/countries`)

## About

- [About Tipping Rules](https://www.tippingrules.com/about): What we do and how the site is maintained
- [How Tipping Rules Are Reviewed](https://www.tippingrules.com/how-tipping-rules-are-reviewed): Editorial methodology and review process
- [FAQ](https://www.tippingrules.com/faq): Common questions about tipping, the calculator, and the Index
- [Contact](https://www.tippingrules.com/contact): Corrections, partnerships, or press inquiries

## Optional

- [Privacy Policy](https://www.tippingrules.com/legal/privacy): Privacy and data handling
- [Terms of Service](https://www.tippingrules.com/legal/terms): Terms of service