Find your cost per mile with this free cost per mile calculator. It divides total driving costs by miles, or uses fuel price and MPG for a running cost, with per-100-miles, per-km and trip-cost projections.
Add up the costs you want to include – fuel, insurance, maintenance, depreciation – and the miles they covered. Include as much or as little as you like.
For fuel cost alone, enter the fuel price and your vehicle’s MPG. Cost per mile is simply the price per gallon divided by miles per gallon.
Cost per mile = total cost / miles. Include only fuel for a running-cost figure, or add insurance, servicing, tyres and depreciation for the true cost of ownership per mile.
How Cost Per Mile Calculator Works
Knowing your true cost per mile makes it possible to compare vehicles, plan a road trip budget, or set a fair mileage rate. This cost per mile calculator works two ways: divide your total driving costs by the miles they covered, or, for a quick fuel-only estimate, divide fuel price by fuel economy.
Formula: Total-costs mode: Cost per Mile = Total Costs ÷ Miles Driven. Fuel-only mode: Cost per Mile = Fuel Price per Gallon ÷ Fuel Economy (MPG). From either result: Cost per 100 Miles = Cost per Mile × 100, Cost per Km = Cost per Mile ÷ 1.60934, and Projected Trip Cost = Cost per Mile × Trip Distance.
- Total costs — every expense you want included (fuel, insurance, maintenance, depreciation, etc.), used in total-costs mode
- Miles driven — the total miles those costs covered, used in total-costs mode
- Fuel price — the price per gallon of fuel, used in fuel-only mode
- Fuel economy (MPG) — your vehicle’s miles per gallon, used in fuel-only mode
- Trip distance (optional) — miles for a specific trip you want to project a cost for
Example Scenarios
| Mode | Input A | Input B | Cost per Mile |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total costs | $1,200 total | 10,000 miles | $0.12 |
| Total costs | $3,000 total | 12,000 miles | $0.25 |
| Fuel only | $3.50/gal | 30 MPG | $0.117 |
| Fuel only | $4.00/gal | 25 MPG | $0.16 |
| Total costs | $8,000 total | 15,000 miles | $0.533 |
What to Include in a Cost Per Mile Calculator
Fuel is the obvious cost, but it is rarely the biggest. A cost per mile calculator is only as complete as the costs you give it.
- Running costs: fuel, tyres, oil changes and routine servicing, which rise with distance.
- Fixed costs: insurance, registration, parking and loan interest, which you pay even when parked.
- Depreciation: often the largest single cost for a newer car. Estimate it as purchase price minus a realistic resale value, spread over the miles you expect to drive.
- Electric cars: swap fuel for home or public charging costs; the same cost per mile calculator logic applies.
Use a full year of records if you can. Fuel prices and repair bills swing month to month, and a cost per mile calculator fed a single tank gives a noisy answer.
If you claim business travel, compare your cost per mile calculator result with the official allowance where you live. In the US, the IRS standard mileage rates are updated each year; rules differ elsewhere, and this is not tax advice. Rerun the cost per mile calculator whenever fuel prices or insurance change.
Cost Per Mile Calculator FAQ
What costs should I include in “total costs” mode?
Include whatever you want reflected in the figure — fuel is the obvious one, but you can add insurance premiums, routine maintenance, repairs, tires, registration, and depreciation for a true cost-of-ownership number. Leave any category out if you only want a partial picture.How is cost per mile different from cost per 100 miles?
They’re the same rate expressed at different scales — cost per 100 miles is simply cost per mile multiplied by 100. Some drivers find the per-100-miles figure easier to compare against fuel economy stickers or trip odometers.Why would I use fuel-only mode instead of total costs mode?
Fuel-only mode is faster when you just want a running fuel-cost estimate and don’t have your other expenses tallied up yet. Total costs mode gives the fuller, more accurate picture once you’ve gathered insurance, maintenance, and other spending.How do you convert cost per mile to cost per kilometer?
Divide the cost per mile by 1.60934, since one mile equals about 1.60934 kilometers. This calculator does that conversion automatically so you can compare costs regardless of which unit your reference figures use.Can I use this to estimate the cost of an upcoming road trip?
Yes. Once you’ve calculated a cost per mile figure, enter the trip’s expected distance in the optional trip field and it multiplies that distance by your cost per mile to project a total trip cost.Does cost per mile include depreciation?
Only if you include it yourself in total costs mode. The calculator doesn’t estimate depreciation automatically — you’d need to add your own depreciation figure (for example, from a valuation guide) into the total costs you enter.Related Calculators
If your cost per mile is dominated by loan payments, the auto loan calculator or car loan calculator can show how much of that comes from financing rather than fuel or upkeep. Planning a trip around your per-mile figure? The travel budget calculator can help pull the rest of the trip’s costs together.