Fuel Cost Calculator
The cost of a trip from distance, consumption and fuel price.
Costing a journey
Distance, consumption, fuel price โ the calculator returns the litres (or gallons) burned and the cost, doubles it for a round trip on request, and splits it between passengers. Both conventions are supported: km with L/100 km, or miles with mpg.
The number that decides accuracy
Everything hinges on the consumption figure, and the brochure number is optimistic โ real driving typically runs 10โ20% worse than official figures. The honest measurement: fill the tank, drive normally, fill again, divide litres by distance. Motorways, town traffic, roof boxes, and heavy loads all shift it substantially.
Converting between conventions: L/100 km = 235.2 รท mpg (imperial), so a 40 mpg car uses about 7.1 L/100 km โ the unit converter handles the related distance and volume conversions. Remember the result is fuel only: tolls, parking and wear are real trip costs too. Splitting a shared drive fairly is built in; for splitting a shared meal afterwards there is the tip calculator.
Frequently asked questions
How do I calculate fuel cost for a trip?
Distance รท 100 ร consumption (L/100 km) gives the litres; litres ร pump price gives the cost. In mpg terms: distance รท mpg ร price per gallon. The calculator does either.
What is a normal fuel consumption?
Small petrol cars manage 5โ6 L/100 km (45โ55 mpg), family SUVs 7โ9 (30โ40 mpg). Your real figure is best measured over a full tank.
How do I convert mpg to L/100km?
Divide 235.2 by the imperial mpg figure. 40 mpg โ 5.9 L/100 km US or 7.1 imperial โ mind which gallon your figure uses.
Should passengers split by fuel only?
Fuel is the visible cost, but wear and depreciation roughly double the true per-mile cost of driving. For friends, fuel-split is the convention; for regular arrangements, consider a bit more.