EV vs petrol/diesel running cost breakeven calculator
Compare electric and petrol/diesel running costs, see where electricity beats fuel prices, and understand the break-even point for your energy tariffs and real-world efficiency.
Efficiency for comparison
Enter the efficiency numbers you want to compare. Change mi/kWh or MPG (US) to see how the breakeven point moves—the chart updates as you move the sliders.
Prices to test
Use values for the electricity and fuel prices you want to test to move the crosshair on the heatmap.
Compare which car is cheaper with different electricity and fuel prices
Scan the grid to see which car is cheaper at different electricity and fuel prices. Blue squares favor the EV, red squares favor petrol/diesel, and the pale band marks the breakeven line. The dashed lines show your selected electricity and fuel prices and the circle where they intersect shows your selected prices.
Heatmap showing which car type is cheaper per mi at combinations of electricity price per kilowatt hour and fuel price per US gallon. Blue means EV is cheaper, red means petrol or diesel is cheaper, and the pale band marks parity. Dashed crosshairs show your selected tariffs.
What this means for you
At the prices you’ve set, you save $0.07/mi by driving electric.
The cost to run an EV is $0.05/mi per mi, and the cost to run a petrol/diesel car is $0.12/mi per mi.
You’d break even if you paid $0.42/kWh (+147%) for electricity to run the EV, or $1.46/US gal (-59%) for petrol/diesel.
This is based on electricity costing $0.17/kWh, fuel costing $3.60/US gal, your EV efficiency being 3.5 mi/kWh, and your petrol/diesel efficiency being 36.0 mpg.
Yearly outcome
Save $856 per year with an EV at these prices.
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Driving an electric car works out $0.07/mi less expensive than a petrol/diesel car. Try for yourself!
Petrol vs Electric Car Cost Calculator
Use this calculator to compare the running costs of a petrol car and an electric car. Enter your electricity price, fuel cost, and each car’s real-world efficiency to see which is cheaper to run.
We show the break-even cost per mile or kilometre. This can help you decide if switching from petrol to electric fits your budget.
For a full picture, you can also use the EV vs Petrol Running Cost Calculator to get monthly and yearly totals. Adjust fuel prices, electricity prices, mileage, servicing, and taxes to see how your total costs could change.