Rex says
Money math without the spreadsheet headache. Plug in your numbers and I'll show you exactly where the dollars land.
Try a scenario
Click to load — tweak from there.Inputs
Result
Mileage pay minus hourly pay
$72
Weekly pay under mileage
$1,392
Weekly pay under hourly
$1,320
Mileage pay's effective $/hr
$25.31
Hourly pay's effective $/mi
$0.550
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One click, a permanent link with your numbers baked in.
How to use this
- 1Enter miles this week (mi).
- 2Enter hours worked this week (hr).
- 3Enter per-mile pay rate ($/mi).
- 4Enter hourly pay rate ($/hr).
- 5Read your mileage pay minus hourly pay on the right — it updates as you type.
- 6Hit Share to keep the scenario or send it to someone.
About this calculator
Drivers and carriers argue over pay structure because the two systems reward completely different things — per-mile pay rewards distance covered regardless of time, hourly pay rewards time regardless of distance. This calculator takes your typical week's miles and hours and computes gross pay under each structure, plus the effective per-mile and hourly rate each structure produces. It's useful for drivers evaluating a job offer stated in one unit when their experience is in the other, and for carriers modeling what a switch to hourly pay (increasingly common for detention-heavy regional routes) would cost against current per-mile payroll.
Worked example
Using the values the calculator loads with:
Inputs
- Miles this week: 2400 mi
- Hours worked this week: 55 hr
- Per-mile pay rate: 0.58 $/mi
- Hourly pay rate: 24 $/hr
Results
- Mileage pay minus hourly pay: $72
- Weekly pay under mileage: $1,392
- Weekly pay under hourly: $1,320
- Mileage pay's effective $/hr: $25.31
- Hourly pay's effective $/mi: $0.55
What each field means
Inputs
- Miles this week (mi)
- The miles this week used in the calculation, measured in mi. Starts at 2400 mi so you have a working example on load.
- Hours worked this week (hr)
- The hours worked this week used in the calculation, measured in hr. Starts at 55 hr so you have a working example on load.
- Per-mile pay rate ($/mi)
- The per-mile pay rate used in the calculation, measured in $/mi. Starts at 0.58 $/mi so you have a working example on load.
- Hourly pay rate ($/hr)
- The hourly pay rate used in the calculation, measured in $/hr. Starts at 24 $/hr so you have a working example on load.
Results
- Mileage pay minus hourly pay
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars and shown as the headline result. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Weekly pay under mileage
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Weekly pay under hourly
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Mileage pay's effective $/hr
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Hourly pay's effective $/mi
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
FAQ
Which pay structure is better for drivers?
It depends on the route. High-mileage line-haul lanes with light dock time favor per-mile pay because you rack up miles fast. Regional or LTL routes with heavy dock, detention, and traffic favor hourly because you're compensated even when the truck isn't moving.
Why do carriers prefer per-mile pay?
It ties payroll directly to freight moved and is simpler to audit against ELD mileage logs. Hourly pay requires more careful time tracking and can inflate cost on routes with unpredictable dwell time, which is harder to price into customer rates.
Is hourly pay required by law?
Federal law (FLSA) generally exempts most long-haul truck drivers from overtime under the motor carrier exemption, but some states require minimum wage guarantees regardless of pay structure, and detention/wait-time pay rules vary — check your state's specific rules.
How do I decide which offer to take?
Estimate your typical weekly miles and hours honestly, run both numbers here, and also weigh consistency — hourly pay is more predictable when freight is choppy, while per-mile rewards drivers who can run hard on open lanes.
Accuracy and limitations
- Results are estimates before tax, fees, and inflation unless an input explicitly covers them.
- Rates are treated as fixed for the whole period — variable-rate products will drift from this projection.
- This is educational maths, not financial advice. Check anything contractual with the lender or your accountant.
Related tools
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Owner-Operator Cost Per Mile Calculator
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Route Density Stops Per Hour Calculator
Plan realistic route timing from stop count, distance, and dwell.
Cite this calculator
Writing about this topic? Grab a citation — every link helps keep these tools free.
RevenueLab. (2026). Driver Pay Per Mile vs Hourly Calculator. Retrieved from https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/driver-pay-per-mile-vs-hourly
<p>Source: <a href="https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/driver-pay-per-mile-vs-hourly" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Driver Pay Per Mile vs Hourly Calculator — RevenueLab</a> (2026).</p>
Source: [Driver Pay Per Mile vs Hourly Calculator — RevenueLab](https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/driver-pay-per-mile-vs-hourly) (2026).