Fly or Drive Calculator

Wondering whether to fly or drive on your next trip? Compare the cost and time of flying or driving to help you figure out the most time and cost effective way to travel.

▶ Trip Info

▶ Driving Info

▶ Flying Info

▶ Flying Cost

▶ Results


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Additional Information & Notes

  • For entertainment purposes only.
  • For use in the continental United States only.
  • Portions of this calculator are powered by Google Maps, under license from Google Inc.
  • Driving cost is calculated using the 2021 AAA Average Operating Costs Per Mile estimates. The AAA estimates factor in the following costs: fuel, maintenance, and tires.
  • In estimating transportation costs to and from airports, this calculator uses the following rates: taxi service at $3.00 +$2.50/mile with a 20% tip, shuttle service at $0.50/mile and airport parking at $15/day.
  • Flight times and costs are estimated using BeFrugal's proprietary databases and algorithms.
  • 1 hour and 30 minutes are added to each departure flight time and 45 minutes to arrival flight time to account for arrival, check-in, boarding, baggage claim and airport exit.
  • For overnight car trips, each hotel room is estimated at $100/night with up to 2 travelers per room.
  • For driving, CO2 emissions for gasoline is calculated at 8.8 kg CO2/gal tailpipe (source) + 2.21 kg CO2/gal upstream. Diesel is calculated at 10.1 kg CO2/gal tailpipe (source) + 2.42 kg CO2/gal upstream.
  • For flying, CO2 emissions is based on data from the GHG Protocol Mobile Combustion Tool (source). Calculation uses Radiative Forcing Index of 1.9 based on TRADEOFF Project.
  • This calculator does not currently support battery electric, hydrogen, or compressed natural gas vehicles.
  • Estimated plane ticket prices may be less accurate for trips planned less than 2 weeks in advance.
  • For more information also see the Fly or Drive Calculator™ FAQ.
  • Concept and calculator Copyright © 2009-2015, BeFrugal.com. All Rights Reserved. Patents Pending.

Comments  (290)

Add a Comment


MONIQUE c SEXTON says...
Cool this worked great thank you!
- Over 1 year ago. Wednesday, January 1, 2020 2:14 PM


Josh says...
It would be useful if there was a field for parking cost in the "Driving Info" tab. Parking can be expensive in large cities.
- Over 1 year ago. Thursday, August 22, 2019 2:22 PM


sstain says...
nice tool for quick reference!
- Over 1 year ago. Monday, June 24, 2019 12:27 PM


Gary says...
COOL !
- Over 1 year ago. Monday, May 27, 2019 9:56 AM


Mary Mullins says...
Worked perfectly.
- Over 1 year ago. Tuesday, July 3, 2018 1:40 AM


Bee says...
Very helpful, but flight costs are WAY off. The amount was about half of actual ticket prices for my flight, and the calculator wouldn't let me put in the actual price. I had to recalculate with actual flight costs by hand.
- Over 1 year ago. Thursday, May 31, 2018 4:22 PM


Kirill says...
Thanks for good service, really useful.
- Over 1 year ago. Monday, April 30, 2018 9:34 AM


Gretchen says...
Thanks for this service! I like to weigh the pros and cons of driving vs. flying. This website helped me with that. The plane tickets weren't accurate but I just subtracted that from the total to get a better estimate.
- Over 1 year ago. Sunday, April 8, 2018 6:15 PM


Smiley says...
I was thinking the same thing, "a customer says". It's amazing how much money I could possibly be saving but honestly, not looking forward to driving cross country by myself.
- Over 1 year ago. Saturday, July 29, 2017 4:04 PM


A Customer says...
Cost to fly pets, and cost to ship car cross country vs. devaluation of driving distance would be especially useful.
- Over 1 year ago. Saturday, July 29, 2017 8:36 AM

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