Free Fuel Cost Calculator
Calculate trip fuel costs, estimate gas expenses, and compare vehicle fuel efficiency. Free, fast, and works entirely in your browser with no sign-up required.
Updated
Fuel Cost Calculator
Calculate trip costs, compare vehicles, track gas prices, estimate CO2 emissions, and plan your driving budget — metric & imperial supported.
Inputs
Fill in the inputs to see results
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Fuel Cost Calculator?
The Fuel Cost Calculator is a free online tool that estimates trip fuel costs based on distance, fuel efficiency, and current fuel prices.
Is the Fuel Cost Calculator free?
Yes, it is completely free with no registration required. All calculations happen client-side in your browser.
Does it support both MPG and L/100km?
Yes, the Fuel Cost Calculator supports both miles per gallon (MPG) and liters per 100 kilometers for fuel efficiency input.
Is my data safe with this tool?
Absolutely. The Fuel Cost Calculator processes everything client-side in your browser. No data is uploaded to or stored on any server. Your content remains private on your device at all times.
Does the Fuel Cost Calculator work on mobile devices?
Yes, the Fuel Cost Calculator is fully responsive and works on smartphones and tablets. You can use it on any device with a modern web browser -- no app download required.
Do I need to create an account to use this tool?
No account or registration is needed. Simply open the Fuel Cost Calculator in your browser and start using it immediately. There are no sign-up walls or usage restrictions.
How accurate are the calculations?
The Fuel Cost Calculator uses industry-standard formulas and algorithms to ensure accurate results. However, for critical financial or medical decisions, always consult a qualified professional.
How do I use the Fuel Cost Calculator?
Simply enter your input in the provided field, adjust any settings to your preference, and the tool will process it instantly. You can then copy the result to your clipboard or download it.
Which browsers are supported?
The Fuel Cost Calculator works in all modern browsers including Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge, and Opera. For the best experience, use the latest version of your preferred browser.
How do you calculate the fuel cost of a trip?
Trip fuel cost comes from three numbers: distance, your vehicle's fuel efficiency, and the price you pay per gallon or liter. First find the fuel needed by dividing distance by efficiency — for example, a 300-mile drive at 30 MPG burns 10 gallons. Then multiply that fuel by the price per unit: 10 gallons at $3.50 equals $35.00. In metric, divide distance by 100 and multiply by your L/100km figure to get liters, then multiply by price per liter. The calculator does all of this instantly and also shows cost per mile and per kilometer, so you can compare routes at a glance. Toggle round-trip to double the distance, or set a passenger count to split the bill evenly. Enter your distance, efficiency, and fuel price to see the full breakdown.
How do I convert MPG to L/100km?
MPG and L/100km are inverse measures, so you divide rather than multiply. The standard conversion uses the constant 235.215: to go either direction, divide 235.215 by your number. So 30 MPG becomes 235.215 / 30, or about 7.84 L/100km, and 8 L/100km becomes 235.215 / 8, or about 29.4 MPG. The constant bundles together the gallon-to-liter (3.78541) and mile-to-kilometer (1.60934) factors. Note that this assumes US gallons; UK imperial gallons are larger, so an imperial MPG figure looks better than it really is. Because the two scales run in opposite directions, a lower L/100km means a more efficient car while a higher MPG does — that flip trips a lot of people up. This calculator accepts MPG, L/100km, or km per liter directly, so you can enter whichever your car reports without converting by hand.
Is it cheaper to drive an electric car or a gas car?
Usually electric, but it depends on local rates. A gas car's per-mile cost is fuel price divided by MPG, while an EV's is your electricity rate per kWh times its consumption (often 3 to 4 miles per kWh). At a typical home rate, charging an EV frequently costs the equivalent of paying around a dollar per gallon, which beats most gas vehicles — but expensive public fast-charging or pricey grid electricity can narrow or erase that gap. Emissions differ too: the calculator estimates EV carbon against the US grid average of about 0.386 kg of CO2 per kWh, so a clean grid makes an EV far greener while a coal-heavy one less so. Use the EV vs Gas mode to enter your real electricity rate and fuel price side by side and see which costs less per trip and per year.
How much CO2 does burning a gallon of gas produce?
