Fuel Cost Calculator

Calculate the fuel cost of any trip.

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This calculator prices a journey in fuel from three numbers: the distance in kilometres, your vehicle's mileage in km per litre, and what a litre costs at the pump. It returns the total fuel cost of the trip, the litres you will burn and the cost per kilometre, which is what you need to budget a road trip, price a delivery run or split petrol money fairly with friends.

The formula it uses

There are only two steps. Fuel needed = distance ÷ mileage. Trip cost = fuel needed × price per litre. The third figure, cost per km, is the trip cost divided by the distance, which simplifies to price ÷ mileage. That is why cost per km stays the same whether you drive 50 km or 500 km in the same vehicle at the same fuel price.

Money figures are shown with two decimals and no currency sign, so the answer is in whatever currency you used for the price. Litres are rounded to two decimals at most.

Worked example: a 300 km weekend drive

A hatchback that really does about 15 km/L, petrol at ₹102 a litre, and a destination 300 km away:

Fuel needed: 300 ÷ 15 = 20 L
Trip cost: 20 × 102 = ₹2,040
Cost per km: 2,040 ÷ 300 = ₹6.80

The calculator does not double the distance for you, so for the return journey enter 600 km. That gives 40 L and ₹4,080, or ₹1,020 each if four friends are sharing the car. A daily commuter on a motorcycle doing 45 km/L, riding 1,200 km a month with petrol at ₹103, would see 26.67 L, ₹2,746.67 and ₹2.29 per km.

Getting a realistic mileage figure

The mileage printed in a brochure is the ARAI-certified figure, measured on a standard test cycle. Everyday driving with traffic, air conditioning, luggage and high highway speeds usually returns less, and an optimistic mileage is the most common reason an estimate comes in low. To measure your own figure:

Fill the tank to full and reset the trip meter.
Drive normally until the tank is at least half empty.
Fill up to full again and note the litres added.
Divide the kilometres on the trip meter by those litres.

If your route is mostly city traffic, use your city figure; for an expressway run, your highway figure will be closer.

CNG, diesel and electric vehicles

The arithmetic does not care about units. For a CNG car, type mileage in km per kg and the price per kg; the fuel line will still say L, but the quantity is kilograms and the cost is correct. For an electric car, enter km per kWh and your tariff per kWh. Running the calculator once per vehicle is a quick way to compare them: at ₹102 a litre and 15 km/L, petrol costs ₹6.80 per km, while a CNG car doing 25 km/kg at, say, ₹80 per kg works out to ₹3.20 per km.

What the estimate leaves out

Only fuel is counted. Tolls, parking, servicing and tyre wear are extra, so add toll charges for the route separately when you split costs. To estimate how long the drive will take at a given average speed, use the speed, distance and time calculator.

Frequently asked questions

How do I calculate fuel cost for a round trip?

Enter the total distance for both directions, for example 600 km for a destination 300 km away. The calculator uses exactly the distance you type and does not double it.

Why was my actual fuel bill higher than the estimate?

Usually the mileage entered was higher than what the vehicle achieves on that route. Traffic, idling, air conditioning and high speeds all lower real mileage, so measure it with a full-tank test and use that figure.

Can I use this for a CNG car?

Yes. Enter mileage in km per kg and the CNG price per kg. The fuel line still reads L, but it is showing kilograms and the cost is calculated correctly.

What does cost per km tell me?

It is the fuel spend for every kilometre driven, equal to the fuel price divided by mileage. It is a handy figure for comparing two vehicles or agreeing a per-km reimbursement for fuel.

Does the result include toll charges?

No. Only fuel is calculated, so add tolls, parking and any other trip costs separately.