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Fuel Cost Calculator

Fuel cost calculator for a trip: enter distance, fuel economy in mpg (US or imperial), L/100 km or km/L and the fuel price to get the total cost and fuel used. How it works

Use the Fuel Cost Calculator

miles / year

Adds a yearly and monthly cost at the same efficiency and price

Total Fuel Cost
14.00

Fuel Needed
4.00US gallons

15.14 liters

Cost per mile
0.14
Cost per km
0.09

1 US gallon = 3.785411784 L, 1 imperial gallon = 4.54609 L, 1 mile = 1.609344 km. Consumption used: 9.41 L/100 km.

About the Fuel Cost Calculator

Fuel cost = distance ÷ mpg × price per gallon. A 100 mile trip at 25 mpg with gas at $3.50 a gallon uses 4.00 gallons and costs $14.00. This fuel cost calculator also takes kilometers, L/100 km, km/L and imperial mpg, and a price per liter or per imperial gallon.

Fuel cost per 100 miles

Fuel economy$3.00 a gallon$3.50 a gallon$4.00 a gallon$4.50 a gallon$5.00 a gallon
15 mpg$20.00$23.33$26.67$30.00$33.33
20 mpg$15.00$17.50$20.00$22.50$25.00
25 mpg$12.00$14.00$16.00$18.00$20.00
30 mpg$10.00$11.67$13.33$15.00$16.67
35 mpg$8.57$10.00$11.43$12.86$14.29
40 mpg$7.50$8.75$10.00$11.25$12.50
50 mpg$6.00$7.00$8.00$9.00$10.00

US gallons and mpg (US), one way. For another distance, scale the figure: 250 miles costs two and a half times as much.

mpg (US) in L/100 km, mpg (imperial) and km/L

mpg (US)L/100 kmmpg (imperial)km/L
1515.6818.06.4
2011.7624.08.5
259.4130.010.6
307.8436.012.8
356.7242.014.9
405.8848.017.0
455.2354.019.1
504.7060.021.3
603.9272.125.5

L/100 km = 235.215 ÷ mpg (US). An imperial gallon is 4.54609 liters and a US gallon 3.785411784 liters, so the same car has a higher mpg figure in the UK than in the US.

Frequently asked questions

How do I calculate the fuel cost of a trip?
Divide the distance by your fuel economy to get the fuel used, then multiply by the price. 500 miles at 25 mpg is 20.00 gallons, and at $3.50 a gallon that is $70.00.
How much gas will I use on a 250 mile trip?
At 30 mpg, 8.33 US gallons (31.55 liters), which costs $29.17 at $3.50 a gallon. Turn on Round trip to count the return leg as well.
What is the difference between US mpg and UK mpg?
The gallon. An imperial gallon is 4.54609 liters and a US gallon is 3.785411784 liters, so 30 mpg (US) equals 36.0 mpg (imperial) and 7.84 L/100 km. Pick the wrong one and the cost is off by about a fifth: 100 miles at 40 mpg and $3.50 per US gallon costs $8.75 if the 40 is US mpg and $10.51 if it is imperial mpg.
How do I convert L/100 km to mpg?
Divide 235.215 by the L/100 km figure for US mpg, or 282.481 for imperial mpg. 8 L/100 km is 29.4 mpg (US), 35.3 mpg (imperial) and 12.5 km/L.
How do I work out fuel cost per mile?
Price per gallon ÷ mpg. At $3.50 a gallon, 25 mpg costs $0.14 a mile and 35 mpg costs $0.10. Type 12,000 in Distance per year and the page gives the year: 480 gallons and $1,680.00 at 25 mpg ($140.00 a month), against $1,200.00 at 35 mpg. Insurance, maintenance and depreciation are not part of this figure.
Does it work for diesel, hybrids or electric cars?
It works for any liquid fuel priced by the gallon or liter: enter the diesel price and the car’s diesel economy. There is no kWh input, so it does not handle electric cars or the electric share of a plug-in hybrid.

Mixed units and round trips

Distance can be in miles or kilometers, fuel economy in mpg (US), mpg (imperial), L/100 km or km/L, and the price per US gallon, per imperial gallon or per liter, in any combination. That covers a British car rated in imperial mpg and filled by the liter: 300 km at 40 mpg (imperial) and £1.55 a liter takes 21.19 liters and costs £32.84.

Turn on Round trip to count the distance twice: a 100 mile drive each way at 25 mpg and $3.50 a gallon burns 8.00 gallons and costs $28.00 instead of $14.00. The currency menu only sets the symbol on the result (none, $, € or £). It does not convert between currencies.

Distance per year (optional, up to 1,000,000) prices a year of driving at the same economy and price, in the trip's distance unit. 12,000 miles at 25 mpg and $3.50 a gallon burns 480 gallons: $1,680.00 a year, $140.00 a month. Round trip does not change it, because the yearly figure is per mile driven.

The formula

fuel used = distance ÷ mpg for miles and gallons

fuel used = distance × L/100 km ÷ 100 for kilometers and liters

trip cost = fuel used × price per gallon or liter

Mixed units are converted through liters per 100 km with exact factors: 1 mile = 1.609344 km, 1 US gallon = 3.785411784 liters and 1 imperial gallon = 4.54609 liters. That gives L/100 km = 235.215 ÷ mpg (US) and L/100 km = 282.481 ÷ mpg (imperial), so 25 mpg (US) is 9.41 L/100 km, and the same car is rated 30.0 mpg in imperial gallons.

Example: 250 miles at 30 mpg (US) and $3.50 a gallon is 250 ÷ 30 = 8.33 gallons and $29.17. A metric trip of 400 km at 8 L/100 km and €1.60 a liter takes 32.00 liters and costs €51.20.

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