EV Cost Comparison: electric vs petrol
Is an electric car actually cheaper than petrol for you? Pick your country and an EV (we'll suggest a similar petrol or hybrid), then add your mileage, home electricity rate and how often you'll use public chargers. Results update as you type, and there's nothing to sign up for.
The biggest thing you control is where you charge: cheap overnight home charging makes a huge difference.
2 Electric vehicle
3 Comparable petrol / hybrid
Only models sold new in your selected country are listed under Browse and Make & model; in the UK and Channel Islands, UK EV prices are the manufacturers' own UK “from” prices (each dated in the data sources box); EV efficiency defaults are official WLTP figures. Other countries use local offers, never currency conversions of UK prices. Every figure is editable, so you can enter any car not listed.
4 Ownership inputs
Running costs scale with years. Depreciation follows the age-and-mileage curve.
Used: enter age and mileage, then the real asking prices.
Default 20% public → 80% at home electricity rate
Filled by model picker — edit freely
Filled by model picker — edit freely
Used for the price estimate and the VED £50k supplement
VED supplement applies over £40k
Official WLTP figure (lab test, at the plug) · real-world is usually lower, so use your trip computer if you can
UK gallons (US mpg × 1.201). Picker figures are our estimates.
For the home-charged share of miles (use your off-peak rate if you charge overnight)
Only applied to the public % above
Extra energy over the WLTP figure for real driving (cold, motorway). Set 0 if you entered your own trip-computer figure plus losses
Our estimate — replace with a dealer quote
ABI average £566 (Q2 2026, all cars). Get real quotes — EVs often cost more.
UK vehicle tax (VED) is added automatically at 2026/27 rates
e.g. local road tax outside the UK, parking permits
Curve: new EV loses ~56% in 3 years, ~66% in 5 at 10k miles/yr
Compounds each year (19%/yr ≈ 65% over 5 years)
EV saves over 5 years
Adjust inputs to calculate
All ownership periods
Same cars, miles and rates — totals for 3, 4, 5 and 7 years of driving (energy/fuel + servicing + insurance + tax + depreciation).
| Years | EV | ICE | Difference |
|---|
Breakdown (5 years)
| Category | EV | Petrol |
|---|
What your result means: the big number is how much more or less the EV costs over the period, counting purchase price, value lost, energy, servicing, insurance and tax. If it says the EV saves money, it wins on total cost. If it's close, small changes (a cheaper night tariff, less public charging, a different car price) can tip it either way, so try a few.
Estimates for information only, not financial advice. Prices and rates change, so check them with the seller or supplier. See our terms.
Data sources
Select a country to load sourced prices and rates.
How we calculate
- Electricity: miles ÷ miles per kWh × (1 + charging losses) × price, split between your home rate and your public rate by the % of miles you charge in public. Efficiency defaults are official WLTP combined figures (registration-weighted median per model from the EEA CO2 monitoring dataset, 2025). WLTP is measured at the plug, so charging losses are already included, but it is a lab test; we add a 10% real-world allowance by default (for scale, lab tests of AC wallbox charging alone found 13–20% losses: Reick et al., 2021).
- Petrol: miles ÷ mpg × 4.546 litres (UK gallon) × price per litre. US mpg × 1.201 = UK mpg.
- Vehicle tax (UK only): GOV.UK rates from 1 April 2026. £200 a year standard rate for cars registered from April 2017, including EVs. Add £440 a year in years 2–6 for petrol cars listed over £40,000 and for EVs registered from 1 April 2025 listed over £50,000. Cars registered before April 2017 pay by CO₂ band (older EVs £20; for petrol we estimate CO₂ from mpg). The first-year rate is already in a new car's on-the-road price. We also include the planned 3p/mile eVED from 1 April 2028 unless you switch it off.
- Depreciation: our curve, based on What Car? (most cars lose 50–60% in three years, with the biggest drop in year one) and cap hpi (April 2026: used EVs trade about 15% below equivalent petrol cars at three years). We assume a new EV loses 35% in its first year and a petrol car 30%. After that both lose 18% a year to age 3, 12% a year to age 7, then 6% a year. A car's place on the curve is the average of its age and its mileage ÷ 10,000, so high-mileage cars depreciate faster. For used cars we start from the car's current age and mileage. This is an assumption, not a valuation; you can switch to a flat % instead.
