Auto Cost Calculators
The sticker price is the smallest part of what a car costs. Fuel, depreciation, insurance, and maintenance accumulate quietly over years, and the comparison between two vehicles rarely looks the way the monthly payment suggests.
Start here
Car ownership
Work out the full cost of owning a vehicle — depreciation, fuel, insurance, maintenance, fees, and interest — per year, per month, and per mile.
$45,000typical · 67,500 miles, purchase price excluded — this is what ownership costs you
What makes up the typical figure
- Depreciation$17,300
- Fuel$10,000
- Insurance$6,400
- Loan interest$5,600
- Everything else$5,430
Electric or petrol, and what a mile actually costs
The comparison people want is rarely the sticker price. Put the two drivetrains against each other over the years you would keep the car, then reduce the whole thing to the number that makes any trip comparable.
- EV vs. gasCompare what an electric and a gasoline vehicle cost to run over the years you keep them, using your state’s fuel and electricity prices.
- Cost per mileWork out what a mile of driving costs you, on either a full-cost or marginal basis, with fuel, upkeep, insurance, and depreciation itemised.
Everything else in Auto
- Gas costWork out the fuel cost of any drive from its distance and your vehicle’s fuel economy, using this week’s published gasoline price for your state.
- Monthly drivingAdd up what driving actually costs each month — fuel, maintenance, tires, insurance, and any payment — using current prices for your state.
- Road tripPlan the full cost of a road trip: fuel at current state prices, lodging, food, tolls, and vehicle wear, split per person.
How these estimates are built
Fuel comes from published regional gasoline prices and electricity from the EIA residential rate; insurance from state average premiums. Depreciation is modelled by vehicle class and age rather than assumed flat, because it is the largest cost of owning a new car and the one most often left out.
Where no public agency publishes what a calculation needs, we say so plainly and label the figure as an assumption rather than dressing it up as sourced. Every result shows its own provenance, and our full method is documented.
- Primary dataset
- EIA gasoline prices and state insurance averages
- Week of 2026-09-07
- Coverage
- Regional fuel prices, 51 jurisdictions
- Every estimate
- shows a low, typical and high range, its line-by-line breakdown, and the published source behind each figure.