Total Cost of Ownership Tool
EV vs Gas Cost Calculator
Compare up to three vehicles side by side — purchase price, tax credits, fuel and electricity, maintenance, insurance, depreciation and loan financing — and see the exact month an EV starts saving you money.
Your vehicles
Pick from 30+ popular US models or enter any car as a custom vehicle. Every figure is editable.
Driving & energy prices
Your driving profile applies to every vehicle, so the comparison stays fair.
Cumulative Cost Over Time
When does the EV pull ahead?
Cumulative total cost of ownership — purchase, financing interest, fuel or electricity, maintenance, insurance, registration and depreciation — month by month. The marker shows the breakeven point.
Year-by-Year Breakdown
Cost comparison by year
Cumulative cost of ownership at the end of each year. The cheapest vehicle each year is highlighted.
Detailed annual costs
How we calculate — assumptions & method
- Total cost of ownership for each year = depreciation + loan interest + fuel or electricity + maintenance & tires + insurance + registration and fees. Loan principal is not double-counted: it is captured through depreciation, and only the interest is added as a financing cost.
- Purchase basis = sticker price minus the incentive you enter (federal or state tax credit, rebate, or dealer discount). The federal clean vehicle credit ended for vehicles acquired after September 30, 2025, so the default is $0 — enter any state incentive that applies to you.
- Depreciation follows a two-stage curve per vehicle type: a steeper first-year drop (default 22% for EVs, 20% for gas cars), then a gentler annual rate on the remaining value (15%/yr for EVs, 13%/yr for gas cars).
- Maintenance & tires combines your scheduled-maintenance rate per mile with tire replacement: the cost of a tire set is spread over the miles a set lasts, so the faster tire wear of heavier EVs is priced in.
- EV energy use converts MPGe to kWh per mile using the EPA factor of 33.705 kWh per gallon-equivalent. Gas cost per mile = gas price ÷ MPG.
- City/highway mix: EVs gain about 6% efficiency in city driving (regenerative braking) and lose about 10% on the highway; gas cars are modeled about 12% thirstier in the city and 5% more efficient on the highway. Your city-driving share blends the two.
- Electricity cost blends your home rate and public charging rate by the home-charging slider. On a time-of-use plan, the off-peak discount applies to the home portion. Gas and electricity prices escalate yearly at the rates you set; insurance escalates at 3%/yr.
- Loan: monthly payment uses the standard amortization formula on (price − incentive − down payment) at your APR and term. Interest is summed month by month.
- Breakeven is the first month in which the EV’s cumulative total cost drops below the gas car’s, interpolated from the monthly cost curves on the chart.
- Preset prices and efficiency figures are approximate US figures for popular trims and are starting points only — edit any field to match the exact car and quotes you are considering.
Guide
EV vs gas cost: why the sticker price is only half the story
Ask most shoppers whether electric cars are cheaper than gas cars and they will point at the sticker: EVs still tend to carry a higher purchase price than similar gasoline models. But the purchase price is only one line in the total cost of ownership of an electric car. Fuel, maintenance, insurance, depreciation, registration and financing all move the needle — sometimes by thousands of dollars a year. A gas car that looks $6,000 cheaper on the lot can quietly cost $1,200 more every year to run, which is why the honest way to compare EV vs gas cost is over the full ownership period, exactly what the calculator above does.
Fuel and energy: the biggest day-to-day difference
The cost per mile of an EV vs a gasoline car is where electric cars win most clearly. At the US average residential electricity rate of about $0.17 per kWh, a typical EV uses roughly 4–5 cents of electricity per mile when charged at home. A gas car averaging 30 MPG at $3.45 a gallon burns about 12 cents of fuel per mile — two to three times more. Over 12,000 miles a year, that gap alone is worth roughly $900 annually. Public DC fast charging at $0.40–$0.50 per kWh narrows the advantage, and time-of-use electricity plans widen it again, which is why this tool lets you blend home and public charging and model off-peak rates instead of using a single national average.
Maintenance, insurance and depreciation
EV maintenance cost vs gas is the second major saving. Consumer Reports puts lifetime maintenance and repair at roughly half the cost for EVs — around $0.06 per mile versus $0.10 for gasoline cars — because there are no oil changes, spark plugs, timing belts or exhaust systems, and regenerative braking stretches brake life. Insurance runs the other way: EV insurance cost is typically 10–20% higher than for a comparable gas car, reflecting pricier parts and repairs. EV depreciation was historically steeper too, though the gap has narrowed as ranges improved and used-EV demand grew. A realistic comparison includes all three rather than cherry-picking the favorable ones.
How to get the most from this calculator
Start with the scenario buttons if you are in a hurry, then fine-tune. Enter your real electricity rate from your utility bill, set the city/highway mix to match your commute, and use your own insurance quotes — those three inputs move the result more than any others. Watch the breakeven marker on the chart: high-mileage drivers often break even in two to three years, while low-mileage city drivers may need longer. Finally, compare cost per mile in the detailed table; it is the cleanest single number for judging which car is cheaper to live with, year after year.
Frequently asked questions
Are electric cars cheaper than gas cars overall?
In most cases, yes over a full ownership period. Electric cars usually cost more to buy but far less to run: home electricity is cheaper per mile than gasoline, and EVs need much less maintenance. For a driver covering 12,000 miles a year, fuel and maintenance savings commonly add up to $800–$1,500 a year, which is why many EVs break even with a comparable gas car within 3–5 years and pull further ahead every year after that.
How much does it cost per mile to drive an EV vs a gas car?
At the US average home electricity rate of about $0.17 per kWh, a typical EV uses roughly $0.04–$0.05 of electricity per mile. A gas car averaging 30 MPG at $3.45 per gallon costs about $0.12 per mile in fuel alone — roughly two to three times more. Public DC fast charging narrows the gap, which is why the home-vs-public charging mix in this calculator matters.
How much cheaper is EV maintenance compared to gas?
Consumer Reports estimates lifetime maintenance and repair costs for EVs at roughly half those of gasoline cars — about $0.06 per mile versus $0.10 per mile. EVs have no oil changes, spark plugs, timing belts or multi-gear transmissions to service, and regenerative braking makes brake pads last far longer. Tires can wear slightly faster on EVs because of instant torque and battery weight, which this calculator includes in the per-mile maintenance figure.
Is insurance more expensive for electric cars?
Usually a little, yes. EVs often carry insurance premiums roughly 10–20% higher than similar gas models because repair costs and parts prices are higher, although the gap is shrinking as EVs become mainstream. This calculator defaults to $2,150 per year for an EV and $1,875 for a gas car, and both figures are fully editable so you can use your own quotes.
Do EVs depreciate faster than gas cars?
Historically EVs depreciated faster in their first years, partly because tax credits lowered effective new prices and battery technology improved quickly. The gap has narrowed as ranges have grown and used-EV demand has risen. This calculator models a steeper first-year drop (22% for EVs, 20% for gas cars) followed by 15% and 13% per year after that; adjust those figures if you are comparing models with unusually strong or weak resale values, such as Tesla models or luxury EVs.
How long does it take for an EV to pay for itself?
The breakeven point depends mostly on how much you drive and the price gap between the two cars. High-mileage drivers can break even in 2–3 years, average drivers in about 3–5 years, and low-mileage city drivers may take longer because they save less on fuel. The chart in this calculator marks the exact month your chosen EV becomes cheaper than the gas car you compare it with.
Figures in this tool are estimates for comparison purposes, based on the prices and assumptions shown. Preset vehicle prices and efficiency ratings are approximate US figures for popular trims; check fueleconomy.gov and your local utility and insurer for exact numbers before buying.