Parking Cost Estimator

Parking cost estimator for hourly rates, time parked, and caps

Parking prices are often easy to read on a sign, but hard to predict once you add real rules: rounding to the next billing block, a daily maximum, and different caps for longer stays. This parking cost estimator helps you calculate an expected total cost using a simple hourly rate and a realistic duration. If you only need a quick answer, enter an hourly rate and total hours and you will get an estimate immediately.

If you want a more accurate estimate, you can refine the calculation with details that commonly affect what you actually pay. Many car parks round up to the next 15 minutes, 30 minutes, or a full hour. Some apply a daily maximum that prevents costs from growing beyond a cap for a calendar day or a 24 hour period. For longer stays, some locations also offer weekly or monthly maximums that can beat a straight hourly total. This calculator lets you enter those caps as optional fields so you can mirror the pricing rules you see on-site.

You can also estimate multi-day parking in a practical way. For example, you might park at a station for 8 hours per day for five weekdays, or you might leave a car in a lot for several days in a row. Instead of forcing you to know exact entry and exit timestamps, the calculator supports both a single stay estimate (total hours) and a multi-day pattern (hours per day plus number of days). If you fill in a multi-day pattern, the calculator treats it as the primary scenario and applies daily caps per day. It then checks weekly and monthly caps across the total days so you can see when a longer-stay cap would reduce the bill.

Assumptions and how to use this calculator

• If you enter hours per day and number of days, the calculator assumes the same hours are parked each day.
• Rounding is applied by rounding up billed time to the nearest minute increment (default is 15 minutes) to reflect typical billing blocks.
• If you enter a daily cap, the calculator caps each day’s cost at that value before considering weekly or monthly caps.
• Weekly caps are applied to whole weeks using a simple 7-day grouping (rounded up). Monthly caps use a simple 30-day grouping (rounded up).
• This calculator estimates fees only. It does not include penalties, lost ticket fees, taxes, validation discounts, or special event pricing.

Common questions

Why does rounding change the price so much?

Many parking systems bill in blocks, like 15 minutes or 1 hour. If you stay slightly over a block boundary, the billed time rounds up, which increases the total. Use the “round up billing to nearest” field to match the rule you see on the sign or receipt.

What if I only know the total time, not the daily pattern?

Use the total duration (hours) field. The calculator will estimate billed hours using rounding, then apply caps if you provided them. If your stay spans many days and you know a typical daily usage pattern, the multi-day fields will usually be closer to real billing.

How do daily, weekly, and monthly caps interact?

This calculator applies caps in a practical order: daily caps first (because they usually apply per day), then weekly caps across the number of weeks, then monthly caps across the number of months. If a cap is higher than the current total, it has no effect.

What should I enter if the car park charges a flat day rate?

If it is a true flat daily price, you can set the hourly rate to any value and use the daily cap as the flat price with hours per day and number of days. The daily cap will control the daily amount, and the hourly rate becomes less important as long as it is high enough for the cap to bind.

How can I make the estimate more accurate?

Use the actual billing increment (rounding minutes) and any published caps from the car park’s tariff. If pricing changes by time of day, weekends, or public holidays, run separate scenarios for each period and compare totals.