Road Trip Fuel and Cost Calculator

Who this is for

What the drive will cost, leg by leg. You enter your vehicle's consumption and the fuel price you expect to pay, then each leg's distance plus any tolls, parking and other costs. The sheet works out the fuel used, the cost of every leg, the trip total and each traveller's share.

Anyone planning a multi-stop road trip, and groups of friends sharing a car who want an agreed figure for the petrol money before they set off.

What this helps you track

• Each leg of the route with its distance
• The fuel each leg will use, from your own consumption figure
• Tolls, parking and other costs on the way
• The total for each leg and for the whole trip
• The cost per traveller and per mile or kilometre

How to use it

1. Write the vehicle, your own consumption figure as distance per litre, the fuel price per litre you expect and the number of people sharing the cost.
2. List the legs of the route in order with the from and to places and the distance, all in the same unit as your consumption figure.
3. Add any tolls, parking or other charges you know about for each leg.
4. The litres, fuel cost, leg totals and summary are worked out in the browser and the workbook; on paper, divide distance by your figure, then multiply by the price.
5. After the trip, correct the fuel price and distances to what they really were if you are settling up with passengers.

Formats

• Printable PDF (A4 and US Letter)
• Fillable PDF with form fields
• Fill in online, saved in your browser
• Excel / Google Sheets workbook

The printable is laid out inside a box that fits both A4 and US Letter, so the two files are identical and neither one is scaled. The fillable PDF has real form fields. The workbook uses plain formulas only — SUM, IF, COUNTIF and the like — so it opens in Excel, LibreOffice and Google Sheets without anything breaking, and every calculated cell is grey so you can see which figures it worked out.

How to print

Download the A4 or US Letter file to match the paper in your printer, open it in a PDF reader and print at 100% — not "fit to page", which shrinks the writing space. Both files leave a 14 mm margin, which clears the unprintable edge on home printers. To print the online version with your entries in it, use the Print this sheet button, which prints only the sheet and none of the page around it. More on printing.

Questions

Where do I get the consumption figure?

From your own driving: fill the tank, note the distance to the next fill and divide it by the litres added. A trip computer reading also works. Manufacturer figures are often optimistic, which is why the sheet asks for yours.

My car shows miles per gallon. What do I enter?

Convert it to miles per litre by dividing by the number of litres in the gallon your figure uses, then keep every distance in miles. The sheet does not mind which unit you use as long as it is the same throughout.

Does it include wear, insurance or depreciation?

No, only the costs of the journey itself. Use the other column for anything you want to share out, such as a one-off vignette or a charge you agreed between you.

How is the cost per traveller worked out?

The trip total divided by the number of travellers you entered. If people join for only some legs, work out those legs on a separate sheet or split them by hand.