ManyFuel Cost Calculator
How much petrol or diesel your trip needs — and the cost per person.
How to work out the fuel cost of a trip
- Enter the distance one way, in km or miles. Tick Round trip to double it.
- Enter your vehicle's fuel efficiency and pick the unit it is quoted in: km per litre, litres per 100 km, or miles per gallon.
- Enter the fuel price per litre or per gallon and choose the currency.
- If you are sharing the ride, set the number of people. The result shows the total cost, the fuel needed, the cost per person and the cost per kilometre.
The formula
Fuel needed is the distance divided by the efficiency, and the cost is that fuel multiplied by the price:
fuel = distance ÷ km per litre cost = fuel × price per litre
When efficiency is given as litres per 100 km, the first step becomes fuel = distance × (L/100 km) ÷ 100.
Worked example. A 300 km drive in a car that does 15 km per litre, with petrol at ₹105 a litre: 300 ÷ 15 = 20 litres, and 20 × 105 = ₹2,100 one way. The round trip is ₹4,200, or ₹1,050 each for four people, and the running cost is ₹7 per kilometre.
Converting between mileage units
Countries quote fuel efficiency differently. India uses kilometres per litre, most of Europe uses litres per 100 km — where a lower number is better — and the United States uses miles per gallon.
| km per litre | L / 100 km | miles per US gallon |
|---|---|---|
| 10 | 10.0 | 23.5 |
| 12 | 8.3 | 28.2 |
| 15 | 6.7 | 35.3 |
| 18 | 5.6 | 42.3 |
| 20 | 5.0 | 47.0 |
| 25 | 4.0 | 58.8 |
To convert, divide 100 by the km per litre figure to get litres per 100 km, and multiply km per litre by 2.352 to get miles per US gallon. This calculator uses the US gallon of 3.785 litres. A UK gallon is 4.546 litres, so a UK mpg figure is about 20% higher for the same car.
Why the real cost is usually higher
The mileage a manufacturer quotes comes from a test cycle. On the road it drops with stop-start city traffic, air conditioning, a full load of passengers and luggage, a roof carrier, hills, and speeds above about 90 km/h, where air resistance climbs steeply. A reading taken from your own car — the trip computer, or kilometres driven between two full tanks divided by the litres added — is the best figure to enter.
Fuel is also only part of what a trip costs. Tolls, parking and wear on the car are not included here; add them in the Trip Budget Planner, and use the Expense Splitter if different people pay for different things.
Planning a road trip or a commute? Enter the distance, your vehicle's mileage and the fuel price to see how much fuel you'll burn and what it costs. Splitting a ride? Set the number of people to get the cost each. Works with km/litre, L/100 km or MPG.
Where do I find my mileage?
Check your car's specs or trip computer. If unsure, 12–18 km/litre is typical for a petrol car and 18–25 km/litre for a diesel.
Is this exact?
It's an estimate — real mileage varies with traffic, load, AC and driving style. Add a little buffer for peace of mind.
More travel tools: Expense Splitter · Trip Budget · Time Zone Converter