How the calculation works
- Fixed cost per mile = fixed monthly costs ÷ miles per month. Fixed costs are the bills that come whether the truck moves or not: the truck note, insurance, permits and plates spread over the year, the ELD.
- Cost per mile = fixed cost per mile + running cost per mile. Running costs rise with miles: fuel, repairs, tires, tolls.
- Break-even rate = cost per mile ÷ (1 − dispatch fee). With no dispatcher, set the fee to 0.
- Rate with a profit target = (cost per mile + monthly profit ÷ monthly miles) ÷ (1 − fee).
- Per load = the rate × the load's miles.
Fuel is usually the largest running cost. At the latest EIA diesel average of $6.382 a gallon and 6.5 mpg, fuel alone is about $0.98 a mile; a better or worse mpg moves it a lot, as semi truck mpg explains.
Source: EIA, Gasoline and Diesel Fuel Update · checked Oct 2026
A worked example
EXAMPLE
Made-up carrier.
Carrier A loses money on any load that pays under about $1.99 a mile across all miles. To also take home $6,000 a month before tax, the rate needs to average about $2.62. On a 650-mile load, that is a $1,704 load.
Using the number on the phone
The break-even rate is the floor; the profit-target rate is the goal. When a broker quotes a load, divide the pay by loaded plus deadhead miles and compare. Below the floor, counter or decline. Between the floor and the goal, it can still be a good load if it repositions you into a strong market. The counter-offer target rate calculator turns your floor into a number to ask for, and the rate per mile calculator converts any offer to an all-in rate in seconds.
Recalculate every quarter, and whenever a big cost moves: a fuel swing, an insurance renewal, a new truck note. Fuel tax is part of what you pay at the pump, and it changes by quarter; see IFTA fuel tax rates history.
Our dispatch for owner-operators starts from your break-even rate and negotiates above it. Every load comes to you first. Apply with your numbers.
Questions about this calculator
How do I calculate my break-even rate per mile?
Divide your fixed monthly costs by the miles you drive in a month, add your running cost per mile, and you have your cost per mile. If you pay a percentage dispatch fee, divide that by one minus the fee. The result is the lowest rate per mile, across all miles, that loses nothing.
What is a typical owner-operator break-even cost per mile in 2026?
There is no single number; it depends on your truck, fuel economy, insurance and miles. For context, ATRI's 2026 update put fleets' 2025 average cost at $2.336 a mile including driver pay, and diesel near $6.38 a gallon in late September 2026 adds roughly a dollar a mile at 6.5 mpg. Work out your own.
Should I include my own pay in the break-even rate?
Run it both ways. Without your pay, it is the rate at which the truck stops losing money. With the profit you want each month added, it is the rate that keeps you in business and pays you. The calculator shows both.
Should I use loaded miles or all miles?
Use all miles, loaded and empty, in the monthly miles. Then judge each load by its all-in rate: pay divided by loaded plus deadhead miles. A load that pays your break-even per loaded mile but needs a long deadhead falls short.
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Updated October 2026. Every rate and date on this page has its source and the date we checked it. How we research