Fuel Cost Calculator
🇦🇺 Australia version
Australian fuel economy is quoted in litres per 100 km, and prices change by city and even by suburb. This version starts in kilometres and litres, leaves the price box for you to fill with what your servo charges, and works out one trip for every vehicle you list, with an electric option.
Use Fuel Cost Calculator online
Fuel Cost Calculator
What a journey actually costs to drive — across several vehicles at once, adjusted for how and where you drive, split between passengers, with the electric comparison alongside.
The manufacturer figure roughly assumes this.
Combined penalty on the quoted economy figure: ×1.00
Every vehicle on this trip
| Vehicle | Energy | Cost | Each | CO₂ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electric | 85.00 kWh | $25.50 | $12.75 | 25.5 kg |
Australia rules and figures
- Australian fuel is sold by the litre and distances are in kilometres, so the tool starts in kilometres, litres and L/100 km.
- The Australian Government’s Green Vehicle Guide fuel consumption label states economy in litres per 100 km, the unit this page starts with.
- No example pump price is built in for Australia because the ACCC reports capital cities rather than one national average.
- GST of 10% is included in Australian shelf prices, so the price you type should be the amount displayed at the bowser.
Sources: Australian Government: Green Vehicle Guide fuel consumption label (checked 2026-11-08)
How the fuel cost calculator works
Litres per 100 km is already the form fuel use takes, so nothing needs converting for the Australian unit set. Distance, the driving-style factor and the conditions factor multiply it, and your price per litre turns litres into dollars.
litres = L/100 km × style × conditions × km ÷ 100; cost = litres × price per litre; per person = cost ÷ people
- The opening trip is 500 km for 2 people with Our car at 7.5 L/100 km and The big one at 11.5 L/100 km. Neither has a price until you type one.
- No national average pump price is built in. Fill each vehicle’s price box with the figure from your servo or a fuel-price app, and add an electricity price per kWh for the electric car.
- The electric car starts at 17 kWh per 100 km, and the example electricity price of 0.30 per kWh is a placeholder for your tariff.
- CO₂ comes from 2.31 kg per litre of petrol, 2.68 for diesel, and a starting grid figure of 300 g per kWh that you can change.
How to use the fuel cost calculator
- Confirm kilometres and litres. The Australian set is kilometres, litres and L/100 km. Open Units only if you want miles or imperial gallons for an overseas car.
- Enter the trip. Type the distance and the number of people in the car, then press Return trip if you are driving home the same way.
- Type the pump price. Go to Compare vehicles and enter your price per litre for each car. Leave it empty and that car gets no cost.
- Account for the road. Pick a driving style and condition that match the route, such as hilly country or towing a caravan.
- Compare and annualise. Read the cheapest card and the table of vehicles, then set Trips like this per year for a yearly saving.
Example: 500 km in two petrol cars and an EV, at a typed price of 2.00 a litre
No average price is built in for Australia, so this uses 2.00 per litre as an example you would replace. 500 km in Our car at 7.5 L/100 km takes 37.5 litres: $75.00 in all, $37.50 each for 2 people, with 86.6 kg of CO₂. The big one at 11.5 L/100 km takes 57.5 litres and $115.00. The electric car uses 85.0 kWh at 0.30, which is $25.50. Twelve trips a year save $1,074.00.
When to use the fuel cost calculator
- Sydney to Melbourne drive. Enter the distance in kilometres and your expected price per litre, then see the fuel bill and each passenger’s share.
- Towing a caravan. Choose the towing style to apply the highest multiplier and see how much the van adds to the same route.
- Petrol ute against an EV swap. Add a ute at its L/100 km and an Electric vehicle at your off-peak tariff to compare the running cost of one trip.
- Checking a label figure. Type the L/100 km from a vehicle’s fuel consumption label and read the litres it would burn over your actual distance.
What the fuel cost calculator does not do
- The style and condition factors are rough multipliers applied equally to every vehicle. They are not measurements of your car.
- Costs cover fuel or electricity only: no tolls, parking, wear, depreciation or charging losses beyond the consumption you enter.
- Each vehicle has one fuel price and the CO₂ figures are tailpipe estimates from fixed constants, with a single grid intensity for all electric vehicles.
- The cost split between passengers is always equal, and hybrids and plug-ins are not modelled.
- Settings are not saved; reloading restores the three starting vehicles. The built-in pump price is a national average from an official page on the date shown, not the price at your station, and some countries have no single published average, in which case you enter it.
When something else is a better fit
- When you do not know the distance yet and need a straight-line or road estimate, use the Distance Calculator.
- When you want fuel as one line in a whole trip budget, use the Trip Planner.
- When you need real consumption for a particular route and load, use your car's trip computer or a full-tank fill-up record.
Questions about the fuel cost calculator
Why is there no petrol price filled in?
No single national average is published for Australia, only figures by capital city. The price box starts empty, so each car’s cost stays blank until you type the price you actually pay.
How much fuel does 500 km use at 7.5 L/100 km?
37.5 litres. That is 7.5 × 500 ÷ 100 with the default style and conditions both at 1. At a typed price of 2.00 a litre the trip costs $75.00.
Does it work for diesel utes and 4WDs?
Yes. Enter the diesel price in that vehicle’s box and set Fuel to diesel, which counts 2.68 kg of CO₂ per litre instead of 2.31. Towing and hilly conditions raise the litres burned by up to 1.5 and 1.15 times.
What does the electric car comparison assume?
It uses 17 kWh per 100 km and a placeholder price of 0.30 per kWh. Over 500 km that is 85.0 kWh and $25.50. Replace both figures with your car’s consumption and your retailer’s rate.
Can I split the cost with more than two people?
Yes. Change People in the car and each total is divided equally by that number. With 4 people the 500 km in Our car at the example price would be $18.75 each.