Commute Cost Calculator
Find out how many hours and how much money your commute costs you each year.
spent commuting per year
That's over a month of working hours spent commuting every year.
Hmm, I wonder how much time I actually spend commuting. Let me think. It's 30 minutes each way, so that's an hour a day, and I go in 5 days a week, 48 weeks a year.
So 5 hours a week, and 5 times 48 is 240 hours a year just getting to and from work. A working week is 40 hours, so 240 divided by 40 is 6 full working weeks a year, just commuting.
Six weeks. That's a lot of time in transit.
What if I worked from home just one day a week? That's 48 hours back, which is 6 working days.
Not life-changing, but I'd take it. I'd never added it up before. 30 minutes each way doesn't sound like much, but it comes to 240 hours a year.
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Your commute costs you time and money before you have even started work. Enter how long it takes and, if you like, what it costs, and see what it adds up to over a year. It is worth knowing before you take a job, or turn one down.
How it's worked out
- The days you travel are the days per week times the weeks per year.
- Each day is your one-way time doubled, because you travel both ways.
- Your hours a year are the minutes a day times the days, divided by 60. Divided by 40, that is the number of working weeks.
- If you add a daily cost, the yearly cost is that cost times the days you travel.
A 45-minute journey each way, 5 days a week for 46 weeks, is 230 days at 90 minutes a day. That is 345 hours a year, or 8.6 working weeks.
Common mistakes
- Only counting fuel or the ticket. Parking, tolls and wear on the car count too.
- Leaving out the time. An hour each way is two hours a day you do not get back.
- Comparing job offers on salary alone, without taking the cost of getting there off first.
- Using a full five-day week when you only travel in some days.
Questions
Should I include walking time to the station?
Yes, if it's time you would not otherwise spend. Door-to-door is the most honest number.
Is commuting time really "wasted"?
Not necessarily. People read, listen to podcasts, and decompress on commutes. But it is time you are not choosing to spend freely, and for most people that is the relevant distinction.
What about hybrid workers?
Set your days per week to match how often you actually go in. Two days a week means entering 2, and the annual figures will reflect that.
Does it matter how many weeks I commute?
Yes. Weeks per year is how many weeks you actually travel in, so leave out holidays and any weeks you work from home. Fewer weeks means a smaller total.
What should I count as the cost of a commute?
Anything you pay to get there: fares, fuel, parking and tolls. Put the cost for one day in, and the tool multiplies it by the days you travel.
On the train? Got a few minutes? Perfect.