Fuel Cost Calculator
Enter the fuel efficiency, cost of fuel, and distance driven to estimate the cost of the trip and the amount of fuel used in gallons or liters.
Fuel Cost:
Joe is the creator of Inch Calculator and has over 20 years of experience in engineering and construction. He holds several degrees and certifications.
Stephen specializes in all aspects of the automotive world and has been an automotive enthusiast since childhood. He follows the global automotive industry closely, with an eye on the latest vehicle technologies.
How to Calculate the Cost of Fuel
To estimate the amount of fuel used for a trip and to find the cost of that fuel, follow these simple steps.
Start by estimating the driving distance for the trip. Try Google Maps to find your trip distance.
Then, find the estimated EPA fuel efficiency of your vehicle. This will let you know how approximately many miles per gallon (MPG) you can expect from it during your trip.
This information can be found in the owner’s manual or online.[1] You will see MPG ratings for city, highway, and combined city and highway driving – use the MPG rating that comes closest to the type of driving that you will be doing on the trip.
Next, check the price per gallon of the gasoline that you are using, which will be needed to calculate the cost of the trip.
Finally, enter those values into these formulas to calculate the amount of fuel used and to determine the cost of that fuel:
fuel used = distance ÷ fuel efficiency
fuel cost = fuel used × cost per gallon
Be sure that your fuel economy units are the same as the units of fuel being purchased (MPG and gallons of fuel). For metric fuel consumption, try our liters per 100 km to km per liter conversion calculator to find the fuel economy value to use in these formulas.
For example, let’s find the cost of a 200-mile trip in a vehicle that gets 22 mpg with a fuel cost of $2.85 per gallon.
Start by finding the amount of fuel used:
fuel used = 200 ÷ 22
fuel used = 9.09 gallons
Then, calculate the cost of the fuel used:
fuel cost = 9.09 × $2.85
fuel cost = $25.91
Thus, you can expect to use 9.09 gallons of gasoline for this trip, which will cost you $25.91.
You might also be interested in our fuel savings calculator.
References
- U.S. Department of Energy, Find and Compare Cars, https://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/findacar.shtml