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Car running cost calculator.
What does your car cost to drive? Estimate fuel and everyday running costs per month, per year, and per mile or kilometre.
See the formulas and assumptions ↓02 / EXAMPLE ESTIMATE
Your cost to drive.
- Per mile
- $0.300
- Per year
- $3,600.00
Where it goes / monthly
- Fuel
- $140.00
- Maintenance
- $50.00
- Insurance
- $100.00
- Registration
- $10.00
Annual costs are spread over 12 months. This is a budget estimate, not a prediction of when a bill will arrive.
This is your estimate.
Start keeping the actual record.
Start your garage free Free includes one vehicle and maintenance and fuel logging. Ongoing fuel-economy and cost-per-mile insights require Pro. See plan limits.
Included: fuel and the annual maintenance, insurance, and registration costs you enter. Excluded: depreciation, finance payments, parking, tolls, purchase costs, and other unentered expenses. This is not a total cost-of-ownership calculation.
How the running cost calculator works.
No vehicle lookup, average repair database, or fuel-price feed is used. Every estimate comes from the numbers you enter. Use your own records when available and treat budgeted amounts as assumptions.
1. Estimate your monthly fuel use
Miles ÷ MPG × price per gallon = monthly fuel cost.
Kilometres × (litres per 100 km ÷ 100) × price per litre = monthly fuel cost.
US MPG uses US gallons; Imperial MPG uses Imperial gallons. Match the price to that same gallon type. Switching measurement units converts the current distance, economy, and fuel-price entries. Currency selection changes the label only, not exchange rates.
2. Spread annual costs across the year
Monthly fuel cost + (annual maintenance + insurance + registration) ÷ 12 = estimated monthly running cost.
3. Find your per-mile or per-kilometre figure
Monthly running cost ÷ monthly distance = cost per mile or kilometre.
Monthly running cost × 12 = estimated annual running cost.
The annual estimate assumes the same driving and fuel prices throughout the year. Calculations retain precision; displayed amounts are rounded. A zero driving distance cannot produce a meaningful per-distance result.
A worked example: $0.30 per mile.
Suppose you drive 1,000 miles a month, average 25 US MPG, and pay $3.50 per US gallon. Your annual budgets are $600 for maintenance, $1,200 for insurance, and $120 for registration. These are illustrative inputs—not recommended budgets or market averages.
- Fuel: 1,000 ÷ 25 × $3.50 = $140 per month.
- Other entered costs: ($600 + $1,200 + $120) ÷ 12 = $160 per month.
- Total: $300 per month, $3,600 per year, or $0.30 per mile.
Leaving the annual fields blank gives a fuel-only estimate. Adding them gives a broader running-cost budget, but still excludes depreciation and financing.
Before you use the result.
Does this tell me what my specific car will cost?
No. It calculates a budget from your inputs, not a model-specific prediction. Repairs, mileage, and fuel prices can change. Review actual spending regularly instead of treating the annual figure as a quote.
Can I use this for an electric car?
This version uses liquid-fuel economy and fuel prices. It does not calculate EV charging costs or combine electricity and fuel costs for plug-in hybrids.
Do I need an account? Will my estimate be saved?
No account is needed, and all results are shown for free. The calculator runs in your browser; your entries are not saved as a Gearboxe record and are lost when you reload or leave the page. Starting an account does not automatically import this estimate.
What does Gearboxe add?
A place to keep the actual maintenance entries, fuel logs, and details behind your costs. Free includes one vehicle and maintenance and fuel logging. Ongoing fuel-economy and cost-per-mile insights require Pro. Compare Free and Pro.