How much do you save on fuel per year with an electric car?

Miles per year x (gas cost per mile minus electricity cost per mile). With the US starting values the difference is $0.117 per mile, so $583 a year at 5,000 miles, $1,570 at 13,476 and $2,913 at 25,000. Per month, divide by 12: $131 at the average distance. Energy only, charged at home; table 1 has every row.

How long does it take for an electric car to pay for itself?

Extra purchase price / yearly saving. At 13,476 miles a year and $1,570 of saving: 3.2 yrs for an extra $5,000, 6.4 yrs for $10,000, 9.6 yrs for $15,000. In distance the answer does not depend on how much you drive: 42,911 miles per $5,000 of extra price at these prices. Someone driving 25,000 miles a year reaches it in 1.7 yrs; someone driving 5,000 takes 8.6 yrs. Table 2 has the grid.

Do you save money with an electric car in the UK?

On energy, £981 a year at the average 7,100 miles: £1,516 of petrol at 35.8 mpg and £1.681 per litre against £534 of electricity at the Ofgem cap rate of £0.2611 per kWh; £4,907 over 5 years. An EV costing £3,000 more pays back in 3.1 yrs, one costing £10,000 more in 10.2 yrs. A cheaper overnight EV tariff widens the saving; table 3 has the figures by miles.

Is the saving bigger against a diesel car?

In the US, yes: diesel costs $6.29 per gallon against $4.32 for gas, so the typical diesel (26 mpg) spends $3,258 a year and the EV saves $2,545 instead of $1,570. In the UK the diesel car's better economy (41.1 mpg) offsets the dearer litre, so the saving is £963 against £981 for petrol. The calculator has a diesel option.

What happens to the saving if I charge in public?

It shrinks with every kWh bought at $0.53 instead of $0.1834. With 25% of the energy from US fast chargers the yearly saving at 13,476 miles falls from $1,570 to $1,234; at 50% it is $897, and with public charging only it is $224. The guide on charging at home has the cost per 100 miles at each share.

Does the saving cover higher insurance or depreciation on the EV?

The tables hold everything but energy equal for the two cars, which is the honest first comparison; the calculator then takes each car's own insurance, maintenance, tyres and tax. As a worked example, if the EV costs $500 a year more to insure and maintain, the saving at 13,476 miles drops from $1,570 to $1,070 and every payback in table 2 gets longer in the same proportion. Depreciation differs by model and market and is not in the comparison; these are estimates for planning, not financial advice.

How much do you save per year with an electric car?

About $1,570 a year on energy, or $131 a month, for a typical US driver doing 13,476 miles: $2,282 of gas at 25.5 mpg and $4.32 per gallon against $712 of home electricity at 3.47 mi/kWh and $0.1834 per kWh, which is $7,851 over 5 years. A dearer EV pays back an extra $5,000 in 3.2 yrs at that distance, an extra $10,000 in 6.4 yrs. In the UK the saving is £981 a year on 7,100 miles. Below: the saving by miles driven, the payback years by extra price, the same for the UK, and what public charging takes back, all computed by the same code as the calculator.

Open the ev vs gas calculator

1. Saving per year and over 5 years by miles driven (US)

Gas per year = miles / mpg x price per gallon; electricity per year = miles / efficiency x price per kWh. US starting values: gas car 25.5 mpg at $4.32, EV 3.47 mi/kWh charged at home at $0.1834 per kWh, everything else equal. The saving is $0.117 per mile, so it is simply proportional to the miles.

Table 1: energy cost of the gas car and the EV per year, and the saving per year and over 5 years, by miles per year (US starting values)
Miles per year	Gas per year	EV per year	Saving per year	Saving over 5 years
5,000	$847	$264	$583	$2,913
8,000	$1,355	$423	$932	$4,661
10,000	$1,694	$529	$1,165	$5,826
13,476	$2,282	$712	$1,570	$7,851
15,000	$2,541	$793	$1,748	$8,739
20,000	$3,387	$1,057	$2,330	$11,652
25,000	$4,234	$1,321	$2,913	$14,565

The 13,476-mile row is the FHWA average per driver. A commuter at 25,000 miles saves $14,565 in 5 years; a second car at 5,000 miles saves $2,913. The EV vs gas calculator takes your own miles, prices and the years you keep the car.

2. Years to pay back a dearer EV, by extra price and miles

Payback in years = extra purchase price / saving per year; in milesit is the extra price / saving per mile, the same for every row: 42,911 miles for $5,000, 85,823 miles for $10,000, 128,734 miles for $15,000. A dash would mean no payback (no saving).

