How much does it cost to drive 100 km?
About €16.28 of petrol for 100 km in a typical European car (7.89 L/100 km at €2.063 per litre), but about €81.88 once depreciation, insurance, maintenance, tyres and tax are spread over the year's 10,800 km. The same 100 km take €14.85 of diesel or €5.19 of home electricity. Table 1 gives the fuel figure for any consumption and price per litre (the arithmetic is the same in any currency), then 100, 500 and 1,000 km for petrol, diesel and electric, and what each of the eight cost lines adds to 100 km, all computed by the same code as the calculator.
Open the cost per mile calculator
1. Fuel only: 100 km by consumption and price per litre
Fuel for 100 km = litres per 100 km x price per litre. The table is in euros, but the sum is the same in any currency per litre: read the cell in your own money. The EU starting values (7.89 L/100 km, €2.063) sit between the 7 and 8 L/100 km rows and the €2.00 and €2.25 columns.
| Consumption (L/100 km) | €1.50 | €1.75 | €2.00 | €2.25 | €2.50 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | €7.50 | €8.75 | €10.00 | €11.25 | €12.50 |
| 6 | €9.00 | €10.50 | €12.00 | €13.50 | €15.00 |
| 7 | €10.50 | €12.25 | €14.00 | €15.75 | €17.50 |
| 8 | €12.00 | €14.00 | €16.00 | €18.00 | €20.00 |
| 9 | €13.50 | €15.75 | €18.00 | €20.25 | €22.50 |
| 10 | €15.00 | €17.50 | €20.00 | €22.50 | €25.00 |
Each litre per 100 km adds exactly one litre's price to every 100 km; each 25 cents on the litre adds a quarter of the consumption in euros. The cost per km calculator (switch the region to metric) does the same sum for any consumption, price and distance.
2. 100, 500 and 1,000 km in a petrol, diesel or electric car
Each column is the typical EU car of that kind with the calculator's metric starting values: petrol 7.89 L/100 km at €2.063, diesel 6.88 L/100 km at €2.159, electric 17.9 kWh/100 km charged at home at €0.2896 per kWh. “All in” adds depreciation, insurance, maintenance, tyres and tax spread over 10,800 km a year; those costs are the same for the three cars, so only the energy differs.
| Distance (km) | Petrol: fuel | Petrol: all in | Diesel: fuel | Diesel: all in | Electric: fuel | Electric: all in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100 | €16.28 | €81.88 | €14.85 | €80.45 | €5.19 | €70.79 |
| 500 | €81.39 | €409 | €74.27 | €402 | €25.93 | €354 |
| 1,000 | €163 | €819 | €149 | €805 | €51.86 | €708 |
The electric car saves €11.09 of energy per 100 km against petrol at these prices, but only when charged at home: at €0.72 per kWh on a high-power public network the 100 km cost €12.89. Whether the saving pays for a dearer car is the question the EV vs gas calculator answers.
3. What 100 km cost, line by line (petrol car)
The all-in figure is the year's cost of the car divided by its 10,800 km, times 100. Fuel, maintenance and tyres grow with every km; depreciation, insurance and tax are paid whether the car moves or not, so they weigh more on each km of a car that is driven little. Parking, tolls and loan interest are €0 in the starting values because they depend on where you drive and how you paid; the calculator has a field for each.
| Cost item | Per year | Per 100 km | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fuel or energy | €1,758 | €16.28 | 20% |
| Maintenance and repairs | €737 | €6.82 | 8% |
| Tyres | €85 | €0.79 | 1% |
| Depreciation | €5,557 | €51.46 | 63% |
| Insurance | €563 | €5.21 | 6% |
| Tax, registration, inspection | €143 | €1.32 | 2% |
| Parking and tolls | €0 | €0.00 | 0% |
| Loan interest | €0 | €0.00 | 0% |
| Total | €8,843 | €81.88 | 100% |
All in, the petrol car costs 5 times its fuel per 100 km. For a trip in a car you already own, the fuel line is the cash that leaves your pocket; for deciding whether to drive at all, to charge a passenger, or to take a job paid per km, the total is the honest figure. The guide on what a car costs per year has the same lines for the US and the UK, and the guide on what 100 miles cost is this page in miles, gallons, dollars and pounds.
