Free tool
Fuel Cost Calculator for Trips and Trucks
Work out the fuel cost of any trip with this free fuel cost calculator. Enter the distance, the vehicle’s fuel economy and the fuel price, in US units or metric, to get the fuel needed, the trip fuel cost in dollars and the cost per mile or km.
Need the distance? Use the distance calculator first. Defaults are an example; change them to your own figures and local fuel price.
How to use the fuel cost calculator
- Choose US units (miles, MPG, gallons) or metric (km, km/L, litres).
- Enter the trip distance, fuel economy and fuel price.
- Add the return trip and read the fuel needed, total cost and cost per mile or km.
Fuel is the biggest line in a trip’s cost
For most trucking fleets, fuel is the largest or second-largest operating cost, next to driver wages. A small change in fuel economy moves the whole margin: a truck doing 6 MPG instead of 6.5 burns about 8 percent more diesel for the same load.
Use the calculator to price a trip before you quote it, and compare the figure with the fuel actually bought. If the real fuel is consistently higher, the cause is usually idling, overloading, route deviations or fuel theft, all of which fleet software can show you.
Further reading: Fuel economy (Wikipedia)
Need this for your whole fleet?
Compare expected fuel with actual fills for every trip and catch theft as it happens. See our fleet fuel management software.
Fuel Cost Calculator FAQs
How do I calculate fuel cost for a trip?
Fuel needed = distance ÷ fuel economy. Fuel cost = fuel needed × price per gallon or litre. For example, 500 miles at 6.5 MPG needs about 77 gallons; at $3.80 a gallon that is about $292.
What fuel economy should I use for a truck?
Use your own average from fuel records if you have it. Loaded heavy trucks commonly return around 5 to 8 MPG (roughly 2 to 3.5 km per litre), and vans and light commercial vehicles considerably more.
Can I use kilometres and litres?
Yes. Switch to metric units to enter distance in km, fuel economy in km per litre and the price per litre. The cost is shown in dollars either way.
Should I include the return trip?
If the vehicle returns empty, yes. An empty return trip still burns fuel, usually a little less per mile than the loaded leg.