Car & Transport

Car vs Bike Cost Calculator

Purchase price is the number people compare, but running costs decide what a vehicle really takes from you. Enter the details for a car or a bike and see the full ownership picture.

What this calculator does

Turns a vehicle purchase price plus monthly running costs into a monthly, annual, three-year and five-year ownership total, and a cost per kilometre based on the mileage you expect to cover.

How to interpret the result

The monthly running cost is what the vehicle takes from you regardless of how much you drive. The five-year total is the fuller picture because it includes the purchase. Cost per kilometre is the best figure for comparing two very different vehicles.

Assumptions

• Running costs stay flat across the years you model.
• Yearly registration is spread evenly across twelve months.
• Mileage stays at the figure you enter for all five years.

Limitations

• Depreciation is not included, so a vehicle you resell costs less in reality than shown here.
• Financing interest is excluded — enter a loan payment instead of the price if you are borrowing.
• Fuel cost does not adjust automatically when you change the mileage assumption.

How it works

Monthly running cost is fuel plus maintenance plus insurance plus one twelfth of yearly registration and taxes. Multiplying by twelve gives the annual cost. The three and five year totals add the purchase price on top, and cost per kilometre divides the five-year total by five years of your expected mileage.

Worked example

A 24,000 vehicle with 285 of monthly running costs and 400 in yearly taxes costs about 3,820 a year to run, or roughly 43,100 across five years including the purchase. At 15,000 km a year that is about 0.57 per kilometre.

How to use it

1. Take fuel cost from your last three fill-ups rather than an estimate.
2. Spread predictable service items across the year in the maintenance field.
3. Run the calculator once for a car and once for a bike, then compare the five-year rows.
4. Use Reset before starting the second vehicle so no figures carry over.

Factors to consider

• Depreciation is not counted here; a vehicle you can resell costs less overall than this figure suggests.
• Bikes are cheaper to run but carry safety and weather trade-offs that no calculator can price.
• Parking, tolls and fines are real recurring costs — add them to maintenance if they apply.

Useful for

• Comparing a car against a bike (or two cars) by running the calculator for each and noting the five-year totals.
• Working out the true cost of a single trip from the cost-per-kilometre figure.
• Deciding whether a cheaper, older vehicle driven a lot beats a newer one driven rarely.

Frequently asked questions