Car Total Cost of Ownership
The sticker price is the small half of the story. Add depreciation, fuel or charging, insurance, upkeep, loan interest and fees to see what a car actually costs you per mile, per month, and over the whole time you own it — then line two vehicles up against each other.
Vehicle A
How to use this calculator
1. Describe the car and how long you will keep it
Purchase price, down payment, the loan rate and term, and the number of years before you sell. The ownership window matters more than people expect: keeping a car nine years instead of four roughly halves the depreciation charged to each mile, because the steepest part of the value curve is behind you.
2. Set how you will feed it
Pick gasoline or electric. The two fields underneath change with it — miles per gallon and a price per gallon for gas, miles per kWh and a price per kWh for electric. Everything downstream is the same arithmetic, so a plug-in and a pickup can be compared honestly on the same page.
3. Add the running costs
Insurance and registration are annual figures straight off your renewal notice. Maintenance is entered per mile, because that is how it actually accrues — the vehicle class dropdown fills in a typical rate, and you can type over it once you know what your own car costs to keep on the road.
4. Switch on Vehicle B
This is where the tool earns its keep. Fill in a second car — a cheaper used one, an EV, the truck you keep talking yourself into — and the comparison table below shows which one wins on total cost, cost per mile and cost per month, with the gap in dollars on every row. Copy Vehicle A first if you only want to change one or two numbers.
Car ownership cost FAQs
What counts in a car's total cost of ownership?
Six lines: depreciation (the value the car quietly loses), fuel or electricity, insurance, maintenance and repairs, the interest on your loan, and registration or annual fees. This calculator adds all six across the years you plan to keep the car, then divides by the miles you drive to give a cost per mile.
Why is depreciation usually the largest cost?
A new car loses roughly a fifth of its value in the first year and around 13% of what is left in each year after that. On a $32,000 car kept for seven years that is close to $21,000 — more than fuel and maintenance combined for a typical commuter. It feels invisible because you never write a cheque for it. You only meet it on the day you sell.
How is the cost per mile worked out?
Total cost divided by total miles. Seven years at 12,000 miles a year is 84,000 miles, so a $55,400 total works out at about 66 cents a mile. Driving more miles usually lowers that figure, because depreciation, insurance and registration are spread over a larger number even though fuel and maintenance rise with use. Drag the miles slider under the charts to watch it move.
Is an electric car cheaper to own than a gas car?
It depends entirely on the numbers you type, which is what the Vehicle A versus Vehicle B panel is for. Electricity and upkeep are usually far cheaper per mile, but a higher sticker price means more depreciation and more loan interest, and EV insurance often costs more. Put the two vehicles side by side and the comparison table settles it on total cost, cost per mile and cost per month.
Should the whole loan payment count as a cost?
No — only the interest. The principal part of each payment buys equity in the car, and that equity is already captured as the gap between purchase price and resale value. Counting both would charge you twice for the same dollars. This calculator lists loan interest as its own line and leaves the principal inside the depreciation figure.
How accurate is the resale value?
It applies your two depreciation percentages down a smooth curve, so treat it as a planning estimate rather than a market quote. Mileage, condition, colour, trim and model demand move a real trade-in figure by thousands. If you already know what your model sells for at the age you plan to sell, work backwards and adjust the annual percentage until the car-value column in the year-by-year table matches it.