Table 2: years until the energy saving has repaid the EV's extra purchase price, by miles per year (US starting values)
Miles per year	Extra $5,000	Extra $10,000	Extra $15,000
5,000	8.6 yrs	17.2 yrs	25.7 yrs
8,000	5.4 yrs	10.7 yrs	16.1 yrs
10,000	4.3 yrs	8.6 yrs	12.9 yrs
13,476	3.2 yrs	6.4 yrs	9.6 yrs
15,000	2.9 yrs	5.7 yrs	8.6 yrs
20,000	2.1 yrs	4.3 yrs	6.4 yrs
25,000	1.7 yrs	3.4 yrs	5.1 yrs

Read the table against the years you expect to keep the car. Below about 8,000 miles a year a $15,000 premium takes 16.1 yrs to come back on energy alone, about 3 times the 5-year horizon of table 1; above 20,000 miles even that premium returns in 6.4 yrs. Any purchase incentive lowers the extra price and shortens every cell.

3. The same for a UK driver

UK starting values: petrol 35.8 mpg (UK gallon) at £1.681 per litre, EV at the Ofgem cap rate of £0.2611 per kWh, and the DfT average of 7,100 miles a year. The saving per mile is £0.138: fuel costs more per mile than in the US, but the average driver covers about half the distance, so the yearly figure is smaller.

Table 3: energy saving per year and over 5 years, and years to pay back an extra price, by miles per year (UK starting values)
Miles per year	Saving per year	Over 5 years	Extra £3,000	Extra £6,000	Extra £10,000
5,000	£691	£3,455	4.3 yrs	8.7 yrs	14.5 yrs
7,100	£981	£4,907	3.1 yrs	6.1 yrs	10.2 yrs
10,000	£1,382	£6,911	2.2 yrs	4.3 yrs	7.2 yrs
12,000	£1,659	£8,293	1.8 yrs	3.6 yrs	6 yrs
15,000	£2,073	£10,366	1.4 yrs	2.9 yrs	4.8 yrs
20,000	£2,764	£13,822	1.1 yrs	2.2 yrs	3.6 yrs

4. What is and is not in the saving

Energy at home, nothing else: no charger installation, no standing charges, no time-of-use tariff (which would widen the saving), no charging losses between the wall and the battery (which would narrow it), and the same insurance, maintenance, tyres and tax for both cars. Public charging at $0.53 per kWh eats the saving fast: at 50% public the yearly figure falls to $897. The guide on what it costs to charge an EV at home has the per-100-mile figures by tariff and public share; the guide on what a car costs per year puts the energy line next to the other seven for a gas, diesel and electric car.

Estimates for planning from public starting values, not a statement about your car or financial advice. Sources: US gas car, EPA Automotive Trends Report (MY2024): real-world new-vehicle average 27.2 mpg, 1.7 mpg lower without BEVs and PHEVs = 25.5 mpg for a gas car — https://www.epa.gov/automotive-trends/highlights-automotive-trends-report and EIA Gasoline and Diesel Fuel Update: regular gasoline, U.S. average $4.319/gal, week of 2026-09-14 (released 2026-09-15) — https://www.eia.gov/petroleum/gasdiesel/ (2026-09-18); US diesel, fueleconomy.gov, MY2025 diesel light vehicles: 2025 Chevrolet Silverado 2WD 3.0L diesel, 26 mpg combined (the rest of the list are 23-24 mpg trucks and SUVs) — https://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/PowerSearch.do?action=alts&year=2025&vtype=Diesel&srchtyp=yearAfv&pageno=1 and EIA Gasoline and Diesel Fuel Update: on-highway diesel, U.S. average $6.285/gal, week of 2026-09-14 (released 2026-09-15) — https://www.eia.gov/petroleum/gasdiesel/; EV efficiency, EPA Automotive Trends Report (MY2024): Tesla fleet 117.1 MPGe = 117.1 / 33.7 kWh per gallon-equivalent = 3.47 mi/kWh (17.9 kWh/100 km), used as the typical EV — https://www.epa.gov/automotive-trends/highlights-automotive-trends-report (2026-09-18); US home electricity, EIA Electric Power Monthly, Table 5.6.A: U.S. residential average 18.34 cents/kWh, June 2026 — https://www.eia.gov/electricity/monthly/epm_table_grapher.php?t=epmt_5_6_a (2026-09-18); US public charging, Paren, Q1 2026 U.S. DC fast charging report: $0.53/kWh average excluding free chargers ($0.49 including them) — https://evchargingstations.com/chargingnews/parens-q1-2026-report/ (2026-09-18); US yearly distance, FHWA, Office of Highway Policy Information, Average Annual Miles per Driver by Age Group: 13,476 miles per driver per year — https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/ohim/onh00/bar8.htm (2026-09-18); UK petrol, European Commission COM(2024) 122, real-world fuel consumption from on-board monitoring, petrol cars registered 2021: 7.89 L/100 km (type-approval 6.38) — https://climate.ec.europa.eu/document/download/b644dafe-1385-4b56-98d9-21e7e9f3601b_en?filename=report.pdf; EU figure used for the UK (about 35.8 mpg UK), no UK real-world average is published and DESNZ Weekly road fuel prices: ULSP (unleaded) 168.14 p/litre, week of 2026-09-14 — https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/weekly-road-fuel-prices (2026-09-18); UK diesel, European Commission COM(2024) 122, real-world fuel consumption from on-board monitoring, diesel cars registered 2021: 6.88 L/100 km (type-approval 5.82) — https://climate.ec.europa.eu/document/download/b644dafe-1385-4b56-98d9-21e7e9f3601b_en?filename=report.pdf; EU figure used for the UK (about 41 mpg UK), no UK real-world average is published and DESNZ Weekly road fuel prices: ULSD (diesel) 190.72 p/litre, week of 2026-09-14 — https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/weekly-road-fuel-prices; UK electricity, Ofgem energy price cap: electricity unit rate 26.11 p/kWh, Direct Debit, average across GB, 1 July to 30 September 2026 (26.32 p from 1 October 2026) — https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/information-consumers/energy-advice-households/energy-price-cap-unit-rates-and-standing-charges (2026-09-18); UK yearly distance, DfT National Travel Survey, table NTS0901 (updated 2026-09-10): average annual mileage per car in England, 2025: 7,100 miles (petrol 6,200, diesel 8,000) — https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/nts09-vehicle-mileage-and-occupancy (2026-09-18).

