Road Trip Cost Calculator

Calculate the full cost of a road trip including fuel, accommodation, and food. Split total costs per person for easy group travel budgeting.

Units

Journey details

miles
MPG
$ / gal

Optional extras

$
$
$

Trip cost breakdown

Enter journey details above to see cost estimates.

Planning Your Road Trip Budget

Fuel is often only 30–50% of the total road trip cost. Factor in accommodation (especially for multi-day trips), food, parking, tolls, and any entrance fees to attractions.

  • Book accommodation in advance to avoid inflated last-minute prices.
  • Pack snacks and a cooler — motorway service stations charge a premium.
  • Download offline maps for areas with poor signal.
  • Check tyre pressure before departure to improve fuel economy and safety.
  • Travel with friends — splitting costs 3 or 4 ways transforms the economics.

Frequently Asked Questions

The calculator covers fuel cost (required), plus optional extras: tolls, hotel accommodation, and daily food/meal budget. Per-person cost is calculated by splitting the total across the number of travellers.

For road trips at motorway speeds, your fuel consumption is typically slightly better than city driving but slightly worse than your official rating due to sustained high-speed cruising. A good rule is to use your real-world fuel economy figure rather than the manufacturer's claimed figure.

This calculator is for a one-way trip by default. To include the return journey, double your distance (or nights/tolls if those differ on the return).

Sharing a car trip with passengers makes it dramatically cheaper per person. Four people sharing a 500-mile drive can each pay as little as 25% of the solo cost, often making road trips cheaper than flying or taking a train.