Cost Per Mile Calculator
Put in what the car costs you and how far it goes, and this turns it into one number you can actually compare: dollars per mile. Log it each month and the trend does the rest. Everything stays on this device: no account, no login, nothing sent anywhere.
Not sure about depreciation? Look up what your car is worth today and what the same car was worth a year ago, then divide the difference by twelve for a monthly figure. Leave it at zero if you only want out-of-pocket running cost.
Your logged periods
This is a budgeting tool, not tax advice. If you are claiming vehicle costs against tax, the IRS standard mileage rate and the actual-expense method have their own rules, and a tax professional is the right person to ask.
Fixed costs are the ones that surprise people
Fuel is the cost everyone feels, because you hand over money for it at a pump with a screen counting up. It is rarely the biggest one. Insurance, registration, depreciation and a loan payment carry on identically whether the car sits on the drive all month or crosses three states, and together they usually dwarf the fuel line. Splitting the total across categories, as this page does, is what makes that visible.
The comparison that actually decides things
Cost per mile is the number that makes real decisions easy. Is the cheaper apartment further out actually cheaper once you add 8,000 miles a year? Is the second car earning its keep? Is that 40-mile round trip to save $30 worth taking? Once you know your own figure, each of those becomes arithmetic instead of a feeling.
Two benchmarks are worth keeping in mind. The IRS business standard mileage rate — 76 cents a mile for the second half of 2026 — is designed to approximate the full cost of operating a vehicle. AAA’s annual study lands in a similar place for a new car. If your number is well under both, you are running an older paid-off car efficiently. If it is well over, the reason is usually a payment, a thin annual mileage, or both.
Questions people ask
What is the average cost per mile to own a car?
AAA’s 2025 Your Driving Costs study put the average new vehicle at $11,577 a year over 15,000 miles, which works out at roughly 77 cents a mile, with depreciation the single biggest slice at $4,334. A small sedan came in far lower, around 56 cents. Your own number depends on the car, the insurance and how much you drive.
What is the IRS mileage rate for 2026?
The IRS set the business standard mileage rate at 72.5 cents a mile for January through June 2026, then raised it to 76 cents from July 1. It is meant to approximate the full cost of running a vehicle, which is why it makes a useful benchmark for the number this page gives you.
Should I include depreciation?
Include it if you want the true cost of ownership, because it is usually the largest single expense even though no money leaves your account each month. Leave it out if you only want to see what you are actually spending. The calculator works either way — just be consistent from month to month.
Why is my cost per mile so high?
Almost always because of low mileage rather than high spending. Insurance, registration and depreciation carry on whether you drive or not, so a car covering 4,000 miles a year spreads the same fixed costs over a quarter of the distance. That is the case a lot of people quietly make for selling the second car.
Where is my data saved?
In your browser’s local storage on this device. Nothing is uploaded and there is no account. Print or download the log whenever you want a copy.