Average Cost to Ship a Car per Mile
The average cost to ship a car depends on who is counting. FreightWaves Checkpoint, a consumer guide with an advertiser disclosure and quote links, says it “falls in between $1,000 and $1,500.” Sherpa Auto Transport, a broker, reports an average of $1,238 across its 310,510 open-carrier shipments. Ship A Car, Inc., also a broker, says the middle half of its single-car moves since 2023 cost $900 to $1,550. Per mile there is no single rate: it drops as the trip gets longer. Ship A Car reports median prices from its own open-carrier bookings of about $2.00 a mile under 300 miles, about $1.05 around 1,000 miles and about $0.60 at 2,500 miles and up; FreightWaves Checkpoint gives $1.25–$2.00 a mile under 500 miles and $0.55–$0.95 beyond 1,500 miles. A per-mile figure only means something next to the distance it came from. Totals by distance, vehicle and add-on are on the main cost page.
Per-mile rate by distance (2026)
Each publisher uses its own distance bands, so each row keeps the source’s band.
| Publisher | Distance (as the source defines it) | Per mile | Typical total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ship A Car, Inc. | Under 300 miles | about $2.00 | about $450 |
| Ship A Car, Inc. | 300–600 miles | about $1.45 | about $650 |
| Ship A Car, Inc. | Around 1,000 miles | about $1.05 | about $1,100 |
| Ship A Car, Inc. | 2,500 miles and up | about $0.60 | about $1,650 |
| FreightWaves Checkpoint | Under 500 miles | $1.25–$2.00 | $540–$1,100 |
| FreightWaves Checkpoint | 500–1,500 miles | $0.65–$1.20 | $700–$1,800 |
| FreightWaves Checkpoint | 1,500+ miles | $0.55–$0.95 | $1,050–$3,000+ |
| Web Auto Transport (broker) | Under 500 miles | $0.80–$1.50 | $350–$700 |
| Web Auto Transport | 500–1,500 miles | $0.55–$0.90 | $700–$1,100 |
| Web Auto Transport | 1,500–3,000 miles | $0.50–$0.80 | $1,000–$1,500 |
| Web Auto Transport | Coast to coast | $0.45–$0.75 | $1,100–$1,600 |
| Sherpa Auto Transport | About 1,000 miles | $0.70–$1.10 (our arithmetic) | $700–$1,100 |
| Sherpa Auto Transport | About 2,000 miles | $0.50–$0.80 (our arithmetic) | $1,000–$1,600 |
What each source measured: Ship A Car, “the median price per road mile for a single car on an open carrier in our dispatched bookings over the last twelve months”; FreightWaves Checkpoint, “typical 2026 pricing for an operable standard sedan using open transport”; Web Auto Transport, “open transport on standard sedans and SUVs”; Sherpa, open transport for “a standard sedan” at about 1,000 miles (“Based on Sherpa’s shipment data”) and for “a standard vehicle” at about 2,000 miles. Ship A Car’s tiers come from its own bookings; FreightWaves Checkpoint and Web Auto Transport publish estimates.
Why short trips cost more per mile
Part of every shipment costs about the same whether the car goes 200 miles or 2,000. Ship A Car says the rate falls because “a carrier’s fixed work (loading, inspections, city driving at both ends) is spread over more miles.” Web Auto Transport puts it the other way around: on a short trip, “the carrier’s fixed costs (loading, fuel to reach you, time) are spread across fewer miles.” Sherpa Auto Transport, a broker, sums it up: “a 2,000-mile shipment doesn’t cost 4x more than a 500-mile one.”
FreightWaves Checkpoint’s own examples show the curve. Dividing its open-carrier prices by the miles (our arithmetic):
| Distance | Open carrier (FreightWaves) | Per mile |
|---|---|---|
| 500 miles | $600–$700 | $1.20–$1.40 |
| 1,000 miles | $650–$800 | $0.65–$0.80 |
| 2,000 miles | $1,200–$1,400 | $0.60–$0.70 |
Four times the miles, about twice the price.
This is why one rate times any distance goes wrong. A long-haul rate of $0.60 a mile on a 250-mile trip gives $150. The short-distance totals in the sources start much higher: about $450 under 300 miles (Ship A Car), $540 under 500 miles (FreightWaves Checkpoint), $350 under 500 miles (Web Auto Transport). Going the other way, $2.00 a mile on a 2,500-mile trip gives $5,000, well above every coast-to-coast figure on the cross-country cost page.
Per mile for SUVs, trucks and enclosed
Enclosed trailer. FreightWaves Checkpoint prices enclosed transport at the same three distances. Divided by the miles (our arithmetic):
| Distance | Enclosed (FreightWaves) | Per mile |
|---|---|---|
| 500 miles | $850–$1,000 | $1.70–$2.00 |
| 1,000 miles | $1,000–$1,200 | $1.00–$1.20 |
| 2,000 miles | $1,700–$2,000 | $0.85–$1.00 |
The enclosed premium itself differs by source: “typically costs 30%–60% more than open shipping” and, elsewhere on the same page, “up to 50% more” (FreightWaves Checkpoint); +30–60% (Web Auto Transport); “about a third above open” (Ship A Car); at about 2,000 miles, “40-50% more” (Sherpa). More on the enclosed transport cost page.
SUVs and pickups. None of these sources gives a per-mile rate by vehicle type. Web Auto Transport lists flat add-ons over a standard sedan: +$50–$150 for a mid-size SUV and +$100–$300 for a full-size truck or large SUV. A flat add-on weighs more on a short trip: +$100–$300 is $0.33–$1.00 a mile over 300 miles but $0.04–$0.12 a mile over 2,500 miles (our arithmetic). FreightWaves Checkpoint’s totals by vehicle type are on the main cost page.
Using per-mile rates to sanity-check a quote
- Use road miles. FreightWaves Checkpoint’s figures use “common interstate driving routes between major metro areas, not straight-line distance.”
- Divide the quote’s total by those miles and compare the result with the band for your distance in the first table, not with a single national average.
- Then compare totals. The per-mile rate is a sanity check; the total is what you compare. Ship A Car: “comparing quotes purely on per-mile rate misleads: compare totals for your actual route.”
- Treat an outlier as a question, not a deal. Web Auto Transport says a quote “dramatically lower than all the others is a warning sign, not a deal.” What to check before you pay is on the scams and broker check page.
The car shipping cost calculator does the division for you: enter the miles and it shows the total range and the per-mile rate for that distance, with the source for each number. Use it as a baseline, then compare real quotes.
Before paying a deposit, check the company's USDOT or MC number.
Illustrations on this page are AI-generated to help you picture the situation. They are not photos of real homes, jobs or people.
Sources
- Ship A Car, Inc. (broker) — What is the Average Cost to Ship a Car Per Mile? (updated Sept 5, 2026)
- FreightWaves Checkpoint — Car Shipping Cost Calculator: Instant Car Transport Quotes (updated May 29, 2026)
- Web Auto Transport Help Center — How Much Does It Cost to Ship a Car? (last updated June 30, 2026)
- Sherpa Auto Transport (broker) — Car Shipping Cost Calculator (updated July 2026)
Updated November 2, 2026