Fuel cost is efficiency times your local rate. Enter your EV's energy consumption,
your electricity rate, your gas car's MPG, and the local gas price, and this
calculator returns the cost per mile and annual fuel cost for each — and the savings.
Every formula is shown; nothing is hidden.
Cost per mile, EV vs gas·Annual fuel costs·Your own rates & efficiency
Read this first
This calculator covers fuel and energy cost only — electricity to charge versus
gasoline to fill up. It does not include purchase price, financing, insurance, maintenance,
charging equipment, federal or state incentives, or battery degradation. Efficiency and
rates vary by vehicle, driving style, climate, and region — the defaults are U.S. national
averages, not your specific situation. Not financial advice. Approximate.
Enter your EV's efficiency and your electricity rate, your gas car's MPG and local gas price, and your annual mileage. The costs update as you type.
Electric vehicle
kWh / 100 mi
From the EPA window sticker or fueleconomy.gov. Most EVs: 24–40 kWh/100 mi. Lower = more efficient.
$/ kWh
From your electric bill. U.S. residential average is roughly 16–17¢/kWh — check current EIA data.
Gas vehicle
MPG
Combined EPA rating. U.S. new-car average is roughly 28–30 MPG. Check fueleconomy.gov for your model.
$/ gal
Current price at your local pump. Check AAA gas prices for the latest national average.
Annual driving
mi/yr
U.S. drivers average roughly 12,000–15,000 miles per year. Check your odometer readings to estimate.
EV saves /mile — /year
Cost per mile — EV vs gas
Electric vehicle
Gas vehicle
Annual EV fuel cost
Annual gas fuel cost
Annual savings
Savings per mile
The formulas, in full
Nothing here is a black box. These are the exact calculations the tool runs — the same
arithmetic you could do on paper. The only judgment calls are the inputs you supply.
EV fuel cost at a glance — rate and efficiency scenarios
How much does it cost to drive 100 miles in an EV? It depends on your electricity rate
and your vehicle's efficiency. The table below shows the electricity cost for three
common EV efficiency ratings across a range of electricity rates, as a quick reference.
Your actual cost depends on your inputs — use the calculator above for your specific figures.
Electricity rate
24 kWh/100 mi (efficient compact)
30 kWh/100 mi (midsize average)
40 kWh/100 mi (larger SUV / truck)
$0.10 / kWh
$2.40
$3.00
$4.00
$0.13 / kWh
$3.12
$3.90
$5.20
$0.17 / kWh (U.S. avg)
$4.08
$5.10
$6.80
$0.20 / kWh
$4.80
$6.00
$8.00
$0.25 / kWh
$6.00
$7.50
$10.00
$0.35 / kWh
$8.40
$10.50
$14.00
All figures show electricity cost per 100 miles only — not total ownership cost.
For comparison: at $3.50/gallon, a 30 MPG gas car costs $11.67 per 100 miles in fuel.
Reading the result
The calculator gives you three figures that matter: cost per mile for each option,
annual fuel cost for each option, and the annual savings. Here is how to use them and
what the big caveats are.
The per-mile figure is the most portable number
Cost per mile lets you scale to any mileage — multiply it by your actual annual miles to get a real annual figure. It also makes the comparison independent of how much you drive: even if you drive far more or fewer than 12,000 miles a year, the per-mile savings is fixed for a given efficiency and rate pairing. Annual savings scales linearly with miles driven.
Your electricity rate is the biggest lever
EV efficiency varies by maybe 2× across the mainstream market (24 to 40 kWh/100 mi). Your electricity rate, by contrast, can vary by 3–4× across the U.S. — from under 10¢/kWh in some regions to over 35¢/kWh in others. If you charge primarily at home, find your actual rate on your electric bill rather than using the national average. If you have access to time-of-use pricing with cheap overnight rates, run the calculator again with that lower rate to see the full potential savings.
What this does not capture
This is a fuel cost comparison only. It does not include: the purchase price premium of EVs, the cost of a home charging installation, federal and state tax incentives, difference in insurance costs, difference in maintenance costs (no oil changes, fewer brake replacements from regenerative braking), or battery degradation over time. A fair total-cost-of-ownership comparison is more involved. This calculator answers one specific question: how much does moving the vehicle one mile cost in fuel or electricity, right now, at your rates.
EV vs gas cost terms glossary
The units and terms that appear on an EPA sticker, a utility bill, or a gas pump —
in plain English.
kWh per 100 miles
The U.S. EPA efficiency rating for electric vehicles — the number of kilowatt-hours of electricity consumed to travel 100 miles. Equivalent to "MPGe" on the window sticker, but more directly useful for cost math. Find it on fueleconomy.gov or your EPA window sticker. Lower is more efficient.
Kilowatt-hour (kWh)
The unit your electricity bill is measured in — one kilowatt of power drawn for one hour. At $0.17/kWh, each kWh of energy used to drive costs 17 cents. A typical EV using 30 kWh per 100 miles draws 0.30 kWh per mile.
MPG (miles per gallon)
The fuel economy rating for gasoline vehicles — how many miles the car travels on one gallon of fuel. The EPA combined rating blends city and highway driving. Higher is more efficient. Find your car's figure on fueleconomy.gov.
Electricity rate ($/kWh)
The price your utility charges per kilowatt-hour, found on your electric bill. It varies by state, utility, time of day, and season. Time-of-use plans can offer significantly lower off-peak rates — often 8–12¢/kWh at night — which greatly improves the EV cost advantage.
Time-of-use (TOU) pricing
A utility rate structure where the price per kWh varies by time of day — typically cheap overnight (off-peak) and expensive in late afternoon (on-peak). EV drivers who charge overnight on a TOU plan can significantly cut their per-mile electricity cost compared to the standard flat residential rate.
