Need To Calculate Gas Costs For Your Next Road Trip? These Are The Best Apps For That

Got a road trip coming up? Dreaming of one? Beyond what snacks to buy and what tunes to play, one key aspect to consider in your road trip game plan is the cost of fuel. Knowing how much you'll spend on gas can help you budget your trip more effectively and avoid any surprises at the pump or in your bank account. Thankfully, there are several apps designed precisely to help you calculate gas costs accurately and plan the perfect road trip.

The old-school method of this calculation involves four steps. First, you have to get your vehicle's fuel efficiency by calculating its miles per gallon (MPG). Next, work out the total distance you estimate to be driving on your road trip; include any detours, stops, traffic hotspots, or other considerations. Now — and you'll have to do some research here — get the regional and time-relevant gas prices (AAA can help). Finally, calculate the overall cost by dividing the total driving distance by your MPG, then multiply that number (gallons of gas you'll need) by the gas price. However, we want to take all that mathematical brainwork out of the way, so here are the best apps to consider for your next journey. 

GasBuddy is one of the most popular apps for finding the cheapest gas prices in your area, and it also offers a useful trip cost calculator; by inputting information about your road trip itinerary and vehicle, the app can estimate the total fuel cost for your trip. GasBuddy uses community-driven data and updates from over 150,000 gas stations across the United States (and also in Canada) in its network to ensure that prices are regularly updated and relevant.

Omni Calculator, the all-in-one digital calculator — which also has a boat speed, Tesla charging cost, and even a flight radiation calculator — has a simple, user-friendly standard gas calculator. The principle is the same: Input your road trip distance, fuel efficiency, fuel amount, and fuel price to get your total gas cost. This free calculator doesn't have the other, more nifty features that GasBuddy has, so Omni is best for the purpose of getting a generic cost estimate without any extra information.

Roadtrip, an app that recently gained some popularity on TikTok, is a colorful, multi-feature, easy-to-use gas calculator (and then some). It helps you calculate your fuel costs based on the exact specs of your car (or truck or motorbike) and locations, from New Zealand to America to France. In the app's premium version, you can split gas and other road trip costs with your travel buddies. Roadtrip also has route optimization, carbon emission tracking, and a vehicle comparison feature, which can help you choose the best, most fuel-efficient vehicle option — if you're comparing among your friends or family member's vehicles — for your road trip. 

Other honorable mentions include the apps Roadtrippers, Fuelio, ViaMichelin, and AAA TripTik Travel Planner (for AAA members only). With the right app, you'll be able to easily estimate your gas expenses, plan your route, and find the best spots to fuel up along the way. Before you hit the road on your next adventure, be sure to download one of these and take the guesswork out of your fuel budget.