How Much Does It Cost to Drive 100 Miles? Gas, Hybrid and EV

Updated 2026-11-03

How much does it cost to drive 100 miles? In fuel alone, a typical gas car spends somewhere around $10 to $15, a hybrid about $7, and an electric car about $5 at home. But fuel is only part of the story. Once you count depreciation, insurance, maintenance and tires, AAA's 2026 Your Driving Costs study works out to roughly $86 per 100 miles for the average new vehicle. This guide shows you how to calculate both numbers for your own car.

The formula for the cost of 100 miles of gas

The fuel formula is simple. Divide 100 by your car's miles per gallon (MPG) to get the gallons you will use, then multiply by the price of a gallon. A car that gets 30 MPG uses about 3.3 gallons to go 100 miles, and at $3.50 a gallon that costs about $11.67. You can run any numbers you like with our fuel cost calculator, which also splits the cost between passengers.

Gas cost per 100 miles by MPG

Fuel economy is the biggest factor. At a gas price of $3.50 a gallon, here is what 100 miles costs.

Fuel economy	Gallons used	Fuel cost for 100 miles
18 MPG (pickup truck)	5.6	$19.44
22 MPG (SUV)	4.5	$15.91
25 MPG	4.0	$14.00
30 MPG (midsize sedan)	3.3	$11.67
35 MPG (compact car)	2.9	$10.00
40 MPG	2.5	$8.75
50 MPG (hybrid)	2.0	$7.00

Example MPG figures for illustration. Use the rating for your own car.

How the gas price changes the answer

The price at the pump moves the number just as much. Take a car that gets 30 MPG.

Gas price per gallon	Cost to drive 100 miles
$3.00	$10.00
$3.50	$11.67
$4.00	$13.33
$4.152 (AAA's 2026 study average)	$13.84
$4.50	$15.00

A fifty-cent change in the price of gas changes the cost of 100 miles by about $1.67 for this car. Over a year of driving, that adds up fast.

What does 100 miles cost in a hybrid?

A hybrid that gets 50 MPG uses 2 gallons for 100 miles, which costs $7.00 at $3.50 a gallon. That is about 40% less than a 30 MPG gas car. The savings are largest in stop-and-go traffic, where a hybrid can use its electric motor most often. If you want to know whether the savings justify a higher price, see our guide on hybrid vs gas car costs.

What does 100 miles cost in an electric car?

For an electric car, divide 100 by the car's miles per kWh, then multiply by your electricity price. A car that gets 3.5 miles per kWh uses about 28.6 kWh for 100 miles. At $0.16 per kWh that costs about $4.57, and at the roughly 18 cents per kWh that AAA assumed for home charging in its 2026 study, it costs about $5.14. Public fast charging usually costs more. At $0.45 per kWh, the same 100 miles would cost about $12.86, similar to a gas car. Where and when you charge makes a big difference.

The full cost of driving 100 miles

Gas is the cost you see, but it is far from the whole bill. AAA's 2026 study found that owning and operating a new vehicle costs an average of $12,863 a year for 15,000 miles. That works out to about 86 cents a mile, or about $86 for every 100 miles. It includes depreciation, financing, insurance, maintenance, repairs, tires, taxes and fees as well as fuel.

Your own number depends on your car. An older, paid-off car might cost closer to 50 cents a mile, or about $50 per 100 miles, because depreciation and loan interest are much smaller. Our guide on how to calculate cost per mile for a car shows how to find your own figure.

Fuel cost for common trip lengths

Here are some everyday distances for a 30 MPG car at $3.50 a gallon.

Trip	Gallons	Fuel cost
25-mile commute each way (50 miles a day)	1.7	$5.83
300-mile road trip	10.0	$35.00
500-mile road trip	16.7	$58.33
1,000-mile road trip	33.3	$116.67

For a 30-mile round-trip commute, five days a week, the fuel cost is about $875 a year. That is a helpful number to know when you compare jobs or think about moving.

Why your real fuel cost may be higher

The MPG on the sticker is a lab estimate. Real mileage often drops with fast highway driving, hard acceleration, cold weather, heavy loads, roof racks, short trips and under-inflated tires. Running the air conditioner uses fuel too. If you track your fill-ups, divide the miles you drove by the gallons you pumped to find your real MPG, and use that number in the formula.

How to lower the cost of every mile

Keep your tires properly inflated and follow the maintenance schedule. Drive smoothly, avoid hard braking, and slow down on the highway. Remove roof racks and extra weight you do not need. Combine errands into one trip, since a warm engine is more efficient than several cold starts. If you buy gas often, compare prices nearby. And if you are buying a car, choose one with better fuel economy, since that saves money on every mile for years.

For delivery and rideshare drivers

If you drive for pay, cost per mile matters even more. Every paid mile and every unpaid mile between jobs wears the car and burns fuel. Knowing your true cost, not just the cost of gas, tells you whether a job is really profitable. If a delivery pays $8 for 6 miles, and your all-in cost is 50 cents a mile, you have spent $3 on the trip before you count your time.

Quick answers about the cost of driving 100 miles

How much gas does 100 miles use? Divide 100 by your MPG. A 25 MPG car uses 4 gallons, and a 40 MPG car uses 2.5. How much does it cost to drive 100 miles in an average car? In fuel alone, roughly $10 to $15 at typical gas prices, depending on the car. Is an electric car cheaper for 100 miles? Charging at home usually costs far less than gas, often under $6, but public fast charging can bring the cost close to a gas car. Is the gas cost the real cost? No. Depreciation, insurance, maintenance and tires make the true cost several times higher.

Calculate your own number

Use our fuel cost calculator for the gas cost of any trip, or the car ownership cost calculator for your full cost per mile, including fuel, insurance, maintenance and depreciation.

Try the calculator