← All calculators

Road Trip vs. Fly

Drive or fly? Run the actual numbers.

"It's only gas" doesn't price in wear, midway hotels, food on the road, or the rental car you'd need at the other end. This calculator lines up everything most travelers leave off, on both sides, and tells you the true winner.

Takes about 60 seconds to complete. No account needed.

1

Enter your route

Origin, destination, and vehicle type.

2

We count both sides

Driving: gas, wear, hotels, food. Flying: fares, rental car, transfers.

3

See the true winner

Which option is actually cheaper for your trip.

Your trip

20 pre-set US road-trip routes with verified miles and flight averages — or pick “Custom” and enter your own.

Round trip is calculated automatically.

13 vehicles — cars, hybrids, SUVs, vans, trucks, EVs.

Most trips over 600 miles need at least one overnight stop each way.

$35/bag each way, average 2026.

If flying

Fill in your trip — we'll run the drive vs. fly numbers side by side.

How we got these numbers

Gas price uses the AAA national average for May 2026 ($3.10/gal). MPG is the EPA combined rating by class. Wear & tear uses $0.10/mi — a conservative subset of AAA's full $0.45/mi non-fuel ownership cost, stripping out fixed costs you'd pay whether you drove or not. Midway hotel rates average $145 from STR/Smith Travel data. Bag and rental car fees are 2026 industry averages.

See sources