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Is Cheaper Gas Worth the Drive?

Is cheaper gas worth the drive?

Enter the two gas prices and the extra distance to see whether the cheaper gas is worth the drive.

One Click Answers · Is Cheaper Gas Worth the Drive?
oneclickanswers.com/cheaper-gas-calculator · Printed
About this tool & how to use it

What it does

Says YES or NO to whether cheaper gas is worth the extra drive: the pump savings against the fuel the extra miles burn, with the net result and the break-even distance.

How to use it

  1. Enter the price at the nearby station and at the cheaper one.
  2. Enter the extra round-trip miles to the cheaper station, your MPG and the gallons you will buy.
  3. Read the YES or NO first, then the pump savings, the cost of the extra drive and the distance at which it stops paying off.

One click answer

Your answer will appear here.

Fill in the form and your answer appears here as you type.

Assumptions

  • Only fuel is counted. Your time, wear on the vehicle and anything you buy at the stations are not.
  • The extra fuel is priced at the cheaper station's price.
  • The prices, MPG and gallons are the ones you enter.

Printed from oneclickanswers.com. Results are estimates based on what was entered; see the assumptions above.

How it works

Pump savings are the price difference times the gallons: ($3.50 - $3.30) x 12 gallons = $2.40.

The extra drive burns the extra miles divided by your MPG in gallons: 10 miles / 30 MPG = 0.333 gallons, priced at the cheaper station's price, $3.30, which is $1.10.

Net = savings minus the cost of the drive: $2.40 - $1.10 = $1.30 ahead. The drive stops paying off at (savings / price) x MPG extra miles.

Assumptions

  • Only fuel is counted. Your time, wear on the vehicle and anything you buy at the stations are not.
  • The extra fuel is priced at the cheaper station's price.
  • The prices, MPG and gallons are the ones you enter.

Example

Input: The starting values already in the form

Result: YES: the cheaper gas is worth the drive. You come out about $1.30 ahead. You save about $2.40 at the pump, and the extra 10.0 miles use about 0.33 gallons, which costs about $1.10.

Questions

How far is too far for cheaper gas?

The page shows the break-even distance for your numbers. Past that many extra miles, the drive costs more than it saves.

Does it matter how much gas I buy?

Yes. The pump savings grow with the gallons, so a bigger fill-up can justify a longer drive.

Does this count my time?

No. It counts fuel only. Whether the time is worth it is up to you.

Last reviewed 2026-10-04.

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