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Home›Car insurance›Best of›Pay per mile
Editorial shortlist

Best Pay-Per-Mile Car Insurance

By YesWeSure EditorialReviewed October 3, 2026Editorial standardsReport an errorSources

Pay-per-mile insurance charges a daily base rate (typically $1 to $3 per vehicle per day) plus a per-mile rate (typically 4 to 10 cents per mile), with most carriers capping billed miles at 150 or 250 per day. For a sub-7,500-annual-mile driver, pay-per-mile usually beats a traditional full-coverage policy by 20 to 40 percent. For a 12,000-mile commuter, pay-per-mile is usually more expensive.

Our shortlist

CarrierFeatured forWhy it fitsCaveat
Nationwide SmartMilesLow-mileage driver with sub-7,500 annual milesDaily base + per-mile rate; 250-mile daily cap. Pairs with the SmartRide discount program on separate vehicles.Not available in every state; verify at bind.
Allstate MilewiseAllstate-affiliated household wanting pay-per-mile on a secondary vehicleDaily base + per-mile rate, 150-mile daily cap. Captive-agent channel so a household bundle discount can offset the base.Milewise is not available in all Allstate states; agent appointment required.
Lemonade Car (Metromile heritage)Pay-per-mile shopper in AZ, OR, or WADirect inheritance of the Metromile pay-per-mile product. In-app tracking, strong digital experience.B+ (Good) AM Best; 10-state auto footprint; pay-per-mile product currently in AZ/OR/WA.

How to estimate whether pay-per-mile saves money

  1. Your current full-coverage annual premium divided by 12 is your monthly cost.
  2. Multiply the pay-per-mile base rate × 30 days = pay-per-mile base per month.
  3. Multiply your actual monthly miles × the per-mile rate = pay-per-mile mileage charge.
  4. Compare: monthly base + mileage charge vs current monthly premium. If pay-per-mile is 15 percent cheaper or more, switch. Otherwise, ask your current carrier for a low-mileage discount instead.

When a traditional low-mileage discount is better

Low-mileage discounts (filed by most mainstream carriers for sub-7,500 or sub-10,000 annual miles) apply to the full-coverage premium without tracking every trip and without a daily base-rate cap. If you drive 6,000 to 9,000 miles per year and your current carrier offers a 10 to 20 percent low-mileage discount, that is often simpler and comparable in cost to pay-per-mile.

Related reading

  • Cheapest car insurance (ranked)
  • Senior rates (low-mileage retirees)
  • Nationwide review
  • Lemonade Car review

Sources

  1. Nationwide SmartMiles product disclosures.
  2. Allstate Milewise state filings.
  3. Lemonade Insurance (ex-Metromile) state filings in AZ/OR/WA.
  4. MoneyGeek: pay-per-mile analysis 2026.