Road Trip Cost Calculator
Budget a whole road trip: fuel, lodging, food, tolls and vehicle wear, split per person, with the cost broken down by category.
Road Trip Cost Calculator: with the default inputs, total trip cost is $1,292.
Doubles the distance and the fuel.
Use real-world economy, not the window sticker — it runs 10–20% optimistic when loaded.
Zero if you're driving through or staying with friends.
Per room, not per person.
Park passes, tickets, ferries.
- Cost per person
- $323
- Fuel
- $222
- Lodging
- $320
- Food
- $540
- Tolls, parking and activities
- $30
- Vehicle wear
- $180
- Fuel used
- 64.3 gal
- Total distance driven
- 1,800 mi
- All-in cost per mile
- $0.72
Assumptions
- Fuel economy is constant for the whole trip; real economy varies with load, speed and terrain.
- Lodging is priced per room per night, food per person per day.
- Vehicle wear is a flat rate per mile covering tyres, servicing and mileage-driven depreciation — not insurance or registration.
- Prices are in one currency; the price-per-gallon option means the US gallon (3.785 L).
- Fuel$22217%
- Lodging$32025%
- Food$54042%
- Tolls & activities$302%
- Vehicle wear$18014%
| Category | Total | Per person | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fuel | $222 | $55 | 17% |
| Lodging | $320 | $80 | 25% |
| Food | $540 | $135 | 42% |
| Tolls & activities | $30 | $8 | 2% |
| Vehicle wear | $180 | $45 | 14% |
| Total | $1,292 | $323 | 100% |
How this is worked out
The formula
Total distance = one-way distance × (2 if round trip) Fuel = distance (km) × (L/100 km) ÷ 100 × price per liter L/100 km = 235.215 ÷ mpg (US) = 282.481 ÷ mpg (UK) = 100 ÷ km/L Lodging = nights × nightly rate Food = days × people × daily food budget Wear = miles × wear rate Total = fuel + lodging + food + tolls + activities + wear Per person = total ÷ people
Open How it’s calculated above to see this worked through with your own numbers.
What you enter
- One-way distance
- A number.in mi, km · 0 or more · defaults to 900
- Round trip
- Doubles the distance and the fuel.defaults to on
- Fuel economy
- Use real-world economy, not the window sticker — it runs 10–20% optimistic when loaded.from 0.1 to 1000 · defaults to 28
- Economy unit
- Choose one of 4 options.mpg (US gallon) · mpg (UK/imperial gallon) · L/100 km · km/L
- Fuel price
- A number.in dollars · 0 or more · defaults to 3.45
- Price per
- Choose one of 2 options.US gallon · liter
- People on the trip
- A number.from 1 to 50 · whole numbers only · defaults to 4
- Days away
- A number.from 0 to 365 · whole numbers only · defaults to 3
- Paid nights of lodging
- Zero if you're driving through or staying with friends.from 0 to 365 · whole numbers only · defaults to 2
- Cost per night
- Per room, not per person.in dollars · 0 or more · defaults to 160
- Food per person per day
- A number.in dollars · 0 or more · defaults to 45
- Tolls and parking
- A number.in dollars · 0 or more · defaults to 30
- Activities and other costs
- Park passes, tickets, ferries.in dollars · 0 or more · defaults to 0
- Vehicle wear per mile(under More options)
- Tyres, servicing and depreciation. The IRS mileage rate (about $0.70) is the all-in figure including fuel.in dollars · from 0 to 2 · defaults to 0.1
What you get back
- Total trip costmain answer
- Cost per person
- Fuel
- Lodging
- Food
- Tolls, parking and activities
- Vehicle wear
- Fuel used
- Total distance driven
- All-in cost per mile
What this assumes
- Fuel economy is constant for the whole trip; real economy varies with load, speed and terrain.
- Lodging is priced per room per night, food per person per day.
- Vehicle wear is a flat rate per mile covering tyres, servicing and mileage-driven depreciation — not insurance or registration.
- Prices are in one currency; the price-per-gallon option means the US gallon (3.785 L).
About this calculator
Fuel is the part of a road trip everyone estimates and the smallest part of the bill. On a typical multi-day drive, hotels and food together cost two to three times what the gas does. This calculator budgets the whole thing — fuel, lodging, food, tolls, activities and the wear you are putting on the car — and splits it per person.
How to use it
The drive section works like a fuel-cost calculation: distance, economy in whichever unit your car reports, and the local pump price. Tick round trip and the distance doubles. The trip section adds the parts that actually dominate the budget: paid nights of lodging (a three-day trip normally means two nights), a per-person daily food figure, and the tolls and attractions you already know about.
If you only want the fuel number, use the fuel cost calculator instead — it goes deeper on economy units and price sensitivity, and this one deliberately reuses the same conversion.
Vehicle wear: the cost nobody budgets
Under More options there is a per-mile wear rate, defaulted to $0.10. That covers tyres, brakes, oil, servicing and the depreciation those miles cause. It is invisible during the trip and entirely real afterwards. For context, the IRS standard mileage rate — around $0.70 a mile in recent years — is the all-in cost of operating a car including fuel, and is the right figure to use if you are reimbursing someone or comparing driving with flying.
Making the estimate honest
- Use real-world economy. Loaded with four people, luggage and a roof box at 75 mph, most cars fall 10–20% below their highway rating.
- Budget food per person per day, not per meal. Roadside food is expensive and frequent; $40–$60 a day per adult is realistic in the US without trying hard.
- Count the driving days properly. Above about 500–600 miles a day the trip stops being fun and starts needing an extra night, which is a lodging line you did not plan for.
- Add a contingency. Ten percent covers the unplanned detour, the parking garage and the tyre.
Splitting it fairly
The per-person figure divides everything by the number of people, including the driver. If the driver is supplying the car, a common convention is to split fuel and tolls evenly but let the driver keep the wear allowance — enter the wear rate, then settle only the other categories between passengers.
Frequently asked questions
▸How much does a road trip cost?
Fuel is usually the smallest line. For a US trip, budget fuel from distance ÷ mpg × price, then add roughly $150–$200 a night for lodging and $40–$60 per person per day for food — those two typically outweigh the gas two or three to one.
▸How do I split road trip costs fairly?
Divide the total by everyone including the driver. If the driver supplies the car, a common compromise is to split fuel, tolls and lodging evenly and let the driver absorb the wear allowance, since the mileage is on their vehicle.
▸Should I include wear and tear on my car?
If you are comparing driving against flying, or reimbursing someone, yes — about $0.10 a mile beyond fuel for tyres, servicing and depreciation. For a pure cash budget you can leave it out.
▸How many miles a day should I plan to drive?
Four hundred to five hundred miles is a comfortable day with stops. Six hundred is a long day. Above that you need two drivers or an extra night, which is a real cost.
▸Is driving cheaper than flying?
For two or more people over short and medium distances, usually yes, because fuel is shared while airfares are per seat. Past roughly 700–800 miles or with a solo traveller, flying often wins once hotels and an extra day of driving are counted.
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