Calculator
Cost Per Mile Calculator
Calculate the minimum revenue your operation needs per true business mile to cover the business costs and minimum owner/household requirements included in your HSS calculation. HSS calls this your Hard Floor. It is not the same thing as accounting or taxable break-even.
Before You Enter Numbers
The calculator is only as accurate as the numbers you enter.
If you do not know a number, research it before relying on the results. Get real insurance quotes, estimate realistic maintenance and replacement reserves, review your fuel economy, and understand your actual operating costs.
Do not enter numbers simply because they sound reasonable. Small errors can significantly change your cost per mile and lead to poor business decisions.
The goal is not a perfect number. The goal is an honest number based on the best information available.
Owner / household requirements (monthly)
From the Reality Check worksheet — what your life costs each month.
Your household requirement is included because HSS measures business viability — whether the operation can cover its real business costs and provide the minimum compensation and benefits you require from self-employment. It is not being classified as a deductible business expense.
Fixed business costs (monthly)
Fixed business costs generally exist whether the truck moves or not — insurance, truck and trailer payments, permits and registration, subscriptions, and similar overhead.
What are you running?
Pick your equipment and we'll show starting guidance for that setup only.
Variable / per-mile costs
Variable costs are created by operating the equipment, or represent money that must be reserved because operating the equipment consumes and wears it out — fuel, maintenance, repairs, tires, and eventual equipment replacement.
Hotshot — Pickup & Trailer — startup planning estimates
These are startup planning estimates. They are intended to help you avoid underestimating the cost of entering the business. Your actual costs will vary based on equipment age, mileage, condition, utilization, maintenance practices, and other factors. Once you have real operating history, replace these estimates with your actual numbers.
Do not lower an expense estimate just to make the numbers work. If the freight market cannot support realistic costs, that is information you need before you buy the equipment.
How was this estimated?
Maintenance & Repairs: Suggested startup estimate: $0.10/mile, based on the midpoint of the HSS planning range of $0.07–$0.14/mile. Actual maintenance and repair costs vary significantly with equipment age, mileage, condition, duty cycle, maintenance practices, and component failures. Tires are estimated separately below and are not included in this Maintenance & Repairs range. Replace this estimate with your own operating history once you have it.
Tires: Truck and trailer tires wear on every mile, loaded or empty. The actual number depends on SRW vs. dually, how many truck and trailer tires you run, tire cost, and the miles you expect from a set. Divide a full replacement set by the miles you expect to get from it.
Future Equipment Replacement Reserve: HSS planning range — not an industry average. This reserve is meant to make sure a prospective operator accounts for eventual equipment replacement rather than treating the current truck and trailer as though they will last forever at no economic cost. Cost and timing vary greatly.
Best numbers come from your own operating history. Next best is knowledge of your specific equipment. A credible industry estimate is only a starting point.
Sources & further reading
These are operating costs, not something you pay out of profit when the bill arrives. They are earned across the miles you run and must be accounted for in your HSS Hard Floor.
Miles you actually drive per month
Enter the total miles you realistically expect to drive each month, including loaded miles, deadhead miles, repositioning, and other business-related miles.
Why This Number Matters
Your monthly mileage has a major impact on your cost per mile.
Fixed costs such as truck payments, trailer payments, insurance, permits, and software stay the same whether you drive 5,000 miles or 10,000 miles.
The fewer miles you drive, the fewer miles those costs can be spread across.
Example:
$9,000/month (fixed business costs + minimum owner/household requirements) ÷ 10,000 miles = $0.90 per mile
$9,000/month (fixed business costs + minimum owner/household requirements) ÷ 8,000 miles = $1.13 per mile
$9,000/month (fixed business costs + minimum owner/household requirements) ÷ 6,000 miles = $1.50 per mile
Nothing changed except the miles driven.
Be realistic when entering monthly miles. Overestimating miles can make your cost per mile appear lower than it actually is and may lead to poor load decisions.
Loaded miles vs. all miles driven
Loaded miles are the miles you get paid for — the distance from pickup to delivery. All miles driven includes deadhead miles: the empty miles to reach the pickup, repositioning between loads, and the miles home.
Your truck burns fuel, wears tires, and loses value on every mile — loaded or empty. That means your true cost per mile must be calculated using total miles driven, not just loaded miles. If you only count loaded miles, your cost per mile looks lower than it really is, and you end up bidding on loads that don't actually cover your expenses.
Warning
Many new operators underestimate their costs because they only calculate loaded miles. Your business pays expenses on every mile driven, including deadhead. If a broker pays $2.00 per loaded mile but you deadhead 30% of your total miles, your all-in rate is closer to $1.40 per mile — and that may not cover your true costs.
Your HSS Hard Floor
$0.00
- Fixed costs / month
- $0.00
- Fixed cost per mile
- $0.00
- Variable cost per mile
- $0.00
Freight that produces revenue below your HSS Hard Floor across all true business miles does not fully support the costs and minimum owner/household requirements included in your HSS calculation. Profit/excess earnings begin above the Hard Floor.
Your HSS Hard Floor is the minimum revenue your operation needs per true business mile to cover the business costs and minimum owner/household requirements included in your calculation. Revenue above this number creates room for profit/excess earnings under the HSS model. The Hard Floor is the minimum — not the goal.
Results are estimates only. Actual costs, revenue, profitability, and business outcomes will vary. Users are responsible for verifying all information before making financial or business decisions. See full Disclaimer.