Cost Per Mile to Drive Calculator
Driving costs more than just gas. The true cost per mile adds your fuel to the insurance, registration and maintenance you pay whether you drive or not. Enter your numbers to see what each mile really costs — essential for rideshare drivers and for deciding between owning and not.
Your numbers
Result
- Fuel only
- $0.14
- Fixed costs per mile
- $0.33
- Average monthly cost
- $473.33
| Component | $/mile |
|---|---|
| Fuel | $0.14 |
| Fixed (insurance, registration, maintenance) | $0.33 |
| Total per mile | $0.47 |
Fuel is only part of the cost
Cost per mile has two parts: fuel (price ÷ MPG) and fixed costs spread across your miles. A car that gets 25 MPG on $3.50 gas costs $0.14/mile in fuel. Add $4,000/year of insurance, registration and maintenance over 12,000 miles (about $0.33/mile) and the real cost climbs to roughly $0.47 per mile.
Why it matters for rideshare and delivery
If you drive for Uber, Lyft or a delivery app, you need your cost per mile so you are not working at a loss. When a trip pays less than your total cost per mile, it is eating into the value of your car instead of earning a profit. Fold depreciation into the fixed costs for an even more honest figure.
Owning vs. not owning
Comparing your cost per mile with the price of rideshare or transit helps you decide. If you drive only a few thousand miles a year, a car that mostly sits still still racks up fixed costs — and paying per ride can come out cheaper. The IRS standard mileage rate is a useful benchmark for the all-in cost of driving.
Frequently asked questions
Sources
Embed this calculator
Copy the code and paste it into your site or blog. Credit with a link back to Contania is included, and the height adjusts itself.
<iframe src="https://contania.app/embed/automotive/cost-per-mile" title="Cost Per Mile Calculator" width="100%" height="720" loading="lazy" style="border:1px solid #e5e0d8;border-radius:12px;max-width:640px"></iframe>
<script>window.addEventListener("message",function(e){if(e.data&&e.data.type==="contania:embed-height"){var f=document.querySelector('iframe[src="https://contania.app/embed/automotive/cost-per-mile"]');if(f){f.style.height=e.data.height+"px"}}});</script>Related calculators
Gas Mileage
Work out your car’s gas mileage in MPG from the miles driven and gallons used, plus the cost per mile and the metric equivalents (km/L and L/100km).
CalculateGas Trip Cost
Estimate what a road trip will cost in gas: fuel from the distance and your car’s MPG, plus tolls, with an option for a round trip and splitting the cost between passengers.
CalculateCar Depreciation
Estimate how much your car will be worth in the years ahead from its yearly depreciation rate. See the projected value, the total loss and the value curve year by year.
CalculateEV Range
Estimate an electric car’s range from the battery size and efficiency in miles per kWh, plus the cost of a full charge and the cost per mile at your electricity rate.
Calculate