Trip cost calculator
What will the drive cost? Fuel cost for your route, the real cost per kilometre and the fair share per passenger. Get the driving distance between two cities from our distance search — real road data, not straight-line guesses.
Full cost = rough guide including wear, insurance and depreciation (compact class). Only the fuel figure is exact from your inputs.
Quick answer: Driving 100 km costs about €12 in fuel (7 l/100 km at €1.75/l) — but €40–55 all-in once wear, insurance and depreciation are counted. That gap is why mileage rates like HMRC's 45p/mile exist.
The formula, worked through
Fuel cost = distance × consumption ÷ 100 × price per litre.
Example: 100 km × 7 l/100 km ÷ 100 = 7 litres. 7 l × €1.75 = €12.25. Double it for the return leg; divide by the number of people for the share each.
For US/UK units: multiply miles by 1.609 to get km first — or use our miles-to-km converter. MPG to l/100 km: divide 282.5 by the imperial MPG figure (35 mpg ≈ 8.1 l/100 km).
What a kilometre really costs, by vehicle class
| Vehicle class | fuel only | full cost per km | 100 km all-in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small car | ~€0.10 | €0.35–0.45 | €35–45 |
| Compact | ~€0.12 | €0.45–0.55 | €45–55 |
| Mid-size | ~€0.14 | €0.55–0.70 | €55–70 |
| SUV / van | ~€0.16 | €0.60–0.80 | €60–80 |
| EV (home charging) | ~€0.05 | €0.35–0.50 | €35–50 |
Mileage rates: what employers and tax offices pay
- UK (HMRC): 45p per mile for the first 10,000 business miles per year, 25p thereafter — tax-free reimbursement.
- US (IRS): around 70 cents per mile for business use — the rate changes yearly, check irs.gov.
- Germany: €0.30 per km for business trips with a private car; commuting uses a separate distance allowance (€0.30/€0.38).
- These flat rates deliberately sit near the full cost per km — they cover fuel and wear, not just petrol.
Planning a European road trip? Add tolls
Fuel is only half the bill on many European routes: Austria, Switzerland, Czechia and Slovenia require motorway vignettes (€13–45), while Italy, France and Croatia charge per-kilometre tolls (€7–10 per 100 km). Our German-language toll guide for Europe lists 2026 prices per country; the driving distance for any city pair is in the distance search.
Frequently asked questions
How do you calculate the cost of a trip?
Fuel cost = distance in km × consumption per 100 km ÷ 100 × fuel price per litre. Example: 200 km × 7 l/100 km × €1.75/l = €24.50. Full vehicle costs (wear, insurance, depreciation) are closer to €0.30–0.60 per kilometre.
What does driving 100 km really cost?
Fuel only: about €12 at 7 l/100 km and €1.75/l. Including wear, tyres, insurance, tax and depreciation, a compact car runs €45–55 per 100 km — roughly four times the fuel-only figure.
How much should passengers contribute for fuel?
A fair range is €0.05–0.10 per kilometre per person. Pure fuel cost is ~€0.12/km, so €5–10 per person for a 100 km ride covers fuel and part of the wear.
What are typical mileage reimbursement rates?
UK (HMRC): 45p per mile for the first 10,000 business miles, 25p after. US (IRS): around 70 cents per mile (check irs.gov for the current year). Germany: €0.30/km for business trips. These flat rates are meant to cover fuel AND wear.
How do I calculate trip cost for an electric car?
Same formula with kWh: distance × consumption (kWh/100 km) ÷ 100 × electricity price. At 18 kWh/100 km and €0.30/kWh home charging, 100 km costs €5.40 — about half a petrol car. Fast charging at €0.60–0.80/kWh erodes most of that advantage.
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