Trip Cost Calculator

How to use this calculator

1. Enter the number of travellers, travel days and accommodation nights.
2. Choose your fuel unit system — Metric, UK MPG or US MPG — and enter your driving distance, fuel economy and pump price. Leave the distance at 0 to leave fuel out of the total.
3. Enter your accommodation rate, rooms and any fixed fees, if you have paid nights.
4. Enter a food budget per traveller per day, plus any shared food costs.
5. Enter tolls, parking, activities and any other shared, whole-trip costs.
6. Optionally add a contingency percentage, and choose whether it applies to accommodation and food as well as fuel, tolls, parking, activities and other costs.
7. Read the total trip cost, cost per traveller, average cost per day and fuel cost, plus the full category, fuel, accommodation, food and other-cost breakdowns below.

What do I need to enter?

• Number of travellers — a whole number from 1 to 100. The total is split equally between them.
• Travel days — whole days from 1 to 365. They set the food total and the average cost per day.
• Accommodation nights — whole nights from 0 to 365, entered separately from days.
• Unit system — Metric, UK MPG or US MPG. It decides the distance and fuel economy units and which fuel price units are offered.
• Driving distance, Trip type (One way or Round trip) and fuel economy — the fuel leg. Distance can be 0, which leaves fuel out; fuel economy must be greater than 0.
• Fuel price — per litre, per Imperial gallon (UK) or per US gallon (US), 0 or more.
• Rooms / units, Price per room / unit / night and Fixed accommodation fees — rooms are 1 to 100 and only needed when you have nights.
• Food budget per traveller per day and Shared food costs — food for each person each day, plus any whole-trip food cost.
• Tolls / road charges, Parking, Activities / ticketsand Other shared costs — whole-trip amounts, each 0 or more.
• Contingency percentage — optional and off by default; when you add it, enter 0% to 50% (10% is pre-filled). It is added on top of the base, as a planning allowance rather than a forecast. Fuel, tolls, parking, activities and other costs are always in the base it applies to.
• Include accommodation in the contingency base and Include food in the contingency base — two tick boxes, both ticked by default, shown once contingency is on. Untick one to leave that cost out of what the percentage applies to; the cost itself still counts in the total.

What do the results show?

• Total trip cost — the main figure: every category plus any contingency.
• Cost per traveller and Average cost per day — the total divided by travellers, and by travel days.
• Fuel cost (full distance) — fuel for the whole journey, one way or round trip.
• Cost by category — each category's amount and share of the total.
• Fuel, Accommodation, Food, Tolls, parking and other costs, Contingency and Cost per distance breakdowns — the working behind each figure.

How is a trip budget calculated?

This calculator totals seven cost categories, adds an optional contingency, then splits the result equally between travellers.

For example: 4 travellers on a 4-day, 3-night trip drive 200 miles each way at 40 MPG (UK) and £1.50 per litre — a fuel cost of about £68.19. Accommodation is 2 rooms at £120 a night for 3 nights plus a £30 fee, or £750. Food is £35 per traveller per day for 4 travellers over 4 days plus £40 shared, or £600. Tolls, parking, activities and other costs add £295. With no contingency, the total is £1,713.19 — £428.30 per traveller.

Why are travel days and accommodation nights entered separately?

A trip's driving days and its paid nights away do not always match — a day trip either side of the stay adds a travel day with no accommodation night attached. This calculator never assumes nights = days − 1: it uses whatever you enter for each, though an optional "Set nights to days − 1" button is offered as a shortcut when that pattern does fit your trip. Travel days feed the food total and the average cost per day; accommodation nights feed the accommodation total.

How does the equal split work?

Every category is added into one total, and that total is divided evenly by the number of travellers — cost per traveller = total ÷ travellers. This calculator does not weight the split by who booked a room, ate a meal, drove a leg of the journey or joined a paid activity; for an uneven split, adjust the figures you enter or settle the difference outside the calculator.

What is the contingency percentage for?

It is an optional buffer for costs that run over budget, calculated as a percentage of a base you choose: contingency = contingency base × percentage ÷ 100. Fuel, tolls, parking, activities and other costs are always included in that base; accommodation and food are added to it only if their checkboxes are ticked. This is a planning choice for you to make, not a recommended figure — the calculator does not suggest a percentage.

Is UK MPG the same as US MPG?

No — the two standards use a different gallon, so the same MPG number describes a different real fuel economy:

This calculator reuses the same fuel maths as the Fuel Cost Calculator, so it never treats one gallon as the other and always labels which standard a figure uses.

What does this calculator assume, and what does it not do?

This is an estimate built entirely from the figures you enter. It does not plan a route or look up a live fuel price, toll, hotel price, tax rate or exchange rate; it does not book anything, convert currencies, account for vehicle wear, servicing or insurance, settle an uneven split, or give travel advice. Actual costs can change with route, traffic, fuel use, booking date, accommodation and food choices, parking, fees and unexpected events.

Frequently asked questions