- Used prices: we don't have a reliable source of used prices by age, so the calculator prefills an estimate (list price × our curve) and asks you to type the real asking price.
- Insurance and servicing: insurance defaults to the ABI's Q2 2026 average premium (£566, all cars); servicing and tyres are our estimates. Both vary a lot, so use quotes.
- Not included: finance costs, home charger installation, the Electric Car Grant beyond what is already in the listed price, company-car tax, and Congestion Charge or Clean Air Zone fees.
Sources and last updated
Fuel prices as of 26 October 2026; all other figures as of 4 October 2026 unless stated. Each preset in the calculator links to its own source.
| Figure | Default | Source (date) |
|---|---|---|
| Home electricity (GB) | 26.32p/kWh | Ofgem price cap, 1 Oct–31 Dec 2026. Domestic electricity VAT is 0% from 1 Oct 2026 to 31 Mar 2027 (GOV.UK), so this is the price paid. |
| Off-peak EV tariffs | 6.5p–13.33p | EDF, Octopus, E.ON Next, British Gas and OVO tariff pages (checked 3–4 Oct 2026; Intelligent Octopus Go 6.5p checked 31 Oct 2026) |
| Public charging | 82.5p/kWh (rapid, pay-as-you-go) | Average of the pay-as-you-go rapid prices in our UK charger price table: IONITY Direct 83p and Osprey 82p, from the operators’ own price pages (checked 25 Oct 2026). Network presets from operator pricing pages and Tariff Tracker (checked 4 Oct 2026) |
| Petrol | 174.07p/litre incl. VAT (145.06p without VAT); diesel 199.22p incl. VAT (166.02p without VAT) | DESNZ weekly road fuel prices, 26 Oct 2026 |
| Real-world allowance | 10% | Our assumption, added on top of WLTP; for scale see Reick et al., Vehicles 3(4), 2021 (charging losses) |
| Vehicle tax | £200 + £440 supplement | GOV.UK vehicle tax rate tables (from 1 Apr 2026); eVED policy paper, 13 Jul 2026 (planned) |
| EV efficiency (mi/kWh) | per model | Official WLTP combined energy consumption: registration-weighted median per model in the EEA “Monitoring of CO2 emissions from passenger cars” dataset, 2025 provisional (European Environment Agency, CC BY 4.0), read 4 Oct 2026. EU type-approval data; UK versions are generally the same. |
| EV new prices | per model | Manufacturers' UK websites. 14 models checked 4 Oct 2026; the rest are from our July 2026 offer table and not yet re-checked (each car's date is shown in the data sources box). Some makers' prices include the Electric Car Grant. |
| Insurance | £566/yr | ABI average motor premium, Q2 2026 (published 29 Jul 2026) |
| Depreciation curve | see above | What Car?; cap hpi (April 2026); our assumption |
| Petrol car prices and mpg | per model | Maker/retail offer table (13 Jul 2026) and our price feed; mpg figures are our estimates, so check the WLTP figure |
| Other countries | per market | Eurostat (H2 2025 electricity), EU Weekly Oil Bulletin (28 Sep 2026), US EIA, Statistics Canada, AIP, Guernsey Electricity; placeholders are flagged in the calculator |
Frequently asked questions
How does the calculator work?
It adds up the cost of each car over the period you choose: depreciation, electricity or petrol, servicing and tyres, insurance, and (in the UK) vehicle tax. Electricity is split between your home rate and your public charging rate using the share of miles you charge in public, and we add a real-world allowance (10% by default) because the official WLTP consumption figure is a lab result and most cars use more on the road. Petrol uses UK gallons (4.546 litres). Depreciation follows an age-and-mileage curve, or a flat percentage if you prefer. See How we calculate.
What electricity price should I use for home charging?
