CalcFuel
What will this trip actually cost?
Fuel, range, time and running costs for boats, caravans, cars and road trips — calculated from current Australian prices, with the formula and its assumptions shown on every page.
$2.01/L
Unleaded, five-city average
$2.44/L
Diesel, five-city average
Darwin
Dearest capital, 208.2 cpl
Sydney
Cheapest capital, 197.2 cpl
Daily averages on 19 August 2026, from the ACCC weekly fuel price monitoring report. Per-city figures and the 2026 excise timeline.
What unleaded costs, city by city
Daily averages on 19 August 2026, against the same cities on 20 February 2026 — before the Middle East conflict and two changes to fuel excise moved the whole curve.
Start with the decision
Each of these is built around a question someone has to answer before committing money or fuel — not around a formula.
Marine
Boat Trip Fuel Planner
Fuel, cost, time and safe range for a real boat trip.
Towing
Towing Fuel Cost
See what a caravan or trailer adds to trip fuel cost.
Trip Planning
Trip Fuel Cost
Road trip, commute, return or carpool fuel cost.
Trip Planning
Drive vs Fly
Compare total trip cost — drive or fly.
Vehicles
Motorcycle Fuel Cost
Ride or commute fuel cost with bike-class presets.
Vehicles
Fuel Budget Planner
Weekly, monthly and annual household fuel spend.
Marine
Why burn rate rises with roughly the cube of speed, what the one-third rule actually reserves, and how to get a burn figure you can trust.
Towing & caravans
Why frontal area beats mass, what each trailer type typically adds, and the one lever — speed — that recovers most of it.
Trip planning
The three mistakes in every trip estimate, what common Australian routes cost, and how to split a carpool without an argument.
How CalcFuel works
- Start from the decision — a passage, a tow, a commute, a vehicle you are weighing up.
- Enter distance, efficiency and price. Results update as you type; nothing is stored and nothing is sent to a server.
- Compare scenarios — a different cruise speed, driving instead of flying, this vehicle against that one — before you commit.
- Check the assumptions. Every calculator states the formula it uses and what it deliberately leaves out.
Why every price here carries a date
Australian fuel excise was cut by 32 cpl in April 2026, reduced to a 16 cpl discount in July, and fully restored to 53.7 cpl on 3 August. Any running cost calculated earlier this year is now wrong by a wide margin.
So every price on this site is transcribed from a named ACCC report and carries the date it applies to, rather than being estimated. When the report changes, the defaults change. The dataset, its sources and how it is maintained are on the fuel price data page.
Read our methodology, editorial policy and corrections process.