Road Trip Cost CalculatorRoad Trip Budget Planner — Gas, Hotels, Food & Tolls
Road trip cost = gas + lodging + food + tolls + extras (+ car wear).
Budget the whole road trip, not just the gas. Add lodging, meals, tolls, parking and wear on your car to see the total cost, what each traveler owes and what every day on the road really costs.
Trip details
1,200 miles over 4 days for 3 travelers.
$442 eachWhere the money goes
Budget breakdown
| Category | Cost | Per person |
|---|---|---|
| Gas | $152.31 | $50.77 |
| Lodging | $420.00 | $140.00 |
| Food | $540.00 | $180.00 |
| Tolls | $35.00 | $11.67 |
| Extras | $60.00 | $20.00 |
| Car wear | $120.00 | $40.00 |
| Total | $1,327.31 | $442.44 |
How much does a road trip cost?
Road trip cost = gas + lodging + food + tolls + extras (+ car wear). Gas is distance ÷ MPG × price per gallon; lodging is nights × rate × rooms; food is daily budget × travelers × days. A 1,200-mile, 4-day trip for three people with 3 hotel nights comes to about $1,327.31 — roughly $442.44 per person.
Part of our Fuel, Mileage & Trip Cost calculators — for the core estimate, start with the Fuel Cost Calculator.
How to budget a road trip in four steps
Map the total miles
Add up every leg, plus side trips at your destination. Your map app’s total is a good start.
Add your car’s MPG
Real-world highway MPG is best. A loaded car with a roof box uses more fuel.
Set lodging and food
Enter nightly rates, rooms needed and a daily food budget per person.
Include the extras
Tolls, parking, park entry fees and car wear complete the picture.
Road trip cost formula
Lodging = nights × nightly rate × rooms
Food = food per person per day × travelers × days
Car wear = miles × wear cost per mile (optional)
Total = gas + lodging + food + tolls + extras + car wear
Per traveler = total ÷ travelers
Need fuel only? Use the Fuel Cost Calculator. To plan how many driving days you need, the Travel Time Calculator adds rest stops and arrival times.
Example: a 4-day, 1,200-mile trip for three
| Category | Calculation | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Gas | 1,200 ÷ 26 MPG × $3.30 | $152.31 |
| Lodging | 3 nights × $140 × 1 room | $420.00 |
| Food | $45 × 3 people × 4 days | $540.00 |
| Tolls | entered | $35.00 |
| Parking & extras | entered | $60.00 |
| Car wear | 1,200 × $0.10 | $120.00 |
| Total | $1,327.31 ($442.44 each) |
These are the calculator’s default inputs. Notice that gas is only about 11% of the budget — lodging and food usually cost more than fuel on multi-day trips.
Sample road trip budgets
| Trip | Miles | Gas* | Lodging | Food (2 people) | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weekend getaway | 400 | $47.14 | $140.00 | $180.00 | $367.14 |
| Long weekend | 800 | $94.29 | $280.00 | $270.00 | $644.29 |
| One week | 2,000 | $235.71 | $840.00 | $630.00 | $1,705.71 |
| Cross-country (2 weeks) | 6,000 | $707.14 | $1,820.00 | $1,260.00 | $3,787.14 |
*Assumes 28 MPG, $3.30 per gallon, $140 per night and $45 per person per day for food. Tolls and extras not included.
Road trip money-saving tips
- Book lodging with free breakfast or a kitchen — food is often the second-biggest line.
- Drive the most efficient car if your group has a choice; it matters most on long trips.
- Check toll-free routes in your map app and compare the extra time against the savings.
- Buy an annual national parks pass if you’re visiting several parks.
- Fill up away from highway exits and tourist areas, where gas is often pricier.
Splitting costs with friends? The Gas Split Calculator writes a ready-to-send message for the group chat.
Related calculators
Road Trip Cost Calculator FAQs
Add gas (miles ÷ MPG × gas price), lodging (nights × rate × rooms), food (daily budget × travelers × days), tolls, parking and any extras. Divide by the number of travelers for the cost per person.
At 28 MPG and $3.30 a gallon, 1,000 miles uses about 35.7 gallons and costs roughly $118. At 20 MPG it’s about $165.
It depends on lodging and food choices, but for two people many travelers budget for one hotel night plus two people’s meals, which often lands well above the daily gas cost. Use the per-day figure above with your own numbers.
It’s optional but more honest. Every mile adds to tire, brake and oil-change costs. Ten cents a mile is a conservative estimate for wear items alone.
Divide shared costs — gas, tolls, parking, shared rooms — equally, and let each person pay their own food if spending differs a lot. This calculator shows a per-person figure for the shared total.
Sometimes. A rental adds a daily rate but saves wear on your own car and may get better MPG. Compare the rental total plus its fuel against your own car’s fuel plus wear.
Most map apps show toll estimates for a route, and many toll agencies publish rate calculators. Enter the estimate in the tolls field.
Many travelers plan 300 to 500 miles a day, which is roughly 5 to 8 hours of driving with stops. Our Travel Time Calculator helps you plan driving days.
About the developer
Manzoor Ahmad
Web Designer & Calculator Developer · 13+ years of web development and SEO experienceI’m a professional pharmacist turned tech geek, and I designed and coded this road trip cost calculator myself. I built it to answer the question my own family asks before every trip — what will this really cost? — and the worked example uses the calculator’s default numbers so every line can be checked.
Found a number that looks wrong, or want a feature added? Tell me through my author page — corrections are fixed and re-dated.
Sources
- U.S. DOE & EPA — FuelEconomy.gov
- Federal Highway Administration — Toll facilities in the United States
- U.S. Energy Information Administration — Gasoline and diesel fuel update
- National Park Service — Entrance passes
Disclaimer: This is a planning estimate based on the numbers you enter. Fuel prices, lodging rates, tolls and food costs vary by route, season and location.
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