Free Online Calculators
True car cost per km & month: depreciation, fuel, insurance
This calculator shows what your car costs per month, per kilometre and per year: fuel, insurance, road tax, servicing and tyres, plus – if you enter the purchase price – an estimated depreciation (15% of the price in the first year, then 15% less each year). Finance, parking and tolls are not included. Amounts are in euros, distances in km and consumption in litres per 100 km.
Thanks for your feedback!
The 20% rule says you should pay a fifth of the purchase price up front in cash, which reduces the amount financed and helps you avoid owing more than the car is worth. It's usually quoted as part of a wider guideline that also caps the loan term and the share of your income spent on the payment.
Affordability is judged by whether the monthly payment, insurance, fuel, tax and maintenance fit comfortably within your take-home pay after housing and other debts, not by the sticker price alone. Work out the full monthly running cost first, then compare it with a small share of your net income.
Base the limit on what you can pay each month rather than on salary alone: add up the loan payment, insurance, fuel, servicing and depreciation and keep that total to a modest slice of your monthly net income. Then work backwards from that monthly ceiling to a purchase price.
A higher salary raises the ceiling, but the deciding factors are your other fixed costs, existing debt payments and how much you can put down. Set a comfortable monthly budget covering finance, insurance, fuel and maintenance, then convert it into a price using your loan rate and term.
There's no single model — the better approach is to set a monthly limit for finance, insurance, fuel and servicing, then shortlist cars whose total running costs fit. Small and compact models with low insurance groups and good fuel economy usually leave the most room in a mid-range budget.
Owning a car involves far more than just the purchase price. The Car Cost Calculator at Simple Calculator helps you discover the true cost per kilometre and per month of running your vehicle — including depreciation, fuel, insurance, tax and maintenance. Stop guessing and start making informed financial decisions about your car.
Most drivers dramatically underestimate their total vehicle costs because they only think about fuel. The calculator brings the main cost items together:
Using the tool is straightforward. Start with the purchase price (optional, only used for depreciation), the vehicle age in years and your annual distance in kilometres. Then enter fuel consumption in litres per 100 km and the fuel price per litre. If you only know UK mpg, convert it: litres per 100 km = 282.5 ÷ mpg, so 40 mpg is about 7.1 L/100 km.
Finally, add the yearly amounts for insurance, road tax, servicing/repairs and tyres. The calculator instantly shows your cost per month, per kilometre and per year (in thousands of euros), plus the yearly split into depreciation, fuel and fixed costs.
Let's look at a typical scenario: a family hatchback bought for €25,000, one year old, driven 15,000 km a year (about 9,300 miles). The calculator sets depreciation at 15% of the price, €3,750. Fuel at 6.5 L/100 km and €1.80 per litre: €1,755. Add insurance (€800), road tax (€200) and servicing (€500, tyres included, tyre field set to 0). Total annual cost: €7,005 – the calculator shows €584 per month and €0.47 per kilometre. Finance costs would come on top. The amounts are labelled in euros; if you enter pounds instead, the results are simply in pounds.
Understanding the full cost of car ownership empowers you to make smarter choices. The Car Cost Calculator is invaluable in several situations:
You can also run the numbers for an electric car, even though the fields mention litres: enter the energy use in kWh per 100 km instead of litres and the electricity price per kWh instead of the fuel price – the maths is the same. To compare two cars, fill in the calculator once for each and compare the results.
Once you know where your money is going, you can take targeted action:
All annual costs (depreciation, fuel, insurance, tax, servicing, tyres) are added together and divided by your annual distance. The calculator does this automatically as you enter your figures; finance costs are not included.
It depends heavily on the car, the distance you drive and the purchase price. With the default values and no purchase price, the calculator shows €0.30 per kilometre in pure running costs; depreciation and finance push the figure considerably higher.
It depends on the deal and your circumstances. Leasing offers predictable monthly costs but no asset at the end. The calculator has no fields for lease payments or residual value; it shows running costs and an estimated depreciation. To compare, add a year of lease payments to the running costs calculated without a purchase price.
Absolutely. Business users can also factor in tax deductions on allowable expenses. The calculator provides the key figures needed to support accurate business mileage and cost reporting.
We recommend reviewing your figures annually, or whenever there's a significant change — such as a jump in fuel prices, a new insurance policy, or after a major repair. Regular reviews keep your budget accurate and up to date.