How is driving cost calculated?

Driving cost = monthly miles divided by MPG times gas price, plus a per-mile vehicle wear cost (default $0.21/mi for maintenance and depreciation), plus your monthly parking. This captures more than just fuel, which is why driving often costs more than people expect.

What is the ORCA pass?

ORCA is the regional transit card for Seattle-area buses, light rail, ferries, and trains. A monthly pass commonly runs around $99 depending on your fare level. The tool uses $99 by default — adjust it to your actual pass.

Why include a per-mile wear cost?

Fuel alone understates driving. Tires, oil, brakes, and depreciation accrue with every mile. The IRS standard mileage rate bundles all of this; the maintenance-and-depreciation slice is roughly $0.20–$0.25/mi, which this tool adds on top of fuel.

Does this include car payments or insurance?

No, by default. Those are largely fixed whether or not you commute, so the tool focuses on the marginal cost of commuting (fuel, wear, parking). You can fold a payment into the parking field if you want to include it.

Is my data sent anywhere?

No. The whole calculation runs in your browser. Your commute details never leave your device.

Seattle Commute Cost Calculator

Commuting in Seattle is expensive in ways that are easy to underestimate — downtown parking alone can run ~$225/month, and that is before fuel and vehicle wear. This free calculator compares the true monthly cost of driving against an ORCA transit pass (~$99/month) so you can see which option actually saves you money.

How it works

The tool computes monthly miles from your round-trip distance and commute days, then totals fuel, wear, and parking:

monthlyMiles = roundTripMiles * commuteDays
fuelCost     = (monthlyMiles / mpg) * gasPrice
wearCost     = monthlyMiles * perMileWear     (default 0.21)
drivingTotal = fuelCost + wearCost + parking

Transit cost is simply your ORCA pass price. The tool then reports the cheaper option and the monthly difference.

Example

A 16-mile round trip, 20 days a month, in a 28-MPG car with gas at $4.50/gal and $225 parking: monthly miles = 320, fuel = (320/28) × 4.50 ≈ $51, wear = 320 × 0.21 ≈ $67, plus $225 parking = $343/month to drive. An ORCA pass at $99 saves about $244 a month. Car payments and insurance are excluded because they are largely fixed; this compares the marginal cost of commuting. Everything runs locally — nothing is uploaded.