Travel Unit Cost Calculator
Introduction
The Travel Unit Cost Calculator is a practical tool designed to help project teams quickly and accurately estimate eligible travel costs for EU-funded projects, in line with the applicable European Commission decisions on unit costs for travel reimbursement.
Rather than manually consulting rate tables, this tool allows you to enter trip details and instantly receive a structured cost breakdown—covering travel, accommodation, and subsistence—ready for reporting.
Applicable Rules & Geographic Scope
Unit costs follow Commission Decision C(2021)35, as amended by C(2023)4928 and C(2024)5405, and Commission Delegated Regulation 2025/69 for calls opening from 13 May 2025. The calculator selects the applicable rate table automatically, based on the call's opening date, and every result and Excel export shows which table was used.
Coverage: The calculator covers travel within the EU-27 and between the EU-27 and third countries. Travel between two non-EU locations is calculated on the same basis but should be verified against the official EC tools.
International travel: For destinations outside the EU-27, accommodation and subsistence are calculated using the country-specific rates set out in the Decision.
For calls opening on or after 31 July 2024, countries not individually listed receive the Decision's "Other countries" rate.
For calls opening before 31 July 2024, the Decision defines rates only for the countries it lists. For other destinations no unit cost applies, and these costs are declared as actual costs; the calculator flags such cases.
Overseas regions and territories: EU outermost regions use their own rate where the Decision lists one (e.g. Guadeloupe, Réunion), and otherwise the rate of their Member State (e.g. the Canary Islands, Madeira). Overseas countries and territories outside the EU use their own rate where the Decision lists one, and otherwise the "Other countries" rate. Where a rate is derived in this way, the result says so.
Travel period cap: Eligible accommodation and subsistence cover the event dates plus at most one day before and one day after. The calculator applies this cap automatically and shows a warning when it is exceeded.
Original travel rates: For calls opening before 26 July 2023, the original travel rates of Decision C(2021)35 apply if the project ended on or before 31 December 2022, or if the beneficiary opted to keep them. The calculator applies them when you enter the project end date or select this option.
Distance boundaries: If a calculated distance falls within 1% of a band boundary, a caution notice appears. In these cases, we recommend cross-checking with the Official EC Distance Tool.
Grant agreement prevails: The unit costs set out in your grant agreement (Annex 2a) always take precedence over the calculator's results.