What does your car really cost?
Most drivers track fuel and insurance and stop there. Add depreciation, servicing, tyres and repairs, and the real number is usually close to double. This calculator gives you the honest figure in about thirty seconds.
- Free, no sign-up
- Nothing leaves your browser
- Every formula published
The short answer
The true cost of owning a car is depreciation + fuel + insurance + road tax + servicing + repairs + tyres + financing interest + other costs, divided over the years you own it. For a typical mid-range European car driven 15,000 km a year that usually works out to €400–€700 per month, of which depreciation alone is commonly 40–50%.
Why the monthly number surprises people
Depreciation never appears on a bank statement. You pay it silently, all at once, on the day you sell. That is why a driver who spends €120 a month on fuel and €50 on insurance genuinely believes the car costs €170 a month — while the car is quietly losing €215 a month in value at the same time.
The other costs that go missing are the lumpy ones. A €600 set of tyres every four years is €150 a year. A €900 timing belt at 120,000 km is a real cost of ownership even though it arrives once. Spreading these over the ownership period is the only way to compare two cars fairly.
What this calculator does
- Turns nine separate cost categories into one monthly figure
- Shows cost per kilometre or per mile, so you can price a trip honestly
- Breaks down where the money actually goes, by share
- Compares two cars side by side, including the lifetime difference
- Produces a shareable link and a printable report
- Ownership cost calculator Your monthly, yearly and per-km cost with a full breakdown.
- Compare two cars Petrol vs diesel, new vs used, EV vs combustion — see the real gap.
- The formula Every calculation this site performs, written out in plain language.
Common questions
What is the true cost of car ownership?
The true cost of owning a car is depreciation plus fuel, insurance, road tax, servicing, repairs, tyres, financing interest and incidental costs such as parking. For a typical mid-range European car driven 15,000 km a year, it usually falls between €400 and €700 per month. Depreciation alone is often 40–50% of the total, which is why the purchase price matters far more than the fuel economy for most owners.
How is car depreciation calculated?
The simplest method is straight-line: subtract the expected resale value from the purchase price, then divide by the number of years you will keep the car. A €25,000 car worth €12,000 after five years depreciates €13,000, or €2,600 per year. Real depreciation is front-loaded — a new car loses most value in year one — so straight-line understates early years and overstates later ones.
How much does a car cost per month?
Add every annual cost together and divide by twelve. Most owners only count fuel and insurance, which typically accounts for less than half the real figure. Including depreciation, servicing, tyres and repairs usually doubles the perceived monthly cost.
What car costs do people most often forget?
Depreciation is the single most overlooked cost because no money leaves your account each month. After that: tyres (amortised, not just in the year you buy them), unscheduled repairs, the interest portion of a car loan, annual road tax, parking and tolls, and the technical inspection or MOT.
Find out in thirty seconds
Sensible defaults are pre-filled. Change what you know, ignore the rest.
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