Car & Vehicle

Monthly Fuel Cost Calculator

Your monthly fuel bill from the distance you actually drive, your mileage and the pump price.

6 inputs Free, no sign-up

Your figures

From the odometer, or from the trips you know you make. Multiply by 12 in the field below if you would rather see the year.

Use the figure you actually get, not the showroom one. City driving commonly lands 20-30% below a rated number, and the mileage calculator works yours out from a tank.

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

Fuel is usually the second-largest cost of running a vehicle, and the one that is easiest to measure. Take the distance you cover in a month, your real mileage and the pump price, and the bill falls straight out.

Set the number of months to 12 and it becomes a yearly figure, which is the scale at which a difference of one or two kilometres per litre stops being academic.

How to use this calculator

  1. Enter the distance you drive in a month. The odometer difference between two months is the easiest source; failing that, add up the trips you know you make.
  2. Enter the mileage you actually get.
  3. Enter the pump price.
  4. Leave the months at 1 for a monthly bill, or set 12 for a year.

The formula

Distance   = Monthly distance x Months
Fuel used  = Distance / Mileage
Fuel cost  = Fuel used x Price per litre

Cost per kilometre is also shown, and it does not depend on the distance at all — it is a property of the vehicle and the fuel price, which is why it is the right figure for comparing two cars or judging whether a trip is worth driving.

SymbolMeaningUnit
Distance Distance driven in a month km or mi
Mileage What the vehicle returns km/L or mpg
Fuel price Pump price per litre ₹/L

Worked example

1,000 km a month at 15 km/L with petrol at ₹105:

Fuel used = 1,000 / 15    = 66.67 litres
Fuel cost = 66.67 x 105   = 7,000
Per km    = 105 / 15      = 7.00

Over a year, ₹84,000 on fuel alone.

Notes and limits

  • Fuel is not the whole cost. Insurance, servicing, tyres and the value the car loses each year are all real, and depreciation is usually the biggest of them. The car running cost calculator adds them up.
  • Pump prices move. A figure worked out at today's price is a snapshot, not a forecast.
  • A month with a long trip in it is not a typical month. Take the distance over three months and divide by three for a figure you can plan on.
  • Improving mileage by 10% saves 10% of this bill. The fuel savings calculator puts a number on a specific improvement.

What this calculation assumes

  • The month entered is representative of your driving.
  • The pump price holds for the whole period.
  • Fuel only - no insurance, servicing, tyres or depreciation.

Frequently asked questions

How much do I spend on petrol each month?

Divide your monthly distance by your mileage and multiply by the pump price. At 1,000 km a month, 15 km/L and ₹105 a litre, it is ₹7,000.

How do I find my monthly distance?

Note the odometer on the same date two months running and take the difference. That is more reliable than estimating from the trips you remember, which tends to miss the short ones.

Is fuel the biggest cost of owning a car?

Usually not. For most cars driven ordinary distances, depreciation - the value the car loses - is larger, and insurance and servicing together are substantial. Fuel is simply the one you pay in visible instalments.

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