Commute Cost Calculator
What your commute costs in a year in money and time, by car or by fare, and what working from home some days would save.
Result…
How it's calculated
Cost per day = 2 × (fuel or fare per one-way trip) + parking and tolls Fuel per trip = distance × fuel per km × price per litre Cost per year = cost per day × days per week × weeks · Saving = cost per day × home days per week × weeks
Counts a commute as two one-way trips a day. For a car it works in litres with exact factors (1 mile = 1.609344 km, 1 US gallon = 3.785411784 L, 1 UK gallon = 4.54609 L), so any mix of units works. Parking and tolls are entered per commute day. The saving from working at home assumes each home day saves a full day of commuting cost and time. It leaves out the running costs of a car beyond fuel and any extra costs of working at home. For one trip's fuel, use the fuel cost calculator.
Your numbers, step by step
About the Commute Cost calculator
This commute cost calculator adds up what getting to work costs over a year, in money and in time. Drive, and it works out the fuel from the distance, your car's fuel economy and the fuel price; take a bus, train or ride, and it uses the fare per trip. Add parking and tolls per day, the time each trip takes, and how many days a week and weeks a year you travel. It then shows the yearly and monthly cost, the hours spent commuting and the distance covered, and what working from home some days a week would save in both money and hours. Kilometres and miles, L/100 km, km/L and US or UK mpg all work, with exact conversion factors. Every step uses your own numbers, so you can see where the total comes from.
How to use it
- Choose “Car (fuel)” or “Fare (bus, train, ride)” under “You commute by”.
- Enter the “One-way distance” in kilometres or miles, and the “Time per one-way trip” in minutes.
- For a car, enter the “Fuel economy”, its unit and the “Fuel price”; for public transport, enter the “Fare per one-way trip”.
- Add “Parking and tolls per commute day”, or leave it at 0.
- Set “Commute days per week”, “Working weeks per year” and “Days working from home per week” to see the saving.
Worked example
An 18 km drive each way at 6.5 L/100 km uses 1.17 litres a trip; at 1.75 per litre that is about 2.05 a trip. There and back plus 4 for parking makes 8.095 a day. Five days a week for 45 weeks is 225 days, so the commute costs 8.095 × 225 = 1,821.38 a year, about 151.78 a month, and 40 minutes each way adds up to 300 hours. Working from home 2 days a week (90 days) would save 728.55 and 120 hours a year. By train instead: 12 miles each way at a fare of 2.75, five days a week for 48 weeks, costs 5.50 a day and 1,320 a year; one home day a week saves 264 and 80 hours.
Updated
Questions people ask
How do I calculate my yearly commute cost?
Work out the cost of one day there and back: two one-way trips of fuel or fares, plus parking and tolls. Multiply by your commute days per week and by the weeks you work in a year.
How much does working from home save on commuting?
Each home day saves one full day of commuting: the daily cost and both trips' time. Multiply by home days per week and by working weeks. The calculator shows both the money and the hours.
How many working weeks are in a year?
A year has 52 weeks, but you do not travel in weeks of holiday, leave or public holidays, and those differ by country and job. Count the weeks you actually commute and enter that number.
Does the commute cost include car wear and insurance?
No. It counts fuel, parking and tolls only. Servicing, tyres, insurance and depreciation also rise with distance, so the real cost of driving is higher. For a single journey's fuel, use the fuel cost calculator.
What mistakes give a wrong commute cost?
Entering the round-trip distance as the one-way distance doubles the answer, and so does a return fare entered as a one-way fare. Mixing US and UK mpg is another: the gallons differ by about 20%, and the fuel economy calculator converts between them.
How accurate is the result?
It is as good as the numbers you enter. Fuel use changes with traffic and weather, fares change, and a season pass may cost less than single fares. Home working can add heating, power or equipment costs, and tax rules on commuting differ by country, so check with a tax adviser if it matters.