RealCost Guide
Average Fuel Cost Per Month UK
Monthly fuel cost depends on how many miles you drive, your car’s MPG and the price you pay per litre. A short commute in an efficient car can cost far less than a long commute in a thirsty car.
Use this page to estimate your monthly fuel budget, compare different mileage levels and avoid underestimating one of the biggest regular costs of driving.
This is fuel only, not total car cost
Monthly fuel cost only tells you what petrol or diesel may cost. It does not include insurance, road tax, servicing, tyres, repairs, parking or depreciation.
Use fuel cost for journey and commute budgeting, but use full car cost when deciding whether a car is affordable.
Calculate your monthly fuel cost
Enter your monthly mileage, fuel price and MPG to estimate how much you may spend on fuel each month. For a rough monthly budget, use your expected monthly driving distance as the distance input.
For regular commuting, also use the Commute Calculator because workdays, parking and repeated journeys can change the real monthly cost.
Quick answer: monthly fuel cost is mainly driven by monthly mileage, MPG and fuel price. For example, at £1.50 per litre, 1,000 miles per month costs about £136 at 50 MPG, about £170 at 40 MPG and about £227 at 30 MPG.
What affects monthly fuel cost?
The average is only useful when the assumptions match your driving.
The more miles you drive, the more fuel cost matters.
A lower MPG car can cost much more every month, especially on longer commutes.
Small changes in fuel price become more noticeable for high-mileage drivers.
Repeated work journeys can dominate your monthly fuel budget.
Stop-start city traffic usually uses more fuel than steady driving.
Hard acceleration, poor tyre pressure and unnecessary weight can increase fuel use.
Example monthly fuel costs
These examples use £1.50 per litre so you can see how mileage and MPG change the result.
500 miles per month
At 50 MPG: about £68
At 40 MPG: about £85
At 30 MPG: about £114
1,000 miles per month
At 50 MPG: about £136
At 40 MPG: about £170
At 30 MPG: about £227
1,500 miles per month
At 50 MPG: about £205
At 40 MPG: about £256
At 30 MPG: about £341
Formula used: monthly fuel cost = miles ÷ MPG × 4.546 × fuel price per litre.
Commute mileage vs personal mileage
Monthly fuel cost is easier to estimate when you split regular driving from occasional driving.
Commute mileage
This is often the predictable part: distance to work, return journey, workdays per week and weeks worked.
Personal mileage
Shopping, school runs, family visits, hobbies and weekend trips can quietly add a lot to the monthly total.
Useful next step: for work travel, use the Commute Calculator UK because it handles repeated commuting more clearly.
Why MPG matters so much
The higher your monthly mileage, the more a poor MPG car hurts your budget.
Low mileage driver
MPG still matters, but insurance, tax and maintenance may be just as important as fuel.
Regular commuter
A small MPG difference can become a noticeable monthly cost when the journey repeats every working day.
High-mileage driver
Fuel efficiency can become one of the most important running-cost factors.
How to reduce monthly fuel cost
Cut fuel costs without ignoring the rest of the car budget.
When monthly fuel cost is not enough
Fuel is important, but it does not decide total affordability on its own.
Before buying a car
Include insurance, tax, servicing, repairs, tyres and depreciation, not just the fuel estimate.
Before changing car
A fuel saving may not be worth it if the replacement car has higher insurance, finance, depreciation or repair risk.
Before comparing EV vs petrol
Compare energy cost, insurance, tyres, depreciation, charging access and total ownership cost.
How this page is different from related fuel pages
This page is for monthly fuel budgeting. Other fuel pages answer different questions.
Monthly petrol or diesel budgeting from mileage, fuel price and MPG.
Best for a one-off distance or journey fuel estimate.
Best for working out pence per mile from fuel price and MPG.
Useful fuel and running-cost calculators
Use these next depending on whether you want fuel-only cost, commute cost or total car cost.
Open calculator →
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Read guide →
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