Road trip cost calculator
Budget the whole drive, not just the gas: fuel, hotel nights, food, tolls and tickets, with the total split per person and per day.
The drive
Don't know your MPG? Look up your car
Ratings from the US EPA via FuelEconomy.gov (US-market models, 1984 on). Real-world mileage is often a little lower.
Days, beds and meals
Everything else
The starting numbers are an example, not averages. Replace them with your own quotes.
How the estimate is built
- Fuel = total miles ÷ mpg × gas price. Use the total for every leg, including side trips; mapping apps undercount detours, so many drivers add 5–10%.
- Lodging = paid nights × rooms × nightly rate. Nights with friends or camping cost nothing here; leave them out of "paid nights".
- Food = travellers × days × daily food budget.
- Extras: tolls, parking, park entry and tickets, entered as trip totals.
Fuel is usually the smaller line on a multi-day trip; nights and meals add up faster. Gas prices for your route are published by AAA and the US EIA; the fuel cost calculator handles a single leg, round trips and fuel stops, and the 1,000-mile gas cost table shows how mpg and price interact.
Ask about this road trip
An AI assistant reads the figures above and answers in plain English. It only runs when you press the button; the calculator works without it.
Questions drivers ask
How do I calculate how much a road trip will cost?
Add four things: fuel (total miles ÷ mpg × gas price), lodging (nights × rooms × nightly rate), food (people × days × daily food budget) and extras such as tolls, parking and admission tickets. Divide by the number of travellers for the per-person share. The calculator does all four at once.
How much would a 7-day road trip cost?
It depends far more on lodging and food than on gas. As an example with these assumptions: 1,500 miles in a 30 mpg car at $3.50/gal is $175 in fuel; 6 nights in one room at $130 is $780; two people eating on $45 a day each for 7 days is $630. Add $190 for tolls, parking and tickets and the total is $1,775, or about $888 each (these are the calculator's starting numbers). Change any input to match your plans.
How much will gas cost for a 1,000-mile trip?
At 25 mpg you need 40 gallons: $140 at $3.50 or $160 at $4.00. At 35 mpg it is 28.6 gallons ($100 at $3.50). See the 1,000-mile page for a full table.
Is it cheaper to drive or fly?
For two or more people, driving often wins on short and medium trips because the fuel cost is shared while airfare is per seat. For a solo traveller on a long trip, flying can be cheaper once you count extra hotel nights and meals on the road. Price both with your real numbers: the AI helper on this page can compare them if you give it a fare.
How should friends split road trip costs?
Shared costs (fuel, tolls, parking, shared rooms) are usually split equally among everyone in the car. Food is often paid individually. If the car belongs to one person, some groups also add a wear-and-tear allowance; the IRS business mileage rate is a common upper benchmark.