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EV vs Gas Savings Calculator
Find out whether an electric car really saves you money. Enter your mileage, both vehicles' efficiency and your energy prices, then press Calculate to see the running costs side by side.
Written by TopicDrill Editorial Team·Updated June 2026
Cumulative cost over time
Gas EV
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How the EV vs gas calculator works
The calculator turns your driving into a yearly cost for each car. On the gas side it works out the gallons your mileage burns and multiplies by the pump price; on the electric side it works out the kilowatt hours used and multiplies by your electricity rate. It then adds the maintenance you expect for each vehicle and, on the EV, the extra you paid to buy it.
Running these forward year by year produces two cumulative totals. The chart draws both, so you can watch the gas line climb steadily while the EV line starts higher, thanks to the price premium, then crosses below as the cheaper energy compounds in your favour.
A worked example
Drive 12,000 miles a year for 8 years. A 28 MPG car at 3.50 dollars a gallon burns about 1,500 dollars of fuel annually. An EV doing 3.5 miles per kWh at 16 cents costs roughly 550 dollars of electricity a year. Even after a 5,000 dollar price premium, the lower energy and maintenance bills usually let the EV break even within a few years and save money after that.
Things to keep in mind
Charging away from home costs more than charging at it, and gas prices swing, so test a few scenarios rather than trusting one number. For independent efficiency ratings, the U.S. Department of Energy publishes MPG and miles-per-kWh figures for most models. If you plan to finance the car, pair this with our car loan calculator.
Frequently asked questions
How does the EV vs gas calculator compare the two cars?
For the gas car it divides your annual miles by the fuel economy to find gallons used, then multiplies by the price per gallon. For the EV it divides annual miles by the efficiency in miles per kilowatt hour, then multiplies by your electricity price. It adds maintenance for each and stacks the EV price premium on top of the electric side.
What is the break-even year?
The break-even year is the point at which the EV total cost, including its higher purchase price, finally drops below the running total for the gas car. Before that year the gas car looks cheaper because of the EV premium; after it the EV pulls ahead and the gap keeps widening.
Why does electricity cost so much less than gasoline per mile?
Electric motors turn far more of their energy into motion than a combustion engine, and electricity is usually cheaper per unit of energy than petrol. A typical EV travels three to four miles per kilowatt hour, so even at normal home rates the cost per mile is often a fraction of what gas costs.
Does this calculator include the purchase price difference?
It includes the difference, not the full sticker price. Enter how much more the EV costs than the comparable gas car in the price premium field, and the tool treats that as an upfront cost on the EV side. Set it to zero if you only want to compare running costs.
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