Fuel Cost Calculator
Enter your distance, fuel economy and fuel price to estimate the cost of the trip.
How to use the Fuel Cost Calculator
- Put the trip length into Distance (km). For a return journey, enter both legs.
- Enter your car's figure in Fuel economy (km/L), not litres per 100 km.
- Enter the pump price in Fuel price (per L), in whatever currency you pay in.
- Press Calculate for the litres needed and the rounded trip cost.
Turning mpg or L/100km into km/L
This box takes kilometres per litre only. If your car reports litres per 100 km, divide 100 by that number, so 8 L/100km is 12.5 km/L. For US miles per gallon multiply by 0.4251; for imperial mpg multiply by 0.354.
| Fuel economy | Litres per 100 km |
|---|---|
| 8 km/L | 12.5 |
| 10 km/L | 10.0 |
| 12 km/L | 8.3 |
| 15 km/L | 6.7 |
| 20 km/L | 5.0 |
Why the estimate lands under a real fill-up
The figure covers fuel burned over the distance and nothing else. Tolls, parking and the litres spent idling or warming a cold engine sit outside it, and a rated economy figure comes from a test cycle. Treat the answer as a floor and add a margin when budgeting.
Frequently asked questions
Does it work for electric vehicles?
No. This assumes liquid fuel. EV running costs are measured in kWh per distance and priced per kWh.
Why is my real cost different?
Fuel economy varies with driving style, traffic, load, weather and tyre pressure, often by 20 percent or more from the rated figure.
How do I do a return trip?
Double the distance before typing it, or run it once and double the cost. There is no return-trip switch on the panel.
Can I compare two cars?
Run it twice and change only the fuel economy figure. Holding the distance and price steady means the difference you see comes from the car alone.
Why is the litre figure only one decimal?
Litres are rounded for display, while the cost is worked out from the unrounded value. So multiplying the litres you see by the price can miss the cost you see slightly.