Frequently asked questions

How much do you save on fuel per year with an electric car?: Miles per year x (gas cost per mile minus electricity cost per mile). With the US starting values the difference is $0.117 per mile, so $583 a year at 5,000 miles, $1,570 at 13,476 and $2,913 at 25,000. Per month, divide by 12: $131 at the average distance. Energy only, charged at home; table 1 has every row.
How long does it take for an electric car to pay for itself?: Extra purchase price / yearly saving. At 13,476 miles a year and $1,570 of saving: 3.2 yrs for an extra $5,000, 6.4 yrs for $10,000, 9.6 yrs for $15,000. In distance the answer does not depend on how much you drive: 42,911 miles per $5,000 of extra price at these prices. Someone driving 25,000 miles a year reaches it in 1.7 yrs; someone driving 5,000 takes 8.6 yrs. Table 2 has the grid.
Do you save money with an electric car in the UK?: On energy, £981 a year at the average 7,100 miles: £1,516 of petrol at 35.8 mpg and £1.681 per litre against £534 of electricity at the Ofgem cap rate of £0.2611 per kWh; £4,907 over 5 years. An EV costing £3,000 more pays back in 3.1 yrs, one costing £10,000 more in 10.2 yrs. A cheaper overnight EV tariff widens the saving; table 3 has the figures by miles.
Is the saving bigger against a diesel car?: In the US, yes: diesel costs $6.29 per gallon against $4.32 for gas, so the typical diesel (26 mpg) spends $3,258 a year and the EV saves $2,545 instead of $1,570. In the UK the diesel car's better economy (41.1 mpg) offsets the dearer litre, so the saving is £963 against £981 for petrol. The calculator has a diesel option.
What happens to the saving if I charge in public?: It shrinks with every kWh bought at $0.53 instead of $0.1834. With 25% of the energy from US fast chargers the yearly saving at 13,476 miles falls from $1,570 to $1,234; at 50% it is $897, and with public charging only it is $224. The guide on charging at home has the cost per 100 miles at each share.
Does the saving cover higher insurance or depreciation on the EV?: The tables hold everything but energy equal for the two cars, which is the honest first comparison; the calculator then takes each car's own insurance, maintenance, tyres and tax. As a worked example, if the EV costs $500 a year more to insure and maintain, the saving at 13,476 miles drops from $1,570 to $1,070 and every payback in table 2 gets longer in the same proportion. Depreciation differs by model and market and is not in the comparison; these are estimates for planning, not financial advice.

How much does it cost to charge an EV at home?
Home charging cost per 100 miles, per month and per year by efficiency and electricity price, against gas, and what public charging adds. US and UK.
How much does it cost to own a car per year?
Yearly and monthly cost of a typical gas, diesel and electric car, item by item: fuel, depreciation, insurance, maintenance, tyres and tax. US, UK and EU.
How much does it cost to drive 100 km?
Fuel for 100 km by L/100 km and price per litre, then 100, 500 and 1,000 km all in for a typical petrol, diesel and electric car in euros, item by item.
How much does it cost to drive 100 miles?
Fuel alone and the all-in cost of 100, 200 and 1,000 miles in a typical gas, diesel and electric car, US and UK, by mpg and fuel price.

Last updated 2026-09-22. Cost estimates from published starting values (EPA, EIA, AAA, DESNZ, Ofgem, IRS/HMRC), each with its source and date, put through the same arithmetic as the calculators. Your car, prices and mileage move every figure. Information for planning, not financial or tax advice.