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Electric vs Gas Car

Which vehicle is cheaper overall?

About this calculator

An electric car usually costs more to buy than a comparable gas car but less to run: electricity is cheaper per mile than gasoline, and an EV has no oil changes, spark plugs or exhaust system to maintain. Against that, EVs often cost more to insure, many states charge an extra yearly registration fee for them, and some models lose value faster. Whether the savings on the road make up for the higher price depends on how much you drive, what you pay for electricity and fuel, and how long you keep the car. This calculator adds up the total cost of owning each vehicle over the same number of years and tells you which is cheaper overall.

How to use this calculator

Enter the Years of Ownership and the Miles per Year you drive. Enter the EV Price and Gas Car Price you would actually pay, and any EV Incentives from your state, city or utility; the federal EV tax credit ended for vehicles acquired after September 30, 2025, so it defaults to $0. Enter the Home Charger Install cost, or 0 if you already have one. Then enter the EV Efficiency in kWh per 100 miles and the Gas Mileage in mpg, your Home Electricity price per kWh and the Gas Price per gallon, the yearly Maintenance, Insurance and Registration for each vehicle, and the share of each price you expect to get back when you sell (Resale). Under Advanced assumptions you can set the share of charging done at Public Fast Chargers and their price, and a yearly Energy Price Growth rate. Every result updates as you type, and the inputs are saved in the page address so you can bookmark or share a scenario.

The method

Both vehicles are compared as cash purchases. The total cost of ownership is the price, less incentives, plus the charger installation, plus energy, maintenance, insurance and registration for every year, minus the resale value at the end. The EV's charging cost per kWh blends your home rate with the fast-charging price by the share of charging done in public. The yearly charging cost is the miles driven times the kWh per mile times that blended price; the yearly fuel cost is the miles divided by the mpg times the price per gallon. With energy price growth, both prices rise by that percentage each year after the first. Cost per mile divides each total by all the miles driven. The chart shows what each vehicle would have cost by the end of each year if you sold it then, with its value falling at a steady yearly rate from the price to your resale estimate. The break-even year is the first year in which the vehicle that is behind after year one catches up.

Worked example using the default values

Over 8 years and 12,000 miles a year, a $40,000 EV using 30 kWh per 100 miles, charged 80% at home at $0.18 per kWh and 20% at fast chargers at $0.45, costs $842 a year to charge, or $6,739 over 8 years. A $35,000 gas car at 28 mpg and $3.20 a gallon costs $1,371 a year in fuel, $10,971 in total. Maintenance is $5,600 for the EV and $9,600 for the gas car, but insurance is $18,400 against $16,000 and registration $2,400 against $1,200. Adding the $1,500 charger and subtracting resale values of $14,000 (35%) and $13,300 (38%), the EV costs $60,639 and the gas car $59,471, so the gas car comes out ahead by $1,168: $0.63 a mile for the EV against $0.62. The lines do not cross within 8 years. Driving 18,000 miles a year instead, the EV catches up in year 7 and comes out ahead by $948. A $3,000 state incentive at 12,000 miles makes the EV cheaper by $1,832, and 3% yearly energy price growth narrows the gas car's lead to $696.

Interpreting the results

The headline names the vehicle with the lower total cost of ownership and by how much. The comparison table shows where the difference comes from, so you can see whether it is the purchase price, energy, insurance or resale value that decides it. The cost per mile is useful for comparing with other cars or a ride-share budget. The break-even year tells you how long you would need to keep the car for the vehicle that starts out behind to catch up; if it says the lines do not cross, the vehicle ahead after the first year stays ahead.

Practical tips

Get real insurance quotes for both models, since the difference between them varies widely by model and driver. Check your utility for an off-peak or EV charging rate, which can cut the home electricity price substantially, and for rebates on chargers. Look up your state's registration fees, including any EV or hybrid surcharge. If you cannot charge at home, set the public fast charging share to 100% and see how the answer changes. Use the real price you would pay after dealer discounts, not the sticker price.

Limitations

The comparison counts dollars at face value and does not discount future costs or include financing; if you would borrow, interest adds to the more expensive vehicle's cost. It assumes the same costs every year apart from energy price growth, while real maintenance tends to rise as a car ages and EV batteries may need replacement outside warranty. It does not include tires, which can wear faster on heavier EVs, parking, tolls, or any time cost of public charging. Resale values for EVs have been especially uncertain, so try several values.

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