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Fuel cost calculator for any road trip

Enter the distance, your car's fuel economy and the price at the pump. You'll see what the drive costs in gas, one way or round trip, and per person.

Filling up a white car at a gas station

How fuel cost is worked out

Divide the distance by your fuel economy to get the fuel used. Multiply that by the price.

  • 300 miles at 30 mpg10 gallons
  • 10 gallons at $3.50$35.00

Trip fuel cost calculator

Trip

mi

Car and fuel

mpg
$/gal

Trip cost

Enter the distance, fuel economy and fuel price to see the cost.

How to work out the fuel cost of a trip

Fuel cost is three numbers multiplied together. The calculator does it for you; this is the arithmetic if you want to check it.

  1. Find the driving distance

    Take it from your map app, not a straight line on the map. Double it for a round trip.

  2. Work out the fuel the trip uses

    In miles per gallon, divide the distance by the mpg: 600 miles at 30 mpg uses 20 gallons. In litres per 100 km, multiply and divide by 100: 900 km at 8 L/100 km uses 72 litres.

  3. Multiply by the fuel price

    20 gallons at $3.50 a gallon is $70. 72 litres at $1.60 a litre is $115.20.

  4. Split it, or claim it

    Divide by the number of people sharing the drive. For a business trip, an employer usually pays by the mile or kilometre instead, at a rate that covers more than fuel.

Frequently asked questions

Divide the distance by your car's miles per gallon to get the gallons used, then multiply by the price per gallon. A 400-mile drive at 25 mpg uses 16 gallons, which is $54.40 at $3.40 a gallon.

Multiply the distance in kilometres by the L/100 km figure and divide by 100 to get the litres, then multiply by the price per litre. 500 km at 7.5 L/100 km uses 37.5 litres, which is $60 at $1.60 a litre.

No, it covers fuel only. Add tolls and parking yourself. On a business trip they are reimbursed separately from the mileage rate, with their receipts.

Usually mileage. In the US, a per-mile rate at or below the IRS rate under an accountable plan isn't taxable and needs a trip log rather than fuel receipts. In Canada, a reasonable per-kilometre allowance based only on business kilometres is generally not a taxable benefit. Paying fuel receipts covers the fuel and nothing else.

Because it covers the whole cost of running the car: fuel, maintenance, tires, insurance, registration and depreciation. Fuel is only one part of that.

As accurate as the fuel economy you enter. Real consumption changes with speed, load, weather and traffic. Treat the result as an estimate, and use your own figure from recent fill-ups if you have one.

Where these numbers come from

The mileage comparison uses the current IRS rate for miles and the CRA rate for kilometres.

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Business trips, logged and reimbursed

Smartbills records business trips, applies the IRS or CRA rate and adds the claim to an expense report next to the parking and toll receipts.

See expense reports