Cost of Owning a Car Calculator
What your car really costs per month, per year and per kilometre or mile.
Good to know. Depreciation is often the biggest cost of owning a car, and the only one that never sends a bill.
Not financial advice. Uses only the numbers and rates you enter — no live data.
How it works
In plain words
Add up a year of every cost: depreciation, loan interest, twelve months of fuel or charging, insurance, maintenance, and tax, registration and parking. Divide by 12 for a month, or by the distance for each kilometre or mile.
The formula
per year = depreciation + interest + 12 × fuel + insurance + maintenance + other per month = per year ÷ 12 per km (or mile) = per year ÷ distance
Worked example
3,500 of depreciation, 1,800 of fuel, 1,500 of insurance, 900 of upkeep and 600 of tax and parking come to 8,300 a year: 691.67 a month, or 0.69 for every kilometre of 12,000.
Sources
- Carfax, car depreciation New cars commonly lose about 20% of their value in the first year and around 15% a year for the next few.
Sources checked October 3, 2026. 3 automated tests check its answers on every change.
About the cost of owning a car calculator
The price is only the start of what a car costs. This calculator adds up everything it takes to keep one on the road for a year, so you can see the real monthly cost and compare it with a cheaper car, a lease, or getting by without one.
Depreciation, the value the car loses each year, is usually the largest cost and the easiest to forget, because no one sends a bill for it: you pay it when you sell. New cars commonly lose around 20% in the first year and about 15% a year after that. If you bought with a loan, the interest is a cost too, but the repayments themselves are not: they are paying for the car.
Running costs are the rest: fuel or charging, insurance, servicing, repairs and tyres, road tax and registration, parking and tolls. The cost per kilometre or mile is useful when deciding whether a trip is cheaper by car, train or plane, or what a fair mileage claim is.
Electric cars often cost more up front and less to run. The EV vs gas calculator compares the two, and the fuel cost calculator works out a single trip.
Questions people ask
How much does it cost to own a car per month?
It depends on the car and where you live; adding depreciation, fuel, insurance and upkeep often gives several hundred a month, as in the example of about 690.
What is the biggest cost of owning a car?
For newer cars, usually depreciation: the value lost each year. For older cars, repairs and fuel take over.
Should I count my car loan payments?
Count the interest, not the whole payment. The rest of each payment buys the car, which is already counted as depreciation.