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
Total cost per mile
$1.119
Fixed cost per mile
$0.389
Variable cost per mile
$0.730
Total monthly cost
$10,070
Minimum rate to break even
$1.119
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One click, a permanent link with your numbers baked in.
How to use this
- 1Enter truck/trailer payment ($/mo).
- 2Enter insurance ($/mo).
- 3Enter permits, eld, phone, misc fixed ($/mo).
- 4Enter miles driven (mi/mo).
- 5Enter fuel cost per mile ($/mi).
- 6Enter maintenance + tires per mile ($/mi).
- 7Read your total cost per mile on the right — it updates as you type.
- 8Hit Share to keep the scenario or send it to someone.
About this calculator
Owner-operators lose money not because rates are bad but because they never separate fixed cost from variable cost. This tool takes your monthly fixed expenses — truck payment, insurance, permits, ELD, phone — and your per-mile variable costs — fuel, maintenance, tires — then divides fixed cost by your actual monthly miles to get a true all-in cost per mile. Run 8,000 miles a month instead of 10,000 and your fixed cost per mile jumps noticeably even though nothing else changed. This is the number you compare against any load board rate before you accept a load, and it's the number most new owner-operators never calculate until they're already underwater.
Worked example
Using the values the calculator loads with:
Inputs
- Truck/trailer payment: 2200 $/mo
- Insurance: 900 $/mo
- Permits, ELD, phone, misc fixed: 400 $/mo
- Miles driven: 9000 mi/mo
- Fuel cost per mile: 0.55 $/mi
- Maintenance + tires per mile: 0.18 $/mi
Results
- Total cost per mile: $1.119
- Fixed cost per mile: $0.389
- Variable cost per mile: $0.73
- Total monthly cost: $10,070
- Minimum rate to break even: $1.119
What each field means
Inputs
- Truck/trailer payment ($/mo)
- The truck/trailer payment used in the calculation, measured in $/mo. Starts at 2200 $/mo so you have a working example on load.
- Insurance ($/mo)
- The insurance used in the calculation, measured in $/mo. Starts at 900 $/mo so you have a working example on load.
- Permits, ELD, phone, misc fixed ($/mo)
- The permits, eld, phone, misc fixed used in the calculation, measured in $/mo. Starts at 400 $/mo so you have a working example on load.
- Miles driven (mi/mo)
- The miles driven used in the calculation, measured in mi/mo. Starts at 9000 mi/mo so you have a working example on load.
- Fuel cost per mile ($/mi)
- The fuel cost per mile used in the calculation, measured in $/mi. Starts at 0.55 $/mi so you have a working example on load.
- Maintenance + tires per mile ($/mi)
- The maintenance + tires per mile used in the calculation, measured in $/mi. Starts at 0.18 $/mi so you have a working example on load.
Results
- Total cost per mile
- 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.
- Fixed cost per mile
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Variable cost per mile
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Total monthly cost
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Minimum rate to break even
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
FAQ
What counts as fixed vs variable?
Fixed costs happen whether you drive one mile or 15,000 — truck payment, insurance, permits, ELD subscription. Variable costs scale with miles — fuel, tires, oil changes, brake wear. Keeping them separate is the whole point, since fixed cost per mile falls as you drive more.
Should I include my own pay?
Not in cost per mile — that's your margin. Compute total CPM first, then whatever a load pays above that number is available for driver pay and profit. Many operators mistakenly bury their target paycheck inside cost per mile and end up chasing loads that don't actually cover it.
Why does my CPM change month to month?
Fixed costs stay flat but miles vary, so fixed CPM swings. A slow month at 6,000 miles instead of 10,000 can add 10-15 cents per mile to your fixed cost alone, which is why seasonal freight slumps hurt owner-operators disproportionately.
What's a realistic total CPM range?
Most owner-operators run $1.40-$1.80 all-in depending on truck payment and fuel prices. Under $1.30 usually means an older paid-off truck; over $2.00 often signals a new truck note eating too much of the budget relative to miles run.
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
Cite this calculator
Writing about this topic? Grab a citation — every link helps keep these tools free.
RevenueLab. (2026). Owner-Operator Cost Per Mile Calculator. Retrieved from https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/owner-operator-cost-per-mile
<p>Source: <a href="https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/owner-operator-cost-per-mile" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Owner-Operator Cost Per Mile Calculator — RevenueLab</a> (2026).</p>
Source: [Owner-Operator Cost Per Mile Calculator — RevenueLab](https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/owner-operator-cost-per-mile) (2026).