Methodology
Last updated: 12 September 2026.
This methodology page explains exactly how each calculator on DriveCarCost.com works, so you can judge the result for yourself.
Fuel cost
Litres required = (distance ÷ 100) × fuel economy (L/100km), then fuel cost = litres × price per litre for the fuel type and month you select.
Salik
Salik cost = crossings × rate for the time window you select (AED 6 peak, AED 4 off-peak/Sunday, AED 0 in the 1–6am toll-free window), multiplied by 2 for a round trip.
Darb
Darb cost = chargeable crossings × AED 4. You decide how many of your crossings are chargeable based on gate and time, explained on the Darb Calculator page.
Trip cost
Combines fuel cost, Salik cost and Darb cost as above, plus any parking you enter, with an optional round-trip multiplier.
Car running cost
Sums fuel (calculated as above from your monthly distance), average monthly tolls and parking you enter, plus annual insurance, registration and maintenance divided by 12, plus any loan or lease payment. Depreciation is intentionally excluded — see the calculator’s FAQ for why.
EV charging
Energy required (kWh) = (distance ÷ 100) × efficiency (kWh/100km), split between home and public charging by the percentage you choose, each priced at its own rate.
Rounding & frequency projections
Where a calculator asks how often a distance or trip happens (once, daily, weekly, monthly), we calculate the cost for one occurrence first, then scale it to a daily figure before projecting to monthly (×30) and annual (×365) — this avoids the common bug of treating an occasional distance as if it happens every day.
What’s not modelled
We don’t model: Salik’s one-hour paired-gate discount, DEWA’s full tiered electricity billing with VAT, or vehicle-specific depreciation. Each calculator’s disclaimer notes what it leaves out.
Sources
See our Data Sources page for exactly where each rate comes from.
Why this methodology matters
Most UAE cost calculators show a single number with no working shown. Our methodology is published in full, on purpose: if you can see exactly how a figure was produced, you can check it against your own trip, your own car, or the official source yourself, instead of trusting a black box.
Frequently asked questions about our methodology
Why doesn’t the car running cost calculator include depreciation?
Depreciation depends heavily on the specific make, model, trim and market condition of a vehicle, which we can’t estimate accurately without vehicle-specific data. Rather than publish a guessed figure, we exclude it and say so.
How often is this methodology reviewed?
Whenever a calculator changes, this page is updated the same day, and the last updated date above reflects it.
Where can I check these formulas against an official source?
Salik and Darb rates are published by Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority, and every figure our calculators use is also listed with its source on our Data Sources page.
Why we publish our methodology in the open
Most cost calculators, in the UAE and elsewhere, show you a single output number and nothing else. This methodology takes the opposite approach: every formula behind every calculator on this site is documented on this one page, in plain language, with no step skipped. If a number looks wrong to you, this is the page that lets you check exactly where it came from, rather than asking you to trust a black box.
That transparency also means this methodology can be checked against outside sources directly. Salik and Darb rates referenced throughout this page come from the UAE Roads and Transport Authority, and the exact figures currently in use across every calculator are listed individually on the Data Sources page. If a rate changes officially, both pages get updated the same day, and the change is reflected in the calculators immediately, not on some future release schedule.
We’d rather a calculator be visibly incomplete than silently wrong, which is why sections like “What’s not modelled” exist on this page at all — most competing tools don’t publish a list of their own limitations. If you spot a formula here that doesn’t match what you’re seeing on a calculator page, that’s exactly the kind of mismatch we want to hear about through the contact page.
