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Road trip · gas · tolls · cost per person

Road trip gas calculator — the whole trip, and what each person chips in

Short answer. Put in the miles, your car's mpg and the gas price, then tolls, motel nights and food: you see the gallons, the gas cost, the trip total and each person's share. Gas: miles ÷ miles per gallon × price per gallon (How the calculator counts).

 

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Road trip gas calculator: first page

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Road trip · gas · tolls · cost per person

Your road trip — gas, tolls, motels, food and each person's share

Put in the miles, your car's mpg and the gas price, then tolls, motel nights and food: you see the gallons, the gas cost, the trip total and each person's share. No sign-up.

  1. Check today's gas price on your route — EIA shows weekly regional averages.
  2. Agree on how to split before you leave.
  3. Set up toll accounts for cashless toll roads.

Arithmetic only: gallons = miles × (1 or 2) ÷ mpg; gas = gallons × price; total = gas + tolls + nights × price + food × people × days; each person = total ÷ people. Not a quote.

Lida, Layers template assistant

Lida, Layers template assistant

Tell me the miles, your mpg and the gas price, and I will show the trip cost and each person's share.

The Excel file keeps a fill-up log for the road.

Deadlines

The rules, with the source

WhatDeadlineSource
GasMiles ÷ miles per gallon × price per gallonHow the calculator counts
Fuel economyEPA ratings for your make, model and year on fueleconomy.gov; real trips are often lower with a full carfueleconomy.gov (DOE/EPA)
Gas pricesEIA publishes weekly U.S. and regional retail gasoline pricesU.S. Energy Information Administration
SplitThe whole trip divided equally between the people you enterHow the calculator counts

Gas prices change daily: put in today's price where you will fill up. Many toll roads are cashless and bill by license plate.

Step by step

What to do, in order

  1. 1

    Map the route

    Miles one way and whether you drive back.

  2. 2

    Add the car and the price

    Highway mpg and the gas price per gallon.

  3. 3

    Add the rest and split

    Tolls, motel nights, food — and how many share the cost.

Questions

How do I calculate gas cost for a road trip?

Divide the miles by your car's miles per gallon to get gallons, then multiply by the price per gallon. 1,300 miles at 33 mpg is about 39.4 gallons; at $3.05 a gallon that is about $120.

What mpg should I use?

Your car's highway rating from fueleconomy.gov, a bit lower if the car is full or you drive fast. Your trip computer's average is even better.

How do we split gas money fairly?

Most groups split the car costs equally between everyone riding. If each person pays their own food, set food to 0 and split only gas, tolls and lodging.

Does it include tolls?

Yes, as one amount for the trip. Check each state's toll agency — many roads bill by plate.

Is it free? Do I need to sign up?

It is free and you do not need to sign up: fill in, see the result and download the files. With a free account you can save a copy to your Layers.

Official sources

Other documents

All templates: United States →

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Letters, receipts and notices in one folder you can share with family or a lawyer. The templates and the editor are free; Layers is free for up to 20 people.

A trip budget, not a quote. Gas price and mpg are your inputs.