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Cost Per Mile Calculator for Trucking — Know Your Floor Before You Say Yes

Most cost-per-mile calculators stop at a number. This one scores the load, tells you take it / negotiate / pass, and hands you the exact words to say to the broker — built from real dispatch negotiation, not a generic spreadsheet.

Load Score 1–10 Negotiation Scripts Take / Negotiate / Pass Reefer · Dry Van · Flatbed · Hazmat
▶ Watch the 2-Minute Walkthrough

Who's actually on your side?

Your dispatcher gets paid whether the load is good or not. The broker's job is to get you to say yes. Your gut is running on 10 hours behind the wheel. This tool only works for you.

New here? Watch this first.

Quick Call Mode
On the phone with a broker right now — just miles, rate, and load type.

A Load Details

What the broker is offering.

Total miles (loaded)
Loaded miles only — pull from DAT or Google Maps
Broker flat rate ($)
Enter flat rate OR leave at 0 and use rate/mile below
Rate per mile ($/mi)
Fill only if no flat rate was given
Load type
Reefer adds an estimated fuel cost for running the refrigeration unit
Load weight (lbs)
Heavier loads burn more fuel — we adjust your cost for it
Deadhead to pickup (miles)
Empty miles before the load — target under 10% of loaded
More load details (stops, detention, layover…)
# of stops
Each stop: negotiate $50–$150 stop pay
Actual diesel cost for this trip ($)
Know what you'll spend at the pump? Enter it here instead of estimating a rate
DAT/Truckstop avg rate ($/mile)
Checked market data? Enter it here — real numbers are hard for a broker to argue with
Return deadhead (miles)
No backhaul at drop-off? Add expected empty miles back
Detention hours
After 2 free hours — push for $50–75/hr
Forced layover?
Overnight hold — negotiate $150–250/night
Lumper fee ($)
If broker won't cover, it comes off your rate
TONU risk?
Truck Ordered Not Used — worth $150–300

B Your Cost Structure

Adjust to match your actual operation — this is what makes the number yours.

Saved to this device automatically. Reset saved costs

Minimum acceptable margin (%)
10% is a common owner-operator baseline, not a rule — raise it in a tight market or if you want a bigger cash cushion, lower it if you need to keep wheels moving.
Don't know your cost-per-mile?
Toggle this and we'll work it out from numbers you already know.
Effective cost: —
Fuel cost ($/mile)
National avg ~$0.50–0.65 — adjust for local diesel
Who's driving?
Owner-operators usually take home the net, not a separate wage
Dispatch fee (%)
Standard range: 5–10% of gross
Insurance ($/mile)
Monthly premium allocated per mile
Truck/trailer ($/mile)
Payment plus maintenance, amortized
Misc / admin ($/mile)
ELD, factoring, phone, tolls, etc.
Load Score
–/10
Enter load details to score this run
— Fill in the load details to get your call

Your Ask Ladder

Enough that a broker thinks it's worth working with you — not enough that they just wait on the next driver.
Opening Ask
The sweet spot — worth negotiating, not worth ignoring
$0
Meet-in-the-Middle
Where this usually lands after a little back-and-forth
$0
Walk-Away Floor
Your true cost — last resort, don't say this number out loud
$0
Gross Revenue
$0
Net Revenue
$0
Net / Loaded Mile
$0.00
All-In Cost / Mile
$0.00
Enter a rate to see your margin read.

Negotiation Tactics

  • Keep your ask believable, not extreme.
  • Let the broker give their number first.
  • State your ask, then stay quiet.
  • Ask what the posted rate is based on.
  • Bundle detention and stop pay into the same call.
  • Mention repeat-lane potential — it's leverage.
  • Early-week or unbooked loads have more room.
  • Get any increase in writing before you dispatch.

Negotiation Scripts

Counter-offer opener
—
Market data (DAT/Truckstop)
(Check DAT or Truckstop and enter the average above to build this one)
Detention ask
After 2 free hours I'll need detention at $65/hr. Can you confirm that on the rate con?
Layover ask
(No layover expected on this load)
TONU protection
(No TONU risk flagged on this load)
— Enter a rate above
–/10

How to Calculate Your Cost Per Mile

Your cost per mile (CPM) is the true floor of your business — the number below which you're paying to drive, not getting paid to drive it.

(Fixed costs + Variable costs) ÷ Miles driven = Cost per mile

Fixed costs are what you pay whether you drive or not: truck payment, insurance, permits, ELD/software. Variable costs scale with miles: fuel, maintenance, tires, tolls, driver pay.

Worked example — a reefer owner-operator running 9,000 miles a month

Fixed cost per mile: ($1,400 + $900 + $300) ÷ 9,000 miles = $0.29/mile
Total cost per mile: $0.29 + $0.59 = $0.88/mile

On an 800-mile load, that's $704 just to break even — before a single dollar of profit. Anything above that is where your real margin lives.

This is exactly what the calculator above works out for you automatically — enter your numbers once, and it recalculates live for every load, plus tells you what to actually ask for instead of just what to accept.

Common Questions From Owner-Operators

How do I know if a load pays enough?

A load pays enough when the rate covers your total cost per mile (fixed + variable costs) and still leaves a real margin — most owner-operators target at least 10-20% above break-even, not just clearing zero. The fastest way to check is to know your own cost per mile cold, then compare every posted rate against it before you call the broker, not after you've already accepted the load.

What's a good rate per mile for an owner-operator?

There's no single number that applies to every truck — it depends on your fuel efficiency, truck payment, insurance, and how many miles you run each month. A driver with a paid-off truck and low overhead can profitably run a lower rate than someone with a new truck payment and higher fixed costs. That's why "a good rate" is really "a rate above your own floor," not a fixed industry number.

What's the difference between my rate per mile and my break-even point?

Your rate per mile is what the broker is offering to pay. Your break-even point is the minimum rate that covers your actual costs with zero profit left over. The gap between the two is your real margin — and it's the number that actually matters when deciding whether a load is worth taking.

Should I ask for more than the posted rate?

Almost always worth trying. Posted rates are a starting point for negotiation, not a final offer — brokers typically have some room to move, especially on loads that have been sitting unbooked or are posted early in the week. A believable counter-offer, not an extreme one, is usually enough to open a real conversation.

What's a hidden cost most drivers forget to factor in?

Deadhead miles — the empty miles you drive to reach a pickup, or drive back after a delivery with no return load. These miles cost real fuel and time but don't get paid by the broker, so they need to be factored into your floor for that load, not treated as a separate, invisible expense.