Instantly Calculate Your Fuel Cost per km — km/L or L/100km Mode
Enter your vehicle's fuel efficiency and local fuel price to instantly calculate your fuel cost per kilometre. Supports both km/L and L/100km formats — with trip cost estimates, comparison tables, and real vehicle examples. Free, no sign-up needed.
Fuel cost per kilometre tells you exactly how much money you spend on fuel for every kilometre you drive. It depends on two things: how efficiently your vehicle uses fuel, and how much fuel costs in your area. Our calculator handles both common efficiency formats — km/L and L/100km — instantly and accurately.
Fuel cost per kilometre is the amount of money spent on fuel to travel exactly 1 kilometre. It is calculated by dividing the fuel price per litre by your vehicle's fuel efficiency in km/L. For example, if fuel costs 100 per litre and your car does 15 km/L, your fuel cost is 6.67 per km. This metric is essential for budgeting, trip planning, and comparing vehicles.
Fuel efficiency is expressed in two main formats worldwide. km/L (kilometres per litre) is used in India, Pakistan, Japan, and parts of Asia — a higher number means a more efficient vehicle. L/100km (litres per 100 kilometres) is standard in Europe, Australia, and Canada — a lower number means a more efficient vehicle. Both formats lead to the same fuel cost per km result using different formulas.
If you know your efficiency in km/L: Cost per km = Fuel Price ÷ km/L. If you know your efficiency in L/100km: Cost per km = (L/100km × Fuel Price) ÷ 100. Both formulas are mathematically exact and use the same underlying relationship — they simply work from different ways of expressing the same fuel efficiency figure. All calculations on this page use these exact values.
Select your efficiency format, enter your values, and get instant results
The fuel cost per kilometre calculation uses two different but equivalent formulas depending on how your vehicle's efficiency is expressed. Both are mathematically exact and produce the same result — they simply start from different efficiency formats.
The chart below shows approximate fuel cost per kilometre for different vehicle types at a fuel price of 100 per litre. Vehicles with higher fuel efficiency (km/L) have a lower cost per km. Adjust proportionally for your local fuel price.
The table below shows fuel cost per kilometre at various km/L efficiency ratings and fuel price points. Find your vehicle's km/L in the left column, then read across to your local fuel price per litre.
| Efficiency (km/L) | 50/litre | 100/litre | 150/litre | 200/litre | 250/litre |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 km/L | 6.25/km | 12.50/km | 18.75/km | 25.00/km | 31.25/km |
| 10 km/L | 5.00/km | 10.00/km | 15.00/km | 20.00/km | 25.00/km |
| 12 km/L | 4.17/km | 8.33/km | 12.50/km | 16.67/km | 20.83/km |
| 14 km/L | 3.57/km | 7.14/km | 10.71/km | 14.29/km | 17.86/km |
| 15 km/L | 3.33/km | 6.67/km | 10.00/km | 13.33/km | 16.67/km |
| 18 km/L | 2.78/km | 5.56/km | 8.33/km | 11.11/km | 13.89/km |
| 20 km/L | 2.50/km | 5.00/km | 7.50/km | 10.00/km | 12.50/km |
| 25 km/L | 2.00/km | 4.00/km | 6.00/km | 8.00/km | 10.00/km |
| 30 km/L | 1.67/km | 3.33/km | 5.00/km | 6.67/km | 8.33/km |
| 40 km/L | 1.25/km | 2.50/km | 3.75/km | 5.00/km | 6.25/km |
The table below shows fuel cost per kilometre for vehicles rated in L/100km at various fuel price points. Lower L/100km values indicate a more efficient vehicle. All values use the formula: Cost per km = (L/100km × Fuel Price) ÷ 100.
| Consumption (L/100km) | 50/litre | 100/litre | 150/litre | 200/litre | Equiv. km/L |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 L/100km | 2.50/km | 5.00/km | 7.50/km | 10.00/km | 20 km/L |
| 6 L/100km | 3.00/km | 6.00/km | 9.00/km | 12.00/km | 16.67 km/L |
| 7 L/100km | 3.50/km | 7.00/km | 10.50/km | 14.00/km | 14.29 km/L |
| 8 L/100km | 4.00/km | 8.00/km | 12.00/km | 16.00/km | 12.50 km/L |
| 9 L/100km | 4.50/km | 9.00/km | 13.50/km | 18.00/km | 11.11 km/L |
| 10 L/100km | 5.00/km | 10.00/km | 15.00/km | 20.00/km | 10 km/L |
| 12 L/100km | 6.00/km | 12.00/km | 18.00/km | 24.00/km | 8.33 km/L |
| 15 L/100km | 7.50/km | 15.00/km | 22.50/km | 30.00/km | 6.67 km/L |
| 20 L/100km | 10.00/km | 20.00/km | 30.00/km | 40.00/km | 5 km/L |
Knowing your fuel cost per kilometre is useful across a wide range of everyday situations — from planning a road trip to comparing vehicles before buying.
Before a long drive, calculate your total fuel cost by multiplying your cost per km by the trip distance. A 500 km trip at 6.67/km costs exactly 3,335 in fuel. Knowing this in advance lets you budget accurately, compare refuelling stops, and decide whether to drive or fly for long journeys.
Calculate your monthly fuel spend by multiplying your daily commute distance by working days and your cost per km. A 30 km daily commute at 8/km = 240/day × 22 working days = 5,280/month on fuel. Tracking fuel cost per km helps you identify when a service is needed — efficiency drops before other symptoms appear.
Calculate the fuel cost per km for each vehicle you are considering and multiply by your annual mileage to see the true yearly running cost difference. A car doing 12 km/L vs 18 km/L at 100/litre over 15,000 km/year = difference of ~41,700/year in fuel alone — a critical factor in total ownership cost.
Fleet managers use fuel cost per km to benchmark driver performance, route efficiency, and vehicle maintenance status. Tracking cost per km across a fleet reveals which vehicles need servicing (rising cost per km = falling efficiency), optimises route planning, and provides accurate data for energy cost reporting and client billing in delivery and logistics businesses.
For gig economy drivers, knowing fuel cost per km is essential to understand whether each trip is profitable. If a delivery platform pays 12/km and your fuel cost is 8/km, your gross fuel margin is 4/km. Understanding this number helps drivers select profitable zones, reject low-paying trips, and calculate their true hourly earnings after fuel.
To compare running costs of an electric vehicle against a petrol car, calculate fuel cost per km for the petrol car and energy cost per km for the EV (electricity rate × kWh/100km ÷ 100). A petrol car at 10/km vs an EV at 2–3/km on home charging illustrates the enormous running cost advantage of electric vehicles over high mileage.
Track real-time fuel prices in your area to stay up to date with the latest petrol and diesel costs. Use current prices in the calculator above for the most accurate fuel cost per km results.
Check Fuel Prices →The US Department of Energy's fuel economy database lists official efficiency ratings for thousands of vehicles in both MPG and L/100km — useful for finding your car's efficiency if you don't know it from your manual.
Find Your Vehicle →Explore our full collection of free online unit converters for length, area, energy, time, pressure, and more — all mobile-friendly and free to use without any sign-up.
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