Should I enter one-way or round-trip distance?

Enter the one-way distance only, then use the trip type selector. A round trip doubles the one-way distance before multiplying by trip count.

What exactly does each driving system mean?

EU mode uses kilometres for distance, litres per 100 km for fuel economy, and fuel price per litre. US mode uses miles for distance, miles per US gallon for fuel economy, and fuel price per US gallon. UK mode uses miles for distance, miles per imperial gallon for fuel economy, and fuel price per litre.

How large are a mile, a US gallon, and a UK gallon?

A mile is the same length in US and UK road use: 1 mi = 1.609344 km. The gallon is what changes. 1 US liquid gallon = 3.785411784 L. 1 UK imperial gallon = 4.54609 L. Because the UK gallon is larger, the same car can show a higher mpg (UK) number than mpg (US) for the same real fuel use.

What fuel economy value should I use?

Use the real-world number from your car, dashboard, fuel receipt calculation, or the fuel efficiency calculator. EU mode expects L/100km. US mode expects mpg (US), meaning miles per US gallon. UK mode expects mpg (UK), meaning miles per imperial gallon.

What fuel price should I enter?

Use the pump price unit shown beside the field. In EU mode, enter price per litre. In US mode, enter price per US gallon. In UK mode, enter price per litre, because UK pump prices are normally quoted per litre even though vehicle economy is often quoted as mpg (UK).

How does trip count work?

Trip count multiplies the selected one-way or round-trip route. A weekly commute with 5 round trips should use round trip and trip count 5.

How does UK mode calculate fuel cost?

UK mode first computes imperial gallons used: total miles ÷ mpg (UK). It then converts imperial gallons to litres with 1 UK gallon = 4.54609 L, and multiplies those litres by the price per litre. Example: 180 miles at 45 mpg (UK) uses 4 imperial gallons, which is 18.18 L. At 1.50 per litre, the cost is 27.28.

How does US mode calculate fuel cost?

US mode computes US gallons used: total miles ÷ mpg (US). It then multiplies those US gallons by the price per US gallon. Example: 240 miles at 30 mpg (US) uses 8 US gallons. At 4.00 per US gallon, the cost is 32.00.

Driving Cost Calculator

Estimate fuel cost for a commute, errand route, or road trip. Pick the unit system first, then enter one-way distance, one-way or round-trip, trip count, fuel economy, and the matching pump price: EU uses km and litres, US uses miles and US gallons, UK uses miles, imperial mpg, and litre pump prices.

Currency

Driving system

One-way distance

Trip type

Trip count

Fuel economy

L/100km

Fuel price

$/L

Examples

Enter values above to see results

How It Works

Formula

\text{Distance} = d \times m \times n

\text{EU fuel} = \text{Distance} \times \dfrac{\text{L/100km}}{100}

\text{US fuel} = \dfrac{\text{Distance}}{\text{mpg}}

\text{UK fuel (L)} = \dfrac{\text{Distance}}{\text{mpg UK}} \times 4.54609

\text{Cost} = \text{Fuel needed} \times \text{Fuel price}

First the one-way distance is multiplied by 2 for a round trip, then by trip count. EU fuel needed is distance × L/100km ÷ 100. US fuel needed is miles ÷ mpg (US), then multiplied by price per US gallon. UK mode computes imperial gallons from miles ÷ mpg (UK), then converts to litres with 1 imperial gallon = 4.54609 L before multiplying by price per litre. For reference, 1 mile = 1.609344 km and 1 US gallon = 3.785411784 L.

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