Road Trip Cost Calculator

Add fuel, lodging, food, tolls and other costs to see what the whole road trip costs, per person and per day.

The road trip cost calculator adds up fuel, lodging, food, tolls and other costs for a road trip. It shows a “Total trip cost,” a “Cost per person” and a “Cost per day,” so you can see what a trip will likely cost before you book.

Enter your distance, fuel economy, gas price, number of travelers, days, nights and daily spending. Change any number and the results change with it. The page loads with a sample trip so you can see how the numbers fit together.

Everything runs in your browser, so nothing you type is sent anywhere. The tool is free and needs no sign-up. You can use the same inputs to compare a weekend trip, a family week or a two-week cross-country drive.

How to use the Road trip cost calculator

Start with a preset chip if one fits: “Weekend trip, 2 people,” “Family week, 4 people,” or “Cross-country, 2 weeks.” Then change the numbers to match your trip.
Enter “Total distance” in miles or kilometers. Include the whole drive, including the way back.
Enter “Fuel economy” in mpg, L/100 km or km/L.
Choose your “Gas price: state.” The “Price per gallon or liter” fills in with the EIA price for that state. Type your own price if you have a better number.
Choose your “Fuel type.”
Enter the number of “Travelers” and “Days.”
Enter “Nights in lodging,” “Rooms” and “Lodging per room per night ($).”
Enter “Food per person per day ($).”
Look up your tolls with the toll road’s own calculator. Type the total into “Tolls, whole trip ($).”
Enter “Parking, park entrance and other ($).”
Read “Total trip cost,” “Cost per person,” “Cost per day,” “Fuel” (cost and gallons) and “Fuel price used.” The “Where the money goes” table shows each cost and its share of the total.
Check any warning. Warnings appear when nights are more than days, when nights are set with 0 rooms, when a day is more than 900 miles, when tolls are $0, or when fuel economy or price looks wrong.

The preset chips are the fastest way to start. After you pick one, edit any field to match your plans.

How much does a road trip cost?

A road trip costs the sum of fuel, lodging, food, tolls, and parking or other costs. The tool adds these five amounts to get the “Total trip cost.”

Each part follows a simple rule:

Fuel = distance ÷ mpg × price
Lodging = nights × rooms × rate
Food = travelers × days × rate
Total = fuel + lodging + food + tolls + other
Cost per person = total ÷ travelers
Cost per day = total ÷ days

Here is an example. A trip has 2 people, 3 days, 2 nights at $100 for one room, food at $40 per person per day, $15 in tolls and $25 in other costs. The fuel cost is $70 in this example, so the total is $550, or $275 each. Lodging is 36.4% of that total, and fuel is 12.7%.

Rooms multiply the lodging cost. Six nights with two rooms at $115 each comes to $1,380.

How do I calculate gas for a road trip?

Divide the distance by the fuel economy, then multiply by the gas price. In formula form, fuel = distance ÷ mpg × price.

For example, a 600-mile trip at 30 mpg uses 20 gallons. At $3.50 per gallon, the fuel cost is $70.

The distance must include the return leg if you are driving a round trip. A trip that ends somewhere else needs only the one-way distance.

If you use metric units, the conversions are exact. One gallon is 3.785411784 liters, and one mile is 1.609344 kilometers (NIST SP 811). The tool handles the conversion when you choose km or L/100 km.

Worked examples

Input	Result
1200 mi, 2 travelers, 4 days, 3 nights	$1,011.60 total, $505.80 per person, of which $186.60 fuel
500 mi, 2 travelers, 3 days, 2 nights	$577.75 total, $288.88 per person, of which $77.75 fuel
1800 mi, 4 travelers, 7 days, 6 nights	$3,036.55 total, $759.14 per person, of which $326.55 fuel
5600 mi, 2 travelers, 14 days, 13 nights	$4,727.78 total, $2,363.89 per person, of which $937.78 fuel
800 km, 3 travelers, 3 days, 2 nights	$592.20 total, $197.40 per person, of which $67.20 fuel

Calculated by the tool above; open it with the same values to see each step.

Frequently asked questions

Does it include tolls?

It includes the tolls you type in. The page has no toll data of its own, so look up the total with the toll road’s own calculator and enter it in “Tolls, whole trip ($).” That makes it a gas and toll calculator for your trip, with lodging and food on top.

Which gas price does it use?

It uses the EIA weekly average for the state you pick. The figure is the EIA weekly retail price for the week of October 5, 2026, and the state or region is named beside the price. Type your own price to replace it.

How many nights do I need?

Usually, nights equal days minus one. The tool shows a warning if nights are more than days.

Can I use kilometers?

Yes. Choose km for distance and L/100 km or km/L for fuel economy. The price per liter then applies to the fuel cost.

How do I split the cost per person?

Set the number of “Travelers.” The cost per person is the total divided by that number. The cost is split evenly, because the tool does not know who pays for what.

Is it free, and is my data sent anywhere?

The tool is free and needs no sign-up. It runs in your browser, and nothing you type is sent anywhere.

Gas cost calculator: Use it when you only need the fuel cost for a trip.
Gas mileage calculator: Use it to work out your fuel economy before you enter it here.
Cost per mile calculator: Use it to compare what each mile of driving costs.
Travel budget calculator: Use it to plan spending for a trip that goes beyond driving.
National park entrance fees: Use it to check the official entrance fee list before you add park costs.
America the Beautiful pass calculator: Use it to see which entrance fee options the official pass page lists.
Travel itinerary template: Use it to plan the days and nights that feed into your inputs.

Updated October 2026