One Click Answers

OCATravel

Share tool
FacebookPinterestEmail

Drive vs Fly Calculator

Should I drive or fly?

Enter the details for driving and for flying to see the cost and time of each, side by side.

One Click Answers · Drive vs Fly Calculator
oneclickanswers.com/drive-vs-fly-calculator · Printed
About this tool & how to use it

What it does

Compares driving with flying for a trip: the whole cost of each and the door-to-door time, with the trade-off in one sentence.

How to use it

  1. Enter the trip type, the travelers, the driving distance, your speed, MPG and gas price, and any tolls, parking and hotel.
  2. Enter the airfare, bags, airport parking, rental car, flight time and the time to and from the airports and at the airport.
  3. Read the sentence at the top for the cost and time difference, then the lines for each.

This page does not look up distances: enter the miles from your own source.

The full price for the trip you chose, round trip if round trip.

One click answer

Your answer will appear here.

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

Assumptions

  • Every figure is the one you enter: there is no live traffic, flight data or pricing here, and no distance is looked up.
  • The costs are for the whole trip as you entered it. The times are for one direction, door to door.
  • This does not pick for you: what your time and comfort are worth is yours to decide.

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

How it works

Driving cost is fuel (miles / MPG x price, doubled for a round trip) plus the hotel, tolls and parking. 1,200 miles at 28 MPG and $3.50 is $150 of fuel, plus $120 + $20 + $40 = $330.

Flying cost is the fare for each traveler plus bags, airport parking and a rental car: 2 x $220 + $70 + $90 + $150 = $750.

Driving time is the distance over the speed. Flying time adds the trips to and from the airports and the time at the airport to the flight.

Assumptions

  • Every figure is the one you enter: there is no live traffic, flight data or pricing here, and no distance is looked up.
  • The costs are for the whole trip as you entered it. The times are for one direction, door to door.
  • This does not pick for you: what your time and comfort are worth is yours to decide.

Example

Input: The starting values already in the form

Result: Driving costs about $420.00 less, but flying is about 4 hours 1 minute faster. Both are for the whole trip as you entered it. Time is for one direction, door to door.

Questions

Is it cheaper to drive or fly?

It depends on the distance, the number of travelers and the fare. Enter your numbers: the more people share the car, the better driving looks on cost.

Does it include traffic?

No. Use an average speed that includes slow stretches.

Why does the time include the airport?

Because a flight is only part of the trip: getting to the airport and waiting there take time too.

Last reviewed 2026-10-04.

Related tools

Try another answer