How much does an electric car save per mile?

At the calculator defaults, a gas car at $4.28 a gallon and 28 miles per gallon costs 15.29 cents a mile in fuel, and an electric car at 18 cents per kilowatt-hour and 32 kilowatt-hours per 100 miles costs 5.76 cents a mile in electricity. The fuel saving is 9.53 cents a mile, or $1,428.86 over 15,000 miles a year, before the $248 maintenance saving. Your own saving moves with your gas price, your electricity rate, and your miles.

How long until an EV pays for its higher price?

Divide the price premium by the yearly saving. At the defaults, a $5,000 premium divided by $1,676.86 a year in fuel plus maintenance savings pays back in 2.98 years, about 36 months. Add a $1,200 home charger install and the payback stretches to 3.70 years. Drive 8,000 miles a year and it takes 4.95 years; drive 25,000 and it takes 1.90 years. Miles are the lever.

What does this calculator leave out?

Insurance, depreciation, financing, and resale value, which AAA has found can outweigh the fuel and maintenance savings for some models, and the charging mix: the electricity rate you enter should be your blended rate, because public fast charging costs far more than home charging. Cold weather also cuts electric efficiency, which is why the efficiency input is yours to raise in winter. This is a running-cost comparison, not a total cost of ownership verdict.

Is an electric car still worth it without the $7,500 tax credit?

The federal credit ended September 30, 2025, so a buyer today prices the EV at full price, minus any state or utility incentive. At the defaults the answer is still yes on running costs: $1,676.86 a year saved, a $5,000 premium repaid in 2.98 years, and $3,384.29 ahead after five years. At Hawaii electricity rates of 48 cents per kilowatt-hour, the same comparison saves only $236.86 a year and takes 21.11 years. The credit mattered; the zip code matters more now.

Why is the maintenance saving only $248 a year?

Because tires eat most of the oil-change saving. AAA's 2026 Your Driving Costs study, comparing electric, hybrid, and gasoline models in the same four categories, found electric models spent $248 a year less on maintenance, repair, and tires on average: $225 less for a medium sedan, $552 less for a compact SUV, $45 less for a medium SUV, and $170 less for a pickup. No oil changes or spark plugs, but heavier cars wear tires faster. The $248 default is that AAA average, and you can set it to zero to see the fuel-only answer.

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Form EV-39 · The Charging Ledger

EV vs Gas Cost Calculator

Gas is $4.28 a gallon and the $7,500 federal EV credit is gone, so the electric question is no longer a subsidy question. It is an arithmetic question: what does each mile cost, how many miles do you drive, and how many years until the cheaper miles repay the pricier car? Enter both cars below and the ledger prices the mile, the year, and the payback, with the exact mileage where a five-year payback breaks even.

Sources: EIA Gasoline and Diesel Fuel Update, October 19, 2026 (regular gasoline $4.284 a gallon); EIA Short-Term Energy Outlook, October 2026 (residential electricity 18.21 cents per kilowatt-hour in 2026); EPA 2025 Automotive Trends Report (28.1 miles per gallon real-world average for new light-duty vehicles); fueleconomy.gov model ratings (28 to 35 kilowatt-hours per 100 miles for current electric models; 33.7 kilowatt-hours equals one gallon of gasoline); AAA Your Driving Costs 2026 ($248 a year lower maintenance, repair, and tire costs for electric models, averaged across four comparable categories); Kelley Blue Book and Cox Automotive, August 2026 (new electric vehicles nearly $5,000 more than the average new gas vehicle). Model: gas cost per mile equals gas price divided by miles per gallon; electric cost per mile equals the electricity rate times kilowatt-hours per 100 miles, divided by 100; yearly saving equals miles times the per-mile gap, plus the maintenance saving; payback equals the price premium plus charger install, divided by the yearly saving. Insurance, depreciation, financing, resale value, and cold-weather efficiency loss are excluded. This is an estimate for comparison, not buying advice. Check your own utility rate and the cars you are actually comparing.

Step 1 — The gas car

Miles driven per year Gas price ($/gallon) Fuel economy (mpg) Your gas car, in one line

Defaults describe the average new light-duty vehicle: 28 miles per gallon, per the EPA, at the October 2026 national average gas price of $4.28. A pickup at 22 mpg costs 19.45 cents a mile; a car at 36.6 mpg costs 11.69 cents. Enter the car you would actually buy, not the average.

Step 2 — The electric car

Electricity rate ($/kWh) Efficiency (kWh/100 miles) Maintenance saving ($/yr) Your EV, in one line

The electricity rate should be your blended rate: home charging near the 18-cent national residential average, public fast charging far above it. At 45 cents a kilowatt-hour, the electric mile costs 14.40 cents and the yearly saving falls to $380.86. Efficiency runs 28 kilowatt-hours per 100 miles for a Nissan LEAF to 35 for a Chevrolet Equinox EV on fueleconomy.gov; cold weather pushes it higher. The $248 maintenance saving is the AAA 2026 average; set it to zero for the fuel-only answer.

Step 3 — The price gap

Extra paid for the EV ($) Home charger install ($)

The $5,000 default is the Kelley Blue Book and