How the calculator works

1. Route and distance

We route between city centres on OpenStreetMap road data using the OSRM routing engine (fastest route for a car). The route line is stored in simplified form for maps; distance comes from the full-resolution route.

Drive time: routing engines assume free-flowing traffic. We multiply by 1.3 and add a 15-minute break every three hours of driving, which is closer to real Indian highway trips.

2. Toll plazas on the route

The plaza list (1,764 plazas, 979 with published fees) comes from the NHAI Toll Information System, as compiled in the India Toll Plaza layer of Esri India's Living Atlas. A plaza counts as “on the route” when it lies within 200 m of the route line. Duplicate records for the same physical plaza within 3 km are merged, keeping the one with published fees.

Some fees are corrected by hand when the official dataset lags behind a known change — for example, cars have not paid at Mumbai's five entry points since October 2024. Each correction is shown on the plaza page with its source.

3. Toll formula

One way = sum of single-journey fees. Return within 24 h = sum of return fees (usually 1.5x a single). Return later = two single journeys. No FASTag = fee × 1.25 (UPI; cash is not accepted at NH plazas since 10 April 2026). Annual Pass = ₹0 at national-highway plazas for cars, counting one crossing per plaza per direction against the 200-crossing, ₹3,075 pass; state plazas are still charged.

Plazas without published fees are priced at the median fee for the vehicle class across national-highway plazas (car ₹80, bus/truck ₹260, 4–6 axle ₹415) and marked “est.”. Two-wheelers are toll-free.

4. Fuel formula

Fuel cost = distance ÷ mileage × price. Prices are state-level retail prices (Business Today state-wise petrol prices (state average); Goodreturns state-wise CNG prices), using the state you start in. EV charging defaults to ₹20/kWh, a typical public DC fast-charging rate; home charging is much cheaper, so edit the price if you charge at home.

Default highway mileage: Hatchback petrol 18/diesel 22/cng 26/ev 8; Sedan petrol 15/diesel 19/cng 22/ev 7; SUV / MUV petrol 11/diesel 14/cng 17/ev 5.5; Two-wheeler petrol 45/ev 25; Tempo / Mini bus diesel 11/petrol 9/cng 13; Bus / 2-axle truck diesel 5; 3-axle truck diesel 4; 4–6 axle truck diesel 3.5; 7+ axle truck diesel 3 (km per litre, kg or kWh).

5. Known limitations

Fees are revised every 1 April; some plazas change mid-year or close. State and municipal plazas are under-reported in the national dataset. Closed-system expressways (where you pay by distance at exit) may be represented by one or two plazas. The fastest route may differ from the one you take. If you find an error, tell us — corrections are logged on the corrections page.