Cost per mile
The fuel or energy cost to travel one mile. For an EV: (kWh per 100 mi ÷ 100) × electricity rate. For a gas car: gas price ÷ MPG. Multiply by your annual mileage to get the annual fuel cost. This is the core number this calculator computes.
Frequently asked
It depends on your electricity rate, your EV's efficiency, your gas car's MPG, and your local gas price. At U.S. national averages — roughly 17 cents per kWh for electricity and $3.50 per gallon for gas — a 30 kWh-per-100-mile EV costs about $0.051 per mile in fuel, while a 30 MPG gas car costs about $0.117 per mile. That is roughly a 57 percent saving on fuel per mile, or about $788 per year at 12,000 miles. But rates vary enormously: if you charge on cheap overnight electricity the advantage widens; if your electricity is expensive or your gas car is very efficient, the gap narrows. Run your own numbers in the calculator above.
kWh per 100 miles is the standard EPA efficiency rating for electric vehicles in the United States — the amount of electricity consumed to drive 100 miles. A lower number means a more efficient vehicle. Find it on the EPA window sticker, on fueleconomy.gov, or in your car's owner manual. Real-world consumption varies with speed, temperature, and climate control use — the EPA figure is a useful baseline, but your car's trip computer average is more accurate for your specific usage. Most current EVs range from about 24 kWh per 100 miles (efficient compact) to about 40 kWh per 100 miles (larger SUV or truck).
This is a fuel and energy cost comparison only — it calculates what you spend on electricity versus gasoline to move the vehicle, nothing else. Purchase price, insurance, registration, tires, and scheduled maintenance all vary enormously by vehicle model, region, and individual situation, and adding them would require many more inputs and assumptions. This calculator does one thing well: shows the fuel cost difference at your own efficiency figures and local rates. A full total-cost-of-ownership comparison would also need to factor in the purchase price difference, federal and state incentives, charging equipment costs, and maintenance savings from no oil changes.
Electricity rate is the most powerful single lever in this calculation. At 10 cents per kWh (common overnight off-peak rates in some states), a 30 kWh-per-100-mile EV costs just $0.030 per mile. At 25 cents per kWh (common in California or Hawaii), the same EV costs $0.075 per mile — 2.5 times more. The gas car cost per mile is set entirely by the gas price and MPG. So if you can charge on cheap overnight electricity via a time-of-use rate plan, the EV advantage grows substantially. Check your utility's rate schedule or your most recent bill, and run two scenarios if you have the option to switch to a TOU plan.
Yes, significantly. Highway driving at 70+ mph consumes considerably more energy per mile than city driving at 35 mph because aerodynamic drag rises with the square of speed. Cold weather also degrades efficiency because battery chemistry slows down and heating the cabin requires energy (EVs have no waste engine heat to repurpose the way gas cars do). In cold climates, real-world winter efficiency can be 20–40 percent worse than the EPA rated figure. If you primarily drive highway miles or live in a cold climate, enter a higher kWh-per-100-miles figure to get a more realistic cost. Conversely, city driving and mild climates typically beat the EPA figure.
This calculator uses a single electricity rate, which works best if you do the majority of your charging at home where the rate is predictable. Public DC fast charging is often priced at 25–45 cents per kWh — sometimes more expensive than the equivalent gas cost. If you rely heavily on public fast chargers (common for apartment renters without home charging), your real blended per-mile electricity cost will be higher than your home rate suggests. A practical approach: estimate the fraction of charging done at home versus public, weight the two rates accordingly, and enter that blended rate. Most EV drivers with home charging do 80–90 percent of their charging at home.
Common mistakes with this calculator
EV cost comparisons are easy to skew — usually in the EV's favor — by choosing flattering inputs on either side.
Using your home electricity rate when you charge significantly at public fast chargers
Home Level 2 charging at 10–15¢/kWh is the best-case scenario. Public DC fast chargers routinely run 25–45¢/kWh or more, and some session-fee structures push the effective rate higher still. If you rent, live in a condo, or regularly rely on fast chargers for longer trips, your real blended per-mile electricity cost is meaningfully higher than your home rate. Weight home vs. public charging proportionally. Source: EIA electricity rate data; public DCFC pricing widely reported.
Using the EPA kWh/100mi figure without adjusting for your actual driving pattern
EPA EV efficiency ratings are tested under controlled conditions. Real-world consumption is typically 10–20% higher than the EPA figure for mixed driving, and cold weather (below 20°F) can increase consumption by 30–40% as the battery heats itself. Highway-heavy drivers also see worse efficiency than the combined EPA rating suggests. If you drive mostly highway or in a cold climate, add at least 15–20% to the EPA kWh/100 mi figure before entering it. Source: EPA fueleconomy.gov EV range and efficiency data.
Comparing to a misremembered or idealized gas car MPG
People tend to round their gas car's MPG up in their heads. Use the actual EPA combined figure for your specific make, model, and year from fueleconomy.gov — not what you think you get or what the salesperson said. A 3 MPG overestimate on a 30 MPG car inflates the EV's apparent savings by roughly 10%. Source: EPA fueleconomy.gov.
Equating annual fuel savings with total cost of ownership savings
Fuel cost is one line item. A complete comparison also includes purchase price delta (EVs often cost more upfront), available federal and state tax credits (which may or may not apply to you — see the solar note on refundability), insurance differences, maintenance costs (EVs skip oil changes and brake jobs but may have higher tire wear and battery replacement risk), and resale value. Annual fuel savings shown here are real — they just aren't the whole picture.