Commute cost calculator
Choose car or transit. For a car, enter the one-way distance, fuel consumption and fuel price, plus daily parking; for transit, the fare for one trip. Add how many days you commute and the one-way time to see the hours you spend, and optionally put a value on an hour.
Runs in your browser: nothing you enter is sent anywhere.
How to use it
- Pick car or transit, then enter the one-way distance, consumption and fuel price or the fare.
- Enter your commuting days a week and working weeks a year.
- Add the one-way time and, if you like, what an hour is worth to you.
How it works
Day = round-trip fuel + parking (car) or 2 × fare (transit). Week is day × days per week, year is day × days × weeks, month is a twelfth of the year. Hours a year = minutes × 2 × trips ÷ 60.
Worked example
20 km each way at 7.5 L/100 km and 1.80 a litre: 3 litres, 5.40 a day. Five days a week for 48 weeks is 240 days, so 1,296 a year, or 108 a month, and 240 hours at 30 minutes each way.
Good to know
Distance counted this way ignores detours, cold starts and traffic, which raise real fuel use. Check your tank figures against the estimate.
Frequently asked questions
What does the car cost include?
Only fuel for the round trip and parking. It leaves out insurance, tax, maintenance, tyres and depreciation, so it understates the full cost of owning a car. The car ownership cost calculator covers those.
How is the cost calculated?
By car: two times the one-way distance × consumption (L/100 km ÷ 100, or miles ÷ mpg) × fuel price, plus parking. By transit: two fares. That daily figure is times days per week × working weeks for the year, and a month is a twelfth of a year. 20 km at 7.5 L/100 km and 1.80 a litre costs 5.40 a day.
How are commute hours and their value worked out?
Hours = one-way minutes × 2 × commuting days a year ÷ 60. The value is hours × the hourly value you enter. It is optional and only a way to compare; leave it at zero to ignore it.
What if I use a monthly pass or a mixed commute?
Use the transit mode with an average fare per trip, your monthly pass price divided by the number of trips in a month. For a mixed trip, calculate each part separately and add them.