How the calculator works

Fuel cost is the distance in km, times litres per 100 km, divided by 100, times the price per litre. Stockholm to Göteborg is about 470 km, so 940 km there and back. A car using 6.5 litres per 100 km burns 61.1 litres over that distance, and at an illustrative 18 kr a litre that's 1,099.80 kr. Four people in the car pay 274.95 kr each, and the three passengers send the driver 275 kr each.

Use the price you actually paid at the pump. It changes often, and a small difference per litre adds up over a long drive.

Where to find the fuel use

The trip computer shows the car's average. Swedish cars often show it in litres per mil, where a mil is 10 km: multiply by ten, so 0.65 l/mil is 6.5 l/100 km. Expect more than usual with a roof box, a full boot or a long stretch at motorway speed.

If you don't know the figure, measure instead. The owner fills the tank before leaving, at their own cost. Every fill-up during the trip, plus a last one back to full when you get home, is the trip's fuel. Add up the receipts and split the total. To do that here, set the distance to zero and enter the total under tolls, ferries and parking.

Wear on the car

Fuel is only part of what a kilometre costs the owner. Tyres, servicing and the car losing value as the mileage goes up are real costs too. On a day trip nobody minds, but on a longer drive in someone's own car, a small amount per kilometre is fair. Agree a round figure before you leave, such as 0.50 per km, and enter it in the calculator. It's split between everyone, the owner included, the same as the fuel. With a rental car there's no wear to pay for; split the hire instead.

Electric cars

Choose Electric and the calculator works in kWh per 100 km and price per kWh. The hard part is the price, because charging at home and fast charging on the road cost very different amounts. Fast-charging receipts can go in as a fixed cost. For charging at the owner's home, agree a price per kWh, since it only shows up on their electricity bill.

Tolls, ferries and parking

These are car costs too: add them to the extras field and they're split the same way. Watch for the ones billed later. Congestion tax in Stockholm and Göteborg, for example, is invoiced to the car's owner the month after you drive, so note the crossings as you go.

Frequently asked questions

Should the driver pay a share of the fuel?

Yes, if they were going anyway. The driver is one of the travellers and splits equally with everyone else. If someone drives only for your benefit, such as a lift to the airport and back on their own, it's fair for the passengers to cover the whole cost. Count only the passengers as people in the car.

How much fuel does a car use?

Most petrol cars use somewhere between 5 and 8 litres per 100 km. A roof box, a trailer, a full load, motorway speed and cold weather all push it up. Use the average from the trip computer rather than the brochure figure.

Someone only rides one way. How do we split it?

Work out each leg separately as a one-way trip with the number of people in the car for that leg. The person who only came along for the drive out pays their share of that leg, and the drive home is split between the people still in the car.

Why is the amount rounded up?

Whole amounts are easier to send, and the person who paid at the pump shouldn't lose out on the rounding. It's never more than one unit of currency per person.

Does it work in other currencies?

Yes. Enter the price per litre or kWh in your own currency and every amount comes out in that currency.

Fuel cost calculator: split a car trip per person

Fuel cost per person