Drive vs Fly Break-Even Calculator
Compare time and cost
Drive vs fly made simple: door-to-door time and real out-of-pocket cost
This stripped-down Drive vs Fly Break-Even Calculator answers the only question that matters: which option gets you there faster for the money you’ll actually spend. You enter the trip distance, car efficiency, local fuel price, an average highway speed, the airfare per person, any per-person airline fees, and a single airport overhead number to cover transfers, security, boarding, deplaning, and the shuffle to the final door. That’s it—no live data, no accounts, and nothing to maintain.
The model is transparent. Driving time is distance divided by your average speed. Flying time is your airport overhead plus an estimated airborne time based on route distance. To keep inputs minimal, the airborne time uses a built-in cruise speed (800 km/h or 500 mph depending on units). Cost is equally straightforward: driving cost is fuel needed times local price; flying cost is airfare and fees for everyone traveling. We present totals and per-person numbers so group trips are easy to split.
- Driving time: distance ÷ average speed.
- Flying time: airport overhead (your input) + distance ÷ cruise speed.
- Driving cost: metric → (distance × L/100 km) ÷ 100 × price; US → distance ÷ mpg × price.
- Flying cost: (fare + optional fees) × people.
Results include a plain-English recommendation along with both time and money. If the car is clearly cheaper and time-competitive, we’ll say so. If the plane is notably faster without costing much more, we’ll point that out. You can tune one or two inputs to see how the break-even shifts—bump the airport overhead for busy travel days, or lower your average speed to account for a mountain route or heavy traffic.
Limits are intentional. We don’t model tolls, parking, rental car counters, or lounge time; you can mentally add those to your overhead or airfare if relevant. Because it’s input-driven, the calculator works offline and remains accurate for your context. Use the Share button to copy a permalink with your numbers so you and your travel partner look at the same scenario without retyping anything.