Car Running Cost Calculator
Work out what a car costs to run each year, per month and per mile, using your own mileage, fuel or charging price and bills.
Compare your car running costs
Your estimates
Based on the amounts entered
| Cost | Car A | Car B |
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How the calculation works
- Annual running costsFuel or charging, insurance, tax, upkeep and recurring extras
- Multiply by the yearsUse the same ownership period to compare both cars
- Add one-off costsInclude any loss in value and security fitting you entered
Running costs are the annual amounts you enter. They cover energy, your insurance quote, vehicle tax, upkeep (MOT, servicing, tyres and repairs combined in one figure), parking or other annual costs, and any annual security monitoring. Ownership cost adds two more items over the period you choose. The first is depreciation, which is the purchase value minus the expected resale value at the end. The second is any one-off security fitting. When you compare two cars, both use the same annual mileage and the same holding period of 1 to 10 whole years. All results come from your inputs, and the prefilled figures are illustrations only.
Petrol and diesel use UK miles per gallon, based on the imperial gallon of 4.54609 litres. Energy per year = annual miles ÷ UK MPG × 4.54609 × price in pence per litre ÷ 100. As an illustration, 8,000 miles at 45 UK MPG and 150p per litre works out at £1,212.29 a year.
Electric cars use miles per kWh and your electricity price. Energy per year = annual miles ÷ miles per kWh × pence per kWh ÷ 100. As an illustration, 8,000 miles at 3.5 miles per kWh and 28p per kWh works out at £640.00 a year. Your efficiency figure and your price need to be on the same basis. A battery-based efficiency reading does not count all the electricity you are billed for. Use an estimate that reflects billed energy, or work out your efficiency from the energy you actually paid for. If you charge in more than one place, use a weighted average price per kWh.
The average monthly running cost is the annual running cost divided by 12. The average monthly ownership cost is the period total divided by (12 × the number of years). Ownership cost per mile is the period total × 100 ÷ (annual miles × years). It is shown as unavailable if mileage is zero. The calculator keeps full figures throughout and rounds only the values it displays. It does not forecast inflation, loan interest, lease payments or future resale values. It does not produce an insurance quote, a tax band or a fitting quote either.
UK imperial gallon conversion · Zapmap charging resources
Worked example using 8,000 miles a year
At 45 UK mpg and 150p a litre, the petrol example uses about £1,212.29 of fuel per year. An electric car doing 3.5 miles per kWh at 28p per kWh uses £640.00 of electricity per year on the same mileage. These are illustrative energy costs. The full comparison also accounts for the other costs you enter.
Vehicle security fitting
OJB Autocare fits Ghost immobilisers, vehicle trackers and dash cams. Find the service that suits your car.
- Ghost immobiliser fittingHelps prevent unauthorised starting with a PIN sequence on existing controls.
- Vehicle tracker fittingHelps locate and recover your vehicle if it is stolen.
- Dash cam fittingRecords footage of your journeys or incidents.
You can also browse Scorpion tracker packages.
Budgeting for vehicle security
If you are budgeting for fitted security, enter the amount from a written fitting quote as a one-off cost. Enter any monitoring subscription as a separate annual figure. The calculator adds the fitting cost once to the ownership total and adds the monitoring cost to your running costs each year. It does not suggest prices or estimate any effect on your insurance.
Questions about car running costs
What do car running costs include?
Running costs include fuel or charging, insurance, vehicle tax, MOT, servicing, tyres, repairs and recurring extras such as parking. They also include any annual security monitoring. Enter the figures that apply to your car, such as your own insurance quote and your known tax amount. You can check vehicle tax on GOV.UK and check a car’s MOT history. Depreciation is not part of annual running costs. It is added to the ownership total only when you enter both a purchase value and a resale value. The calculator does not publish a UK average, and its prefilled figures are illustrations rather than typical costs.
How much does a car cost per month?
The calculator shows two monthly figures. The average monthly running cost is your annual running cost divided by 12. It covers energy, insurance, tax, upkeep, other annual costs and any monitoring. The average monthly ownership cost spreads the full period total across every month of the period. That total includes depreciation and one-off fitting costs if you have entered them. Both figures are averages built from your inputs. Neither is a payment schedule.
How do I calculate fuel cost per mile?
Annual fuel cost = annual miles ÷ UK MPG × 4.54609 × pence per litre ÷ 100. Divide that by your annual miles to get the cost per mile. As an illustration, 8,000 miles at 45 UK MPG and 150p per litre costs £1,212.29 a year, which is about 15.15p per mile for fuel alone. Energy is only part of the picture. The calculator also shows an ownership cost per mile, which includes all your entered costs over the period.
Is an electric car cheaper to run than petrol, and how do I work out charging cost?
To work out charging cost, divide your annual miles by the car’s miles per kWh, multiply by your price in pence per kWh, then divide by 100 to get pounds. If you charge in several places, use a weighted average price. Your efficiency figure should reflect the electricity you are billed for, not just what reaches the battery. As an illustration, 8,000 miles at 3.5 miles per kWh and 28p per kWh is £640.00 a year. Whether an electric car is cheaper overall depends on more than energy. Compare both cars over the same miles and period, then include insurance, tax, upkeep and depreciation for each one. Use two-car mode with your own figures to see the full difference.
How much does a car depreciate per year?
The calculator treats depreciation as the difference between the purchase value and the expected resale value at the end of your chosen period. Dividing that difference by the number of years gives an annual average. Real values do not necessarily fall by the same amount each year. For a car you already own, use its current value as the starting figure. A resale value of zero is allowed. A resale value above the purchase value is not accepted, because this version models depreciation only and does not estimate any rise in value.
What if I don’t know the resale value?
Leave both the purchase and resale fields blank. The calculator then leaves depreciation out and labels the result as a partial estimate based on your entered costs. If you enter only one of the two values, you will be asked to add the other or clear both. When comparing two cars, enter value figures for both or for neither. If only one car includes depreciation, the calculator shows a caution because the totals are not on the same basis.
Does the monthly result include finance repayments?
No. The monthly figures spread your estimated costs over time. They do not model a loan, interest, a balloon payment or a lease. Keep any actual monthly finance or lease payment separate from these averages. Your lender or lease provider’s documents are the source for those figures.