Gas, diesel, or electric — see what your trip really costs
💡 Why This Matters Whatever you drive, knowing your real trip cost before you leave makes budgeting a road trip (or your daily commute) a lot easier. Pick your fuel type and vehicle size, plug in your trip distance, get an instant total.
Look up your route's mileage on Google Maps or similar, then enter it here — this calculator doesn't fetch live driving directions yet.
Diesel engines are typically 20-35% more fuel-efficient than comparable gas engines by volume, which is why diesel trip costs often land closer to electric than to gas, even though diesel fuel itself usually costs more per gallon.
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For gas or diesel, trip distance is divided by MPG to get gallons needed, then multiplied by the price per gallon. For electric, trip distance is divided by miles-per-kWh efficiency to get kilowatt-hours needed, then multiplied by the price per kWh. Selecting a vehicle size (small, mid-size, SUV, or truck) auto-fills a realistic average efficiency for that size and fuel type — or choose "Custom" to enter your own vehicle's actual rating. All three fuel types use the same distance-over-efficiency-times-price logic — just different units per fuel type.
The dollar figure shows pure fuel or energy cost for the trip distance you entered — nothing else. It's a direct answer to "what will this trip cost me in fuel," useful for budgeting a road trip or sanity-checking your commute costs.
This doesn't account for charging losses (EVs typically lose 10-15% of energy to charging inefficiency), public charging markups, or maintenance costs like oil changes and tire wear. The vehicle-size presets are broad real-world averages, not your specific make and model — if you know your car's actual MPG or kWh rating, select "Custom" and enter it for a more accurate number. This calculator also doesn't fetch live driving directions — enter your trip's mileage manually (Google Maps or a similar route planner will give you an exact number) rather than relying on straight-line distance between the start and destination you enter.
Run your actual commute or an upcoming road trip through the calculator to see your real numbers. Switch the fuel type dropdown to compare what the same trip would cost in a different vehicle you're considering.
Example: A 300-mile trip from Seattle to Portland in a mid-size gas car (26 MPG average) at $3.50/gallon costs 300 ÷ 26 × $3.50 = $40.38. The same trip in a mid-size EV (3.5 mi/kWh average) at $0.16/kWh costs 300 ÷ 3.5 × $0.16 = $13.71. Switch to an SUV (22 MPG) and the gas trip jumps to $47.73.
Trip distance is divided by your vehicle's miles-per-gallon rating to get gallons needed, then multiplied by your local price per gallon.
Trip distance is divided by your EV's miles-per-kWh efficiency to get kilowatt-hours needed, then multiplied by your electricity price per kWh.
No — this calculates pure fuel or energy cost only. Real-world EV charging has some efficiency loss (typically 10-15%), and every vehicle type has its own maintenance costs, none of which is factored in here. Treat this as a fuel-cost estimate, not a full cost-of-ownership picture.
They're realistic US averages for each vehicle class and fuel type, but your specific make and model may differ — select "Custom" vehicle size and enter your car's actual rated MPG or kWh efficiency for a more precise result.
Not yet — enter your trip's mileage manually using Google Maps or a similar route planner. The start and destination fields are just for labeling your results when you share them.