Taxi fare calculator
What will the taxi cost? Enter the distance and your city's rate — the calculator handles the base fare, per-kilometre charge, waiting time and a night surcharge. Need the distance first? Our distance search gives real road-network routing between European cities, not straight-line estimates.
An estimate, not a quote. The meter in the vehicle is the binding figure.
Quick answer: A taxi fare is base fare + (distance × rate per km), plus waiting time where the meter charges for it. A 10 km ride at a €4.50 base fare and €2.50/km costs about €29.50. Rates are set by local regulation, not by the driver, so they vary sharply between cities — and only the meter is binding.
The formula, worked through
Fare = base fare + (distance × rate per km) + (waiting minutes × waiting rate)
Example: €4.50 base + 10 km × €2.50 = €29.50. Add 6 minutes stuck in traffic at €0.60/min and it becomes €33.10 — which is why an estimate and a meter reading rarely match exactly in a city centre at rush hour.
Working in miles? Multiply by 1.609 to get kilometres first, or switch the unit above — ourmiles-to-km converter does the same job. Some cities also use a tapered rate, dropping to a lower per-km charge beyond a set distance, which makes long rides cheaper per kilometre than the headline rate suggests.
Researched German taxi tariffs (2026)
| City | Base fare | Per km | Tapered rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Berlin | €4.30 | €2.60 | €2.10 from 7 km |
| Düsseldorf | €5.00 | €2.70 | — |
| Hamburg | €4.50 | €2.70 | €2.00 from 9 km |
| München | €5.90 | €2.70 | — |
These are the five German municipal tariffs we verified against the 2026 ordinances — pick one from the preset dropdown to load it. They are shown because they are researched, not because they represent taxi rates elsewhere: German fares are set per municipality by ordinance, and a London, New York or Dubai rate is a different regime entirely. Enter your own city's numbers for anywhere else.
What the estimate leaves out
- Waiting time — unless you enter it. In stop-start traffic the meter keeps running, and this is usually the biggest gap between an estimate and the final fare.
- Surcharges — luggage, extra passengers, larger vehicles, pets, phone bookings. Typically a small fixed amount per item.
- Airport and station fees — many airports add a pickup surcharge, and some cities set a flat airport fare instead of the meter.
- Tolls — charged on top on routes that use a toll road or tunnel. For European road trips our German-language toll guide lists 2026 prices per country.
- Tips — customary levels vary widely by country and are never included in a metered fare.
Taxi, ride-hailing or public transport?
A metered taxi runs on a regulated tariff that does not change with demand. Ride-hailing apps price dynamically, so they undercut the taxi when demand is low and exceed it when demand spikes — rain, late nights, events and airport arrivals being the usual triggers.
Taxis win on door-to-door travel, luggage, late nights and travelling as a group, since the fare is per ride rather than per person. Public transport almost always wins on price alone. Beyond roughly 50 km, a train or rental car is nearly always cheaper than a taxi — at that distance compare with the trip cost calculator instead.
Frequently asked questions
How do you calculate a taxi fare?
Fare = base fare (the flag-drop charge) + distance × rate per kilometre or mile. Example: a €4.00 base fare plus 10 km at €2.40/km comes to €28.00. Many cities add waiting time charged per minute in slow traffic, and some drop to a lower per-km rate beyond a set distance.
How much is a taxi per km?
It depends entirely on the city, because taxi rates are set by local regulation rather than by the driver. In Germany, which is where our researched tariffs come from, the range is €1.80–2.80 per kilometre plus a €4.00–5.90 base fare. Enter your own city's rate above if you know it — the meter in the vehicle is always the binding figure.
How much is a taxi for 10 km?
Using a typical €4.50 base fare and €2.50/km, about €29.50. At German municipal rates a 10 km ride runs roughly €28–33. For 10 miles (16.1 km) at the same rate, about €44.75 — convert first with our miles-to-km converter.
Does this calculator include waiting time?
Only if you enter it. Add the minutes you expect to spend stationary and a per-minute rate, and the calculator adds that to the fare. Waiting time is usually the largest hidden cost on a city-centre trip at rush hour — it is often the difference between the estimate and the meter.
Is a taxi cheaper than a ride-hailing app?
A regulated taxi tariff is fixed and does not move with demand. Ride-hailing apps are frequently cheaper when demand is low and more expensive when it is high, because of surge pricing. In rain, at night and at peak times the metered taxi is often cheaper and always more predictable.
How do I estimate the fare before I travel?
You need two things: the road distance and the local rate. Get the driving distance for any European city pair from our distance search — real road-network routing, not straight-line estimates — then enter it above with your city's base fare and per-km rate.
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