Car & Vehicle

Daily Commute Fuel Cost Calculator

What commuting costs in fuel: enter the one-way distance and the days you travel, and see the monthly bill.

6 inputs Free, no sign-up

Your figures

Home to work. The return leg is counted automatically.

Use your city figure. A commute is the worst case for fuel economy - cold starts, traffic and short distances all work against it.

The price you actually paid. Pump prices move daily and differ by several rupees between states, so the round number here is a placeholder, not a quote.

Try an example

Result

Your result

Enter your figures and the result appears here.

Estimates only. Rates, fees and specifications change. Confirm against the official source before you rely on a figure — see our disclaimer.

About this calculator

A short commute costs more than it looks like it should. Fifteen kilometres each way sounds trivial until it is multiplied by two, by twenty-two working days and by twelve months — at which point it is close to eight thousand kilometres a year, most of it in the traffic where a car uses the most fuel.

Enter the one-way distance and the days you actually travel. The return leg and the multiplication are handled here.

How to use this calculator

  1. Enter the one-way distance from home to work.
  2. Enter your city mileage — not the highway figure, and not the rated one.
  3. Enter the pump price.
  4. Set the number of days you travel in the period you want costed. Twenty-two is a typical five-day month; change it for a six-day week, hybrid working or a particular month.

The formula

Distance   = One-way x 2 x Days
Fuel used  = Distance / Mileage
Fuel cost  = Fuel used x Price per litre
Per day    = Fuel cost / Days

The per-day figure is the one worth comparing against a bus fare, a train pass or an auto, since those are quoted the same way.

SymbolMeaningUnit
One-way Home to work distance km or mi
Days Days travelled in the period
Mileage City mileage achieved km/L or mpg

Worked example

15 km each way, 12 km/L in traffic, petrol at ₹105, 22 days:

Distance  = 15 x 2 x 22   = 660 km
Fuel used = 660 / 12      = 55 litres
Fuel cost = 55 x 105      = 5,775
Per day   = 5,775 / 22    = 262.50

That is fuel only. Over a year it is around ₹69,000, before parking or wear.

Notes and limits

  • City mileage on a short commute is worse than city mileage generally, because a cold engine is inefficient for the first few kilometres and a short trip is mostly those kilometres.
  • Parking, tolls and the fare of whatever you would use instead all belong in the comparison and none of them is here. The car running cost calculator takes the lot.
  • Sharing the drive changes the arithmetic completely. Four people in one car is a quarter of the fuel each — see the carpool cost calculator.
  • A commute is the case where an electric vehicle's running cost gap is widest, because the short daily distance suits home charging. The EV vs petrol comparison puts numbers on it.

What this calculation assumes

  • You travel both ways on every day counted.
  • Fuel only. Parking, tolls and wear are not included.
  • The number of days is the one you entered; no working calendar is assumed.

Frequently asked questions

How much does my commute cost in fuel?

Double the one-way distance, multiply by the days you travel, divide by your mileage and multiply by the pump price. For 15 km each way at 12 km/L over 22 days with petrol at ₹105, that is ₹5,775 a month.

How many working days should I enter?

Whatever you actually travel. Twenty-two is typical for a five-day week, twenty-six for six days, and fewer if you work from home part of the week. No figure is assumed, because it is your calendar rather than a general one.

Why is my commute mileage worse than my usual figure?

Short trips run on a cold engine, which is where a petrol engine is least efficient, and stop-start traffic wastes the energy spent accelerating. A 15 km commute can easily be 25% below the same car's highway figure.

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