Cost Per Mile Calculator

Add up all of your monthly operating costs — fuel, maintenance, tires, tolls, truck payment, insurance, permits, and driver pay — then divide that total by the number of miles you run in the month. The result is your cost per mile, also called your break-even rate.

Most owner-operators land somewhere between $1.50 and $2.00 per mile in total operating costs, though it varies widely with fuel prices, equipment age, and insurance. The number itself matters less than knowing yours precisely — that is what lets you say yes or no to a load with confidence.

Fixed costs stay roughly the same no matter how much you drive — your truck payment, insurance, and permits. Variable costs rise and fall with your miles — fuel, tires, and most maintenance. Separating them helps you understand how an extra load actually affects your bottom line.

Yes. Your truck still burns fuel and wears out tires when running empty, so deadhead (unloaded) miles are real cost. Include them in your monthly miles for an honest cost per mile. Some carriers also track a separate cost per loaded mile for rate negotiation.

Your cost per mile is the floor — the rate at which you break even. To make a profit, the load needs to pay more than that per mile. Multiply your cost per mile by the trip's total miles to find your break-even revenue, then add your target profit on top.

Only if you enter it in the driver pay field. Many owner-operators leave it at zero to see pure operating cost, then treat everything earned above break-even as their pay plus profit. Others enter a target salary to see the rate they need to hit it. Both approaches are valid.

Recalculate whenever fuel prices move significantly, when your insurance renews, or at least once a quarter. Fuel alone can swing your cost per mile by 20 cents or more, which is the difference between a profitable lane and a losing one.

Yes, the calculator is completely free with no signup required. Your inputs are saved locally in your browser so they persist between visits — nothing is uploaded to a server. Clearing your browser data will erase your saved values.