Plan your perfect road trip with our free budget calculator. Estimate total costs including fuel, accommodation, food, and activities with detailed per-person and per-day breakdowns.
Updated: November 2025 • Free Tool
Per night, total cost for all travelers
Per person per day
Total budget for entire trip
For unexpected expenses
A road trip budget calculator is a free planning tool that helps you estimate the total cost of your road trip by calculating expenses for fuel, accommodation, food, activities, and other travel costs. It provides per-person and per-day breakdowns to help you budget accurately and avoid overspending.
This calculator helps with trip planning (understand total costs before you go), financial budgeting (allocate funds for different expense categories), group travel coordination (calculate per-person costs when traveling with others), cost optimization (identify areas to save money), and realistic planning (avoid budget surprises during your trip).
Fuel Cost:
(Total Miles ÷ MPG) × Gas Price
Accommodation Cost:
(Trip Days - 1) × Nightly Rate
Food Cost:
Trip Days × People × Daily Food Budget
Total Budget:
Fuel + Accommodation + Food + Activities + Emergency Buffer
Example Trip:
Cost Breakdown:
Fuel: $140
Accommodation: $720 (6 nights)
Food: $840 (7 days, 2 people)
Activities: $500
Total: $2,200 ($1,100/person)
Summer and holiday travel costs 30-50% more for accommodation and attractions. Shoulder seasons (spring/fall) offer the best value with pleasant weather and lower prices. Weekend travel to tourist destinations can be significantly more expensive than weekday travel.
Major cities and popular tourist hotspots have higher costs for accommodations, parking, dining, and attractions. Rural areas, national parks, and less-visited destinations offer better value. Coastal and mountain destinations typically cost more than inland areas.
Traveling with others reduces per-person costs significantly. Sharing hotel rooms and splitting gas can cut costs in half. However, larger groups may need bigger accommodations or multiple rooms. Solo travelers pay the full cost but have maximum flexibility.
Longer trips have lower daily averages as you spread fixed costs over more days. However, total costs increase with duration. Finding the right balance between time and budget is key. Shorter trips to nearby destinations minimize time off work and reduce total costs.
Planning is one thing, but tracking actual expenses helps you stay on budget during your trip and plan better for future adventures. Carvetka helps you log all road trip expenses in real-time with AI receipt scanning and detailed categorization.
Log fuel, accommodation, food, activities, and more. AI receipt scanning makes it quick and easy to track every expense during your trip.
Set budgets and get alerts when spending exceeds targets. See real-time comparisons between planned and actual costs.
Generate detailed expense reports by category, location, or date. Perfect for tax purposes or planning future trips.
Track group expenses and split costs among travelers. Know who owes what and settle up after the trip.