Use the unit rate on your own tariff. On a standard variable tariff in England, Scotland or Wales the Ofgem price cap average for 1 October to 31 December 2026 is 26.32p per kWh by Direct Debit. VAT on household energy is 0% from 1 October 2026 to 31 March 2027, so that is the price you pay; rates vary by region. On an EV tariff, use the off-peak rate for the share you charge overnight: for example Intelligent Octopus Go is from 6.5p (Octopus Energy, checked 31 October 2026) and EDF GoElectric 6.66p (EDF, checked 4 October 2026). Pick a preset in the calculator or type your own rate. See our off-peak tariff guide.
Why does public charging change the result so much?
Public chargers cost much more per kWh than home electricity. Our default of 82.5p per kWh is the average of the pay-as-you-go rapid prices in our UK charger price table (IONITY Direct 83p and Osprey 82p, from the operators' own price pages, checked 25 October 2026). For a car doing 3.5 miles per kWh with 10% charging losses, that is about 26p a mile on rapid chargers, against about 8.3p a mile at the 26.32p price cap and about 2.1p a mile on a 6.5p off-peak tariff (Intelligent Octopus Go, Octopus Energy, checked 31 October 2026). A petrol car doing 48 mpg costs about 16.5p a mile at 174.07p a litre (DESNZ weekly road fuel prices, 26 October 2026). A high public-charging share can wipe out an EV's running-cost advantage.
Do electric cars pay road tax (VED) now?
Yes. Since 1 April 2025 electric cars pay vehicle tax. From April 2026 the standard rate is £200 a year. EVs first registered from 1 April 2025 with a list price over £50,000 also pay the £440 expensive car supplement in years 2 to 6 (for petrol cars the threshold is £40,000). EVs registered before 1 April 2017 pay £20. The Government also plans an Electric Vehicle Excise Duty of 3p per mile from April 2028; it still needs legislation, and you can switch it off in the calculator. See our electric car tax guide.
Can I compare a used electric car?
Yes. Switch 'Buying' to Used and enter the car's age and mileage. The calculator estimates a used price from the original list price, but you should type the real asking price. Depreciation then continues from that age and mileage. If your car isn't in the picker, choose a similar model and type in its price and miles per kWh.
What does mi/kWh mean and how do I find mine?
Miles per kWh is how far the car goes on one unit of electricity, the EV equivalent of mpg. Your trip computer usually shows it. Our defaults are the official WLTP figures. WLTP is measured at the plug, so it includes charging losses, but it is a lab test and most cars use more in real driving, so the calculator adds a 10% real-world allowance on top (you can change it). Efficiency drops in cold weather, so a year-round average gives a fairer result. See our winter range guide.
Is an electric car always cheaper than petrol?
No. It depends on the purchase prices, depreciation, insurance, your mileage and where you charge. Cheap home charging usually favours the EV. Mostly rapid charging, or a much higher purchase price, can favour petrol. That is why the calculator includes every cost area and lets you change every figure.
Do you store or share my inputs?
No. There is no account, and your inputs are never sent to us. The numbers you enter are processed in your browser. Your chosen country and a few display settings are saved in your browser's local storage on your device.
If you use “Share your result”, your inputs are put into the link after the # sign. Browsers do not send that part of a link to our server, so nothing is stored unless you choose to share the link.
The site only counts anonymous page views with its own cookieless counter, which never sees your inputs. See our privacy notice.
Does it work for Guernsey and Jersey?
Yes. Choose Guernsey or Jersey. Guernsey defaults use Guernsey Electricity's tariff and island petrol prices; Jersey uses Evolve public charging prices, but you should enter your own home tariff and petrol price. UK vehicle tax is not applied. Car prices shown are UK prices, so enter your local quote. See our Channel Islands charging guide.
More detail in the guides: off-peak tariffs · home charger costs · winter range · public charging. Sources: Ofgem price cap Oct–Dec 2026, Our UK charger price table (25 Oct 2026), DESNZ weekly road fuel prices (26 Oct 2026), GOV.UK vehicle tax rates (all checked 4 Oct 2026). Full list in Sources and last updated.
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