Cost per mile calculator
Most owner-operators can tell you their rate per mile. Far fewer can tell you what a mile costs them. Fill in your own numbers and you get fixed cost per mile, fuel cost per mile, total cost per mile, and the minimum rate you can accept on a load without losing money.
Fixed costs
per monthAnnual cost — divided by 12 automatically.
Use your realistic average, not your best month.
Variable costs
per mileFuel cost per mile = diesel price ÷ mpg.
Your numbers
—Break-even rate = cost per mile ÷ (1 − margin).
Fixed versus variable, and why the split matters
Fixed costs land whether the truck moves or not: the payment, the insurance, the plates, the yard. Variable costs only exist because the wheels turned: fuel, tires, maintenance, tolls.
The split matters because it changes what a load is worth. A long load spreads your fixed costs across more miles, so fixed cost per mile falls. A short load may carry a higher rate per mile and still lose money once you account for the deadhead to get to it. This is why two loads with the same rate per mile can have completely different outcomes.
Using the break-even rate
The minimum rate per mile is the number below which you are subsidising the shipper. It is calculated as your cost per mile divided by one minus your target margin, which keeps the margin as a share of revenue rather than a markup on cost.
Treat it as a floor, not a target. It does not include deadhead, detention, or the cost of the next empty mile — so when you are offered a load, add the empty miles to the total miles before you compare against this number.
What to check every month
- Fuel cost per mile. Diesel price divided by your real mpg, not the brochure figure.
- Maintenance per mile. Average your repair invoices over the last twelve months, including the big ones.
- Miles per month. If you use your best month, every other month looks unprofitable by comparison and you will price against a fantasy.
- Fixed cost drift. Insurance and payments creep up quietly and reset your floor.
This calculator uses only the numbers you enter. It does not pull market rates, and it does not know your actual fuel, repair, or insurance costs — those have to come from your own records.
Questions
Should I include my own pay as a cost?
Yes, if you want a real answer. An owner-operator who does not pay themselves has a cost per mile that looks excellent and a bank account that does not. Put your required draw in "other fixed costs" and the number becomes honest.
What is a normal cost per mile?
It varies too much by truck, age, lane, and insurance profile for a published average to be useful to you. Any figure you see quoted online is someone else's operation. Use your own twelve months of invoices — that is the only number that will not mislead you.
Does this include IFTA?
No. IFTA is a settlement between jurisdictions, not an additional cost — it reallocates fuel tax you have already paid at the pump. Use the IFTA calculator to work out your quarterly position separately.
How do deadhead miles fit in?
Add them to the total miles for the trip before you compare the rate against your floor. A 400-mile load with 150 empty miles to reach it is a 550-mile job, and the rate has to cover all of it.