Road Trip Cost Calculator
The miles and your car’s MPG: the gas at this week’s official average price for your part of the country, your car’s wear, the nights on the road and the tolls. Add the airfares to see whether flying is cheaper.
1,000 miles · 2 people · round trip
$515 to drive itGas $179: 40 gallons at $4.478, the US average for the week of September 21, 2026 (EIA).
- Gas
- $179
- Car wear
- $110
- Rooms (2 nights)
- $226
- Per person
- $258
- Driving each way
- 9.1 h over 2 days
Gas: EIA weekly retail prices, week of 2026-09-21. Car wear: 11.04¢ a mile, AAA Your Driving Costs 2025, for a new car. Room: GSA’s standard lodging rate, fiscal year 2027.
Quick answer: gas for a trip is the miles divided by your car’s MPG, times the price of a gallon. A 1,000-mile round trip at 25 MPG takes 40 gallons, $179 at the US average of $4.478 for the week of September 21, 2026. With the car’s wear and two nights on the road, the drive costs $515.
How to use it
Type the miles one way and your car’s combined MPG (it is on fueleconomy.gov and on the window sticker), and choose round trip or one way. Pick where you will fill up: the US average, a region, one of nine states or ten cities, from the US Energy Information Administration’s weekly survey, or type the price at your station. Then tell it your plan: hours of driving a day and your average speed with stops. It works out the days on the road, the nights you need a room, and the whole cost. Add tolls if you know them, and the airfares and a rental car to see whether flying would be cheaper.
Where the numbers come from
Gas: the EIA’s weekly retail prices, with taxes, surveyed every Monday for regular gasoline and diesel and published that day or the next. The page opens with the week shipped with it and loads a newer week as soon as there is one. Car wear: AAA’s Your Driving Costs study (2025) puts maintenance, repairs and tyres at 11.04¢ a mile for a new car; an older car can cost more. Rooms: the nightly rate starts at GSA’s standard lodging rate for fiscal year 2027, $113, the government’s rate for every place in the 48 states without a rate of its own. Type what your motel actually costs.
Gas cost per 100 miles
The whole sum in one table: find your MPG and the price you pay. For the full trip, multiply by the miles and divide by 100.
| MPG | $3.50 a gallon | $4.00 | $4.50 | $5.00 | $5.50 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | $17.50 | $20.00 | $22.50 | $25.00 | $27.50 |
| 25 | $14.00 | $16.00 | $18.00 | $20.00 | $22.00 |
| 30 | $11.67 | $13.33 | $15.00 | $16.67 | $18.33 |
| 35 | $10.00 | $11.43 | $12.86 | $14.29 | $15.71 |
| 40 | $8.75 | $10.00 | $11.25 | $12.50 | $13.75 |
Worked examples
Fly or drive, a family of four. 700 miles each way at 30 MPG, filling up in the Midwest at $4.386 (week of September 21, 2026): 46.7 gallons is $205, wear $155 and two nights at $113 is $226, so driving costs $586. Four fares at $250 plus a $300 rental car come to $1,300: driving is $714 cheaper, about $147 each.
Moving across the country in a diesel pickup. 1,200 miles one way at 18 MPG and the US diesel average of $6.529: 66.7 gallons is $435. At 55 mph for 8 hours a day that is 21.8 hours over 3 days, so two nights on the road, $226. With $132 of wear the move costs $793 to drive.
The default trip. 500 miles each way at 25 MPG: 9.1 hours of driving each way, so at 8 hours a day each leg takes two days and one night, two nights in all.
Common mistakes
- Using the car’s highway MPG for a trip with city driving at both ends. The combined figure is closer.
- Counting one way when you are driving back. The round trip doubles the gas and the nights.
- Planning 12 hours of driving a day. A plan you cannot keep adds a night you did not budget.
- Comparing gas with airfares and nothing else. The car’s wear and the rooms are real costs of driving, and a rental car is a real cost of flying.
Plan the drive
Pack the road trip essentials, find a route in these American road trips you can plan in a weekend, or go big with a cross-country national parks itinerary. Driving south? Read how to prepare for a road trip to Florida and the New York to Florida stops.
FAQ
How do I calculate the fuel cost of a trip?
Divide the miles by your car’s MPG to get the gallons, then multiply by the price of a gallon. 1,000 miles at 25 MPG is 40 gallons; at $4.478 a gallon that is $179. The tool does it with this week’s official average price for your region.
How much gas will a 500-mile trip take?
500 miles ÷ your MPG: 20 gallons at 25 MPG, about 16.7 at 30 MPG, 25 at 20 MPG. At $4.478 a gallon, 20 gallons is $90 one way.
Is it cheaper to fly or drive?
It depends on how many of you there are: the car costs the same however many ride in it, and every seat on a plane is another fare. Add the gas, the car’s wear, the tolls and the nights on the road on one side, and the fares for everyone and a rental car on the other: the tool shows both and the difference.
How many miles can I drive in a day?
Your hours at the wheel times your average speed with stops. At 55 mph for 8 hours it is 440 miles; the tool uses your own numbers to count the days and the nights you need a room.
What does wear on my car cost per mile?
AAA’s Your Driving Costs (2025) puts maintenance, repairs and tyres at 11.04¢ a mile for a new car, averaged over five years and 75,000 miles. An older car can cost more. The tool adds it to the cost of driving.
Where do the gas prices come from?
The US Energy Information Administration’s weekly survey of retail prices, taxes included, surveyed every Monday: the US average, its regions, nine states and ten cities for regular gasoline, and regions for diesel. Your own station’s price can be typed in instead.