Cost per Mile Calculator
This cost per mile calculator adds up what your car really costs to own, not just what you spend at the pump. Enter the purchase price and expected resale value, your yearly miles, fuel economy or electricity use, and your yearly bills for insurance, registration and upkeep. You get the cost per mile, per month and per year, split into fixed and variable costs, with a table showing which items weigh the most.
Updated
Results
- Cost per year
- Total over ownershipYearly cost × years
- Fixed costs per yearDepreciation, insurance, registration, parking, interest, other
- Variable costs per yearFuel or electricity, maintenance, tires
- Fixed cost per mile
- Variable cost per mile
- Depreciation per year(Price − resale) ÷ years
- Fuel or electricity per year
- Fuel or electricity per mile
- Fuel or energy used per yearGallons or kWh
| Cost | Type | Per year | Per month | Per mile | Share of total |
|---|
Results are estimates. See the methodology below.
How to use the calculator
- Gas or electric. Gas cars use mpg and the price per gallon; electric cars use kWh per 100 miles and the price per kWh. Hybrids can use the gas setting with their combined mpg.
- Depreciation inputs: what you paid, what you expect to sell or trade it for, and how many years you will keep it.
- Miles per year: check two odometer readings a year apart, or your service records.
- Yearly costs: insurance premium, registration fees and taxes, maintenance and repairs, tires and parking. Spread multi-year items over the years, so an $800 set of tires every four years is $200 a year.
- More costs (optional): the interest you pay on a car loan this year, plus tolls, inspections or car washes.
The default values are examples, not national averages. Replace them with your own bills.
How the cost is calculated
- Depreciation per year = (purchase price − resale value) ÷ years of ownership, spread evenly.
- Gas per year = miles ÷ mpg × price per gallon.
- Electricity per year = miles × kWh per 100 mi ÷ 100 × price per kWh.
- Yearly total = depreciation + fuel or electricity + all the other costs you enter.
- Cost per mile = yearly total ÷ miles per year; per month = yearly total ÷ 12; over ownership = yearly total × years.
Depreciation, insurance, registration, parking, loan interest and other costs count as fixed: you pay them even if the car sits in the garage. Fuel, maintenance and tires count as variable. That split is a convention: maintenance and tires depend partly on time as well as miles, and the calculator keeps the yearly amounts you type, so if you change your mileage, adjust them too. Real cars lose value faster in the first years; this calculator uses a straight line. Loan principal is not a cost here, since it pays for the car; use our car loan calculator for payments.
Examples
1. A $35,000 gas car driven 12,000 miles a year
The car is expected to be worth $17,500 after 5 years. At 30 mpg and $3.20 a gallon, it burns 400 gallons a year. With $1,800 insurance, $250 registration, $900 maintenance and $200 for tires:
| Cost | Per year | Per mile | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Depreciation | $3,500 | $0.292 | 44.1% |
| Insurance | $1,800 | $0.150 | 22.7% |
| Gas | $1,280 | $0.107 | 16.1% |
| Maintenance | $900 | $0.075 | 11.3% |
| Registration & taxes | $250 | $0.021 | 3.2% |
| Tires | $200 | $0.017 | 2.5% |
| Total | $7,930 | $0.661 | 100% |
That is $660.83 a month and $39,650 over five years. Gas is only about a sixth of the total. At 22 mpg instead, the cost rises to $0.700 a mile.
2. Driving more
The same car driven 20,000 miles a year costs $8,783.33 a year, but only $0.439 a mile, because the $5,550 of fixed costs is spread over more miles.
3. An electric car
A $42,000 EV worth $21,000 after 5 years, using 30 kWh per 100 miles at $0.17 per kWh, needs 3,600 kWh a year: $612 of electricity. With $600 maintenance and the other costs as above, the total is $7,662 a year, or $0.639 a mile. If you paid $0.40 per kWh for all your charging, it would be $0.708 a mile.
Frequently asked questions
How do I calculate cost per mile for my car?
Add up a year of ownership costs, including depreciation, and divide by the miles you drove that year. Fuel alone usually understates the cost: in the first example it is $0.107 of a $0.661 total.
Is the IRS mileage rate the same as my cost per mile?
No. The IRS standard mileage rate is what you may use to deduct the cost of driving for business, charity, medical or military moving purposes. For business use it is 72.5 cents a mile for January through June 2026 and 76 cents from July 1 through December 31, 2026. Your own cost can be higher or lower. Our mileage calculator applies the IRS rates.
What does kWh per 100 miles mean?
It is how many kilowatt-hours an electric vehicle needs to travel 100 miles, as shown on the EPA fuel economy label. Lower is more efficient. Enter it with what you pay per kWh, at home or at public chargers.
What mileage does the EPA assume for annual fuel costs?
The EPA's window-sticker annual fuel cost assumes 15,000 miles a year. Use your own yearly miles here, since cost per mile depends heavily on how much you drive.
Why does my cost per mile fall when I drive more?
Fixed costs such as insurance and depreciation are spread over more miles. Wear and tear do rise with mileage, and high miles also lower resale value, so update those inputs when you test a bigger number.
Sources
Results are estimates based on the figures you enter and a straight-line depreciation assumption. Actual resale values, fuel prices and repair bills vary.