Trip Cost Calculator — Road Trip Fuel & Travel Budget
Estimate the cost of a road trip: fuel from distance, mileage and fuel price, plus tolls, lodging and food, split per person. Works in miles or km.
Plan a road-trip budget in one place. The calculator works out how much fuel the drive will use from the distance, your car’s fuel economy and the local fuel price, then adds tolls, parking, lodging and food. It splits the total between everyone travelling. You can use miles and MPG or kilometres and L/100 km, and pay in your own currency.
How to use this tool
- Enter the one-way distance and tick round trip if you are driving back.
- Enter your car’s fuel economy and pick its unit.
- Enter the fuel price and say whether it is per gallon or per litre.
- Add travellers, tolls, nights of lodging and a daily food budget, then read the total and the cost per person.
Formula
Fuel cost = distance ÷ fuel economy × fuel price
With L/100 km the fuel used is distance × L/100 km ÷ 100. Units are converted exactly: 1 mile = 1.609344 km, 1 US gallon = 3.785411784 L and 1 UK gallon = 4.54609 L. Total cost = fuel + tolls and parking + lodging per night × nights + food per person per day × travellers × days.
Example
A 300-mile drive each way is 600 miles in total. At 28 MPG that uses 21.43 US gallons, which at $3.20 a gallon costs $68.57, or about 11 cents a mile. Add one night of lodging at $140 and food at $40 per person per day for two people over two days ($160), and the trip comes to $368.57, or $184.29 each.
Frequently asked questions
How do I find my car’s fuel economy?
Use the official rating for your model, or measure it: fill the tank, reset the trip meter, drive, then divide the miles driven by the gallons needed to refill.
Is it cheaper to drive or fly?
The result depends on fares, occupancy, lodging and local transport; shared fuel cost alone does not determine the cheaper option. Compare the per-person total here with fares plus baggage and transport at the destination.
Does this include wear and tear?
No, it counts fuel and the costs you enter. Tyre wear, oil and depreciation add to the true cost of a long drive; add an estimate under tolls and parking if you want to include them.
Last updated: 2026-10-30