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Route cost calculator
What a day on the road really costs once you count fuel, the wear on the vehicle and the hours spent driving. Then see what a shorter route is worth over a year.
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Your typical day
A list in a random order, like one sorted by customer name, usually drives much farther than the same stops in a good order. Try your own number.
Cost per day
$101.56
Cost per week
$507.78
Cost per year
$26,404
5 days a week, 52 weeks.
A 20% shorter route saves
$5,281 a year
4,160 mi and 156 hours of driving.
Where a day's cost goes
- Fuel
- $15.56 · 15%
- Vehicle
- $20.00 · 20%
- Driver time
- $66.00 · 65%
In short
A route's daily cost is fuel + vehicle wear + paid driving time: distance ÷ fuel economy × fuel price, plus distance × your other cost per mile, plus hours driving × hourly pay. For 80 miles a day at 18 mpg and $3.50 a gallon, with $0.25 a mile of wear and 3 hours at $22, that's about $15.56 + $20 + $66 = $101.56 a day, or roughly $26,400 a year at five days a week.
- Fuel
- distance ÷ economy × fuel price
- Vehicle
- distance × other cost per mile
- Time
- hours driving × hourly pay
- Year
- day × working days × 52
How to use the route cost calculator
- 01
Enter a typical day
Distance and hours behind the wheel for one vehicle. Your phone's maps timeline or last month's mileage log is a good source.
- 02
Add your costs
Fuel price, fuel economy, other running costs per mile, and what an hour of driving costs you (your own time counts).
- 03
Set days and vehicles
Working days per week and how many vehicles run a similar day.
- 04
Try a shorter route
Move the slider to see what cutting the day's driving by a given share saves per year.
Where the default numbers come from
The defaults are a small van or pickup doing local service or delivery work: 18 mpg, $3.50 a gallon, and $0.25 a mile for tires, maintenance and depreciation beyond fuel. Replace them with your own. If you track expenses for taxes, your cost per mile is in last year's records; many owners are surprised it's higher than the fuel bill alone.
The biggest line is usually time. A driver paid $22 an hour costs more per day behind the wheel than the fuel they burn, so a route that's an hour shorter is worth more than a cheaper tank. For owner-operators, that hour is a job you could have fit in, or an evening at home.
How much does a better stop order save?
It depends on how scrambled the list was. A list in the order customers called, or sorted alphabetically, zigzags; the same stops in a good order can be dramatically shorter. Across EZRoutePlanner's 48 example routes of 7–12 stops on real roads in 24 cities, optimizing stops that started in a random order cut the distance by a median 39% (from 17% to 65%) and the driving time by a median 36%.
If you already plan the order by hand and know your area well, expect a smaller gain. The slider lets you try any number.
Free toolStops per day calculatorTurn saved driving into extra stops: how many more jobs fit in the same day.Frequently asked questions
How do I calculate the cost of a delivery route?
Add fuel (distance ÷ fuel economy × fuel price), other vehicle costs (distance × cost per mile) and driver time (hours × hourly pay). Multiply by working days and 52 for a year. The calculator above does it with your numbers.
What does it cost per mile to run a work vehicle?
Fuel alone is fuel price ÷ fuel economy: $3.50 ÷ 18 mpg is about $0.19 a mile. Tires, maintenance, insurance and depreciation add more; your own expense records give the real figure for your vehicle.
How can I lower my route costs?
Drive fewer miles for the same stops: put stops in the shortest order, group stops by area so each driver covers one part of town, start and end at the nearest base, and avoid crossing town twice. Route optimization does the ordering in one click.
Is this calculator saved or shared?
No. It runs in your browser and nothing is stored.
Last updated October 21, 2026.
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- PlannerDelivery route plannerPlan delivery days for one van or a small team, and send each driver their stops.
- GuideHow to plan delivery routes (from a spreadsheet to the driver's phone)Plan delivery routes from your order spreadsheet: clean the addresses, import them, split stops by driver, optimize each route and send it to a phone.
Want the best order, not just a link?
EZRoutePlanner puts your stops in the shortest order with one click, keeps every address on a map, and sends the route to your phone. Free to start.
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