EV vs Gas Cost Calculator

The math behind cost per mile

The comparison only looks complicated because the two cars are billed in different units. A gas car is priced in dollars per gallon and rated in miles per gallon, so its fuel cost per mile is simply the pump price divided by the MPG. At the September 2026 national average of $4.151 and a fairly efficient 28 MPG sedan, that comes to 14.83 cents per mile.

An EV is priced in dollars per kilowatt-hour and rated in miles per kWh, so its cost per mile is the electricity rate divided by the efficiency. At the U.S. average residential rate of 18.44 cents and 3.5 miles per kWh, that is 5.27 cents per mile — roughly a third of what the gas car costs to move the same distance.

Multiply the difference by how far you actually drive and the gap becomes a real number. Over 12,000 miles a year, the gas car burns about $1,779 in fuel while the EV draws about $632 in electricity, a saving of about $1,147 per year, or roughly $5,734 over five years. That range lines up with Consumer Reports, which found that a typical EV owner who charges mostly at home saves $800 to $1,000 a year on fuel — their figure was measured when gasoline was cheaper than it is in 2026.

Two variables move the result far more than anything else: your local electricity rate, which varies by a factor of four across the country, and your local gas price, which varies by about $2 a gallon. That is why a national "average saving" is nearly useless and why the table below matters more than any headline number.

What EV owners actually save, state by state

The table pairs each state's AAA regular gasoline average on August 23, 2026 — the most recent date with a confirmed reading for every state on the list — with its EIA residential electricity rate (May 2026, the most recent published month). The national average has since risen to $4.151 (September 8, 2026), which is the default the calculator above uses. Assumptions are identical across every row: 12,000 miles a year, a 28 MPG gas car, a 3.5 mi/kWh EV, and 100% home charging. Figures are rounded to the nearest dollar.

The pattern is not the one most people expect. California has the second-highest gas price in the country but also punishing electricity rates, so its saving lands near the middle. Washington is the sweet spot — expensive gasoline paired with cheap hydroelectric power. Hawaii, with the highest electricity rate in the nation at 52 cents, produces the smallest saving on the list despite $5.41 gasoline.

Fast charging changes the answer

Every cheerful EV savings figure you have ever read quietly assumes you charge at home overnight. Public DC fast charging is a different product at a different price. In 2026 the major networks charge roughly $0.42 per kWh at a Tesla Supercharger, $0.44 at EVgo and $0.48 at Electrify America — about $0.45 on average, or roughly 2.5 times the national residential rate. That is the multiplier this calculator applies to whatever share of charging you tell it happens on public chargers.

The table below holds everything else at the national defaults (12,000 miles, 28 MPG, $4.151/gal, 3.5 mi/kWh, 18.44¢/kWh home rate) and varies only where the electrons come from.

• A driver who never charges at home saves about $198 a year over a 28 MPG sedan — mathematically a win, practically a rounding error.
• If your comparison car is a 20 MPG SUV, fast charging still saves real money. If it is a 45 MPG hybrid, exclusive fast charging is a net loss.
• Apartment dwellers without a home outlet should run the 50% or 100% fast-charging scenario before assuming an EV cuts their costs.
• Some networks sell monthly memberships that cut the per-kWh rate; if you fast charge often, that changes the multiplier in your favor.

Costs this calculator does not include

This tool answers one question precisely: what does it cost to move the car a mile. Total cost of ownership is a bigger question, and three of its components move in the EV's favor while two typically move against it.

Maintenance favors the EV substantially. Consumer Reports found that EV owners spend about half as much on maintenance and repair over a vehicle's lifetime as owners of comparable gasoline cars — roughly $4,600 saved across the life of the car. There are no oil changes, no spark plugs, no timing belts, no exhaust system and no transmission fluid, and regenerative braking means brake pads routinely last past 100,000 miles.

Insurance usually runs higher for EVs, often 10–20% more, because replacement costs and battery-pack repair costs are higher. Depreciation has been the harshest line item: used EV values fell sharply through 2024 and 2025, though that cuts both ways — it makes a used EV one of the better bargains available in 2026.

Also missing here: home charger installation (a Level 2 unit plus wiring typically runs $800–$2,000 all-in), any EV-specific registration surcharge your state levies to replace lost gas-tax revenue, and tires, which wear faster on heavier, higher-torque electric vehicles.

Federal incentives in 2026: what is actually left

Be careful with any article on this subject written before late 2025. The $7,500 federal clean vehicle credit (IRC §30D) and the $4,000 used clean vehicle credit (§25E) were both terminated by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed on July 4, 2025. They applied only to vehicles acquired on or before September 30, 2025. As of August 2026 there is no federal tax credit for buying a new or used electric vehicle in the United States, and buyers should treat any site still advertising one as out of date.

The §30C Alternative Fuel Vehicle Refueling Property Credit, which covered 30% of the cost of a home charger up to $1,000, survived slightly longer but has also lapsed — it applied to property placed in service through June 30, 2026.

What the same law added, and what is still live, is an above-the-line deduction for interest on auto loans: up to $10,000 of interest per year on a loan for a new, U.S.-assembled vehicle, which many EVs qualify for. It is a deduction rather than a credit, so it is worth your marginal tax rate on the interest rather than dollar for dollar, and it phases out at higher incomes.

State and utility incentives are now where the money is. Several states still offer rebates of $1,000–$4,000, and many electric utilities offer a rebate on a Level 2 charger plus a discounted overnight EV charging rate. Those utility rates are the single most valuable thing an EV owner can chase, because they can push your effective home charging rate well below the state average used in the table above.

How to get the most accurate result

Three inputs are worth taking seriously rather than accepting the defaults.

For your electricity rate, do not use a published state average. Take the total dollar amount of your last bill and divide it by the kWh delivered — that captures delivery charges, fixed fees and taxes, which a headline supply rate leaves out. The result is often 20–30% higher than the rate printed on the tariff sheet. If your utility offers a time-of-use or dedicated EV plan, use the overnight rate instead, since that is when the car actually charges.

For EV efficiency, use the EPA combined rating converted to miles per kWh, then discount it 10–20% for real-world driving. Cold weather is brutal: an EV that manages 3.5 mi/kWh in summer may drop to 2.3–2.6 in a northern winter, because cabin heating draws directly from the battery rather than from waste engine heat.

For MPG on the gas side, use what your car actually returns rather than the window sticker, and compare against a realistic alternative. Comparing an EV to a 45 MPG hybrid produces a very different answer from comparing it to a 20 MPG pickup.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

• AAA — State Gas Price Averages
• U.S. EIA — Electric Power Monthly, Table 5.6.B (residential rates)
• IRS — Clean vehicle credits terminated after September 30, 2025
• U.S. DOE — Alternative Fuels Data Center, vehicle cost calculator

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