Burning one gallon of gasoline releases roughly 8.89 kilograms of CO2 — far more than the gallon weighs, because each carbon atom combines with oxygen from the air during combustion. Diesel is denser and emits about 10.16 kg per gallon, while E85 ethanol blend produces less per gallon since much of its energy comes from plant-based ethanol. These EPA-style emission factors let the calculator turn any trip into an estimated carbon footprint: multiply the fuel you burn by the factor for your fuel type. For electric trips it instead uses the US grid average of about 0.386 kg of CO2 per kWh, which is why an EV's footprint varies with local electricity sources. These figures are well-established averages meant for planning and awareness, not regulatory reporting. Enter a trip and your fuel type to see fuel volume, cost, and estimated emissions together.
How much would I save on gas with a more fuel-efficient car?
The savings grow faster than the MPG numbers suggest, because cost scales with the inverse of efficiency. Going from 20 to 40 MPG halves your fuel use and your fuel bill — a car at 40 MPG costs half as much to fuel over the same distance as one at 20. But the same 20-MPG jump matters less higher up: 30 to 50 MPG cuts cost by only about 40 percent, not half. That is why upgrades from a thirsty vehicle pay off most. To put real money on it, multiply your annual mileage by fuel price, then divide by each car's MPG and compare the totals. The Compare Cars mode lines up two or more vehicles over the same trip, and Projections turns your weekly or yearly mileage into projected monthly and annual costs so you can judge whether a switch pays for itself.
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About the Fuel Cost Calculator
The Fuel Cost Calculator estimates what a drive will actually cost you in gas, diesel, or electricity. Enter the distance, your vehicle's fuel efficiency, and the price you pay per gallon or liter, and it instantly returns the total trip cost, how much fuel you'll burn, the cost per mile and per kilometer, and an estimate of the CO2 you'll put into the air. It's built for commuters comparing routes, road-trippers splitting a tank between passengers, rideshare and delivery drivers tracking expenses, and anyone weighing whether a more efficient car would pay for itself.
Everything runs in your browser. There's no sign-up, no app to install, and nothing is sent to a server — your trips, prices, and saved history stay on your own device. Distance and fuel-price inputs work in both imperial and metric, with efficiency accepted as miles per gallon (MPG), liters per 100 km, or km per liter, and prices in USD, EUR, GBP, CAD, AUD, or INR.
Six ways to calculate
The calculator has six modes for different questions:
- Trip Cost — the core mode: distance plus efficiency plus fuel price gives total cost, fuel needed, and per-distance cost.
- Calc MPG — work backwards from miles driven and fuel used to find your real-world fuel economy.
- From Budget — enter a spending limit and see how far that money will take you.
- Compare Cars — line up two or more vehicles side by side over the same trip to see which is cheapest to run.
- EV vs Gas — pit an electric car (priced by kWh and your electricity rate) against a gas vehicle, including CO2 saved.
- Projections — turn weekly or annual mileage into projected weekly, monthly, and yearly fuel costs.
How the numbers are worked out
The tool converts every input to a common base before calculating, so mixed units never trip it up. Fuel economy is converted using the standard factor of 235.215 — that is, MPG and L/100km are reciprocals scaled by that constant — and distances convert at 1 mile = 1.60934 km, with 1 US gallon = 3.78541 liters. Total cost is simply fuel needed multiplied by your price per unit; a round-trip toggle doubles the distance, and a passenger count splits the bill per person.
Carbon estimates use EPA-style emission factors: roughly 8.89 kg of CO2 per gallon of gasoline, about 10.16 kg for diesel, and less for E85. Electric trips are estimated against the US grid average of about 0.386 kg of CO2 per kWh, which is why an EV's footprint depends on where its electricity comes from. These are well-established averages meant for planning, not regulatory reporting.
Presets, comparisons, and saved trips
To skip data entry you can load a popular vehicle — a Toyota Camry at 32 MPG, a Tesla Model 3, a Ford F-150, a VW Jetta TDI, and others — to auto-fill a realistic efficiency. Trip presets cover a 15-mile daily commute, a local errand, a 300-mile road trip, and a 500-mile vacation drive, or you can enter any custom distance.
You can name a trip, copy the results to your clipboard, and save calculations to a local history that persists between visits and exports to CSV — useful for mileage logs or expense reports. A separate gas-price tracker lets you log fuel prices over time and see the trend on a simple chart, all stored only in your browser.
Why estimating fuel cost matters
Fuel is one of the largest variable costs of driving, and small efficiency differences compound fast: a car getting 20 MPG versus 40 MPG costs twice as much to fuel over the same distance. Knowing the cost before you go helps with budgeting a road trip, fairly splitting gas with friends, deciding between routes or vehicles, and judging whether switching to an EV or a more efficient car is worth it. Because the Fuel Cost Calculator shows fuel volume, cost, and emissions together, you can optimize for money and environmental impact in the same view.