Both figures are estimates for planning from public starting values, not a statement about your car. Sources: petrol and diesel consumption, European Commission COM(2024) 122, real-world fuel consumption from on-board monitoring, petrol cars registered 2021: 7.89 L/100 km (type-approval 6.38) — https://climate.ec.europa.eu/document/download/b644dafe-1385-4b56-98d9-21e7e9f3601b_en?filename=report.pdf and European Commission COM(2024) 122, real-world fuel consumption from on-board monitoring, diesel cars registered 2021: 6.88 L/100 km (type-approval 5.82) — https://climate.ec.europa.eu/document/download/b644dafe-1385-4b56-98d9-21e7e9f3601b_en?filename=report.pdf (2026-09-18); petrol and diesel prices, European Commission Weekly Oil Bulletin: Euro-super 95, EU27 weighted average with taxes €2,063.36 per 1,000 L, prices as of 2026-09-14 (bulletin of 2026-09-17) — https://energy.ec.europa.eu/data-and-analysis/weekly-oil-bulletin_en and European Commission Weekly Oil Bulletin: automotive diesel, EU27 weighted average with taxes €2,158.74 per 1,000 L, prices as of 2026-09-14 (bulletin of 2026-09-17) — https://energy.ec.europa.eu/data-and-analysis/weekly-oil-bulletin_en (2026-09-18); electric efficiency, EPA Automotive Trends Report (MY2024): Tesla fleet 117.1 MPGe = 117.1 / 33.7 kWh per gallon-equivalent = 3.47 mi/kWh (17.9 kWh/100 km), used as the typical EV — https://www.epa.gov/automotive-trends/highlights-automotive-trends-report (2026-09-18); home electricity, Eurostat, electricity prices for household consumers: EU average €0.2896/kWh, second half of 2025 (taxes included) — https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/products-eurostat-news/w/ddn-20260505-1 (2026-09-18); public charging, IONITY Direct (charging without a subscription), Germany: €0.72/kWh; example of a European high-power network — https://www.ionity.eu/subscriptions (2026-09-18); yearly distance, ODYSSEE-MURE, distance travelled by car: EU average 10,800 km per car per year (2023) — https://www.odyssee-mure.eu/publications/efficiency-by-sector/transport/distance-travelled-by-car.html (2026-09-18). The other costs of the car (depreciation, insurance, maintenance, tyres, tax) are the calculator's metric starting values, listed with their sources under each field when you switch region.
Frequently asked questions
- How do I calculate the fuel cost per 100 km?
- Litres per 100 km x price per litre. At 7.89 L/100 km and €2.063 per litre (the EU starting values) that is €16.28; at 5 L/100 km and €1.50 it is €7.50, at 10 L/100 km and €2.50 it is €25.00. If your car shows km per litre instead, litres per 100 km = 100 / km per litre. Divide by 100 for the fuel cost per km: €0.163 with the starting values.
- How much does it cost to drive 100 km in an electric car?
- €5.19 charged at home with the starting values (17.9 kWh/100 km at €0.2896 per kWh, the EU household average), less than a third of the petrol car's €16.28. Charged only at a high-power public network at €0.72 per kWh the same 100 km cost €12.89, close to the petrol. All in, with the same other costs as the petrol car, the electric car is €70.79 per 100 km.
- How much does it cost to drive 100 km in a diesel car?
- €14.85 of diesel at 6.88 L/100 km and €2.159 per litre (EU starting values, real-world consumption from on-board monitoring). Diesel costs more per litre than petrol in the EU averages used here but the diesel car burns less of it, so the two are close: €14.85 against €16.28. Type your own consumption into the calculator; it decides the answer.
- How much does it cost to drive 1,000 km?
- Ten times the 100-km figure: €163 of petrol, €149 of diesel or €51.86 of home electricity with the starting values, and €819 all in for the petrol car. For a one-off trip in a car you already own, the fuel figure is the cash you spend; the all-in figure is what those km really cost you over the year.
- What is the cost per km of a car?
- €0.819 per km all in for the typical EU petrol car (€8,843 a year over 10,800 km), of which fuel is only €0.163. Depreciation, insurance, tax, maintenance and tyres make up the rest; table 3 shows each line for 100 km. A cheaper, older car or more km a year lowers the figure; a new car on a loan raises it.
- Is 100 km the same as 100 miles?
- No: 100 km is 62.1 miles, so a 100-mile trip costs about 1.6 times the figures on this page. The guide on what it costs to drive 100 miles has the US (gallons and dollars) and UK (litres and pounds) versions of the same tables; the calculator switches between the three sets of units.
More guides
- How much does it cost to drive 100 miles?
Fuel alone and the all-in cost of 100, 200 and 1,000 miles in a typical gas, diesel and electric car, US and UK, by mpg and fuel price.
- How much does it cost to own a car per year?
Yearly and monthly cost of a typical gas, diesel and electric car, item by item: fuel, depreciation, insurance, maintenance, tyres and tax. US, UK and EU.
- How much do you save per year with an electric car?
Energy saving of an EV over a gas car per year and over 5 years by miles driven, and how many years a dearer EV takes to pay back its price. US and UK.
- How much does it cost to charge an EV at home?
Home charging cost per 100 miles, per month and per year by efficiency and electricity price, against gas, and what public charging adds. US and UK.
Last updated 2026-09-22. Cost estimates from published starting values (EPA, EIA, AAA, DESNZ, Ofgem, IRS/HMRC), each with its source and date, put through the same arithmetic as the calculators. Your car, prices and mileage move every figure. Information for planning, not financial or tax advice.