Free tool for owner-operators & fleets of 1–7 trucks
What should your step deck charge per mile?
Plug in your real costs and get three numbers: your cost per mile, the rate you should walk away from, and the rate you should be booking. Takes about 60 seconds.
- Live diesel prices for IL & TX
- Built on ATRI 2026 cost data
- See your numbers — no signup
Quick mode fills the rest with typical costs for your equipment. Switch to Detailed to fine-tune every line.
Your numbers
Target rate
$3.09 – $3.40/ loaded mile
Book loads at or above this per loaded mile.
Walk-away rate
$2.78 – $3.06
/ loaded mile
Below this per loaded mile, the load loses money.
Cost per mile
$2.45 – $2.69
/ mile
What every mile costs you, loaded or empty.
Your target rate, depending on insurance. At $8,000/yr insurance: $3.09. At $35,000/yr: $3.40.
Add your insurance premium
Insurance is one of your biggest costs. Enter what you pay to turn this range into one exact rate.
Per year
- Gross revenue needed
- $300,181 – $330,181
- Business profit
- $30,018 – $33,018
- Your take-home
- $100,018 – $103,018
- Miles (97,152 loaded)
- 110,400
Where each mile goes
- Fuel$1.02543%
- Driver pay$0.63427%
- Truck & trailer$0.35315%
- Maintenance & tires$0.2611%
- Permits, ELD & overhead$0.0733%
- Tolls$0.031%
Industry averages are from ATRI's 2026 report on 2025 costs across large and small fleets.
Put your rate to work
These use the numbers you entered above.
Until you add a real insurance quote, these use $35,000/yr — the high end — so you don't under-price.
Got a load offer? See if it pays before you book it.
Enter the pay and miles to check a load.
How we calculate your rate
- Cost per mile
- Every yearly cost — fuel, truck and trailer payments, insurance, maintenance, tires, tolls, permits, overhead and driver pay — divided by every mile you run, loaded or empty.
- Walk-away rate (per loaded mile)
- Brokers pay by loaded mile, but your truck burns money on empty miles too. We divide the revenue you need by your loaded miles only, and gross it up for factoring and dispatch fees that come off the top.
- Target rate
- Your walk-away rate plus your profit margin — the cushion for breakdowns, slow weeks and your next truck.
- Where the defaults come from
- Typical costs by equipment type from ATRI's 2026 Operational Costs of Trucking report, and weekly diesel prices from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Insurance is never estimated — enter what you pay, or get a real quote.
Rate per mile FAQ
What is a good rate per mile for trucking in 2026?
It depends on your costs. The average truck cost $2.34 per mile to run in 2025 (ATRI), so many carriers need $2.50–$3.00+ per loaded mile once deadhead and profit are included. Your number is the one this calculator gives you.
What's the difference between cost per mile and rate per mile?
Cost per mile is what you spend to move the truck one mile. Rate per mile is what a load pays per loaded mile. Your rate has to cover your cost on every mile — including the empty ones — plus profit.
How do I lower my cost per mile?
Cut deadhead, improve MPG (speed, idling, tires), stay on top of preventive maintenance, and shop your insurance every renewal — small fleets often overpay because nobody compared carriers.
How much is trucking insurance for a new authority?
For a new authority it commonly runs $8,000 to $35,000+ per truck per year, depending on experience, driving record, equipment, cargo and radius. The only way to know is a quote — Riskara's is free.
Your rate is only as good as your costs
Insurance is one of the few costs you can change this month. Riskara shops top trucking carriers for owner-operators and small fleets in Illinois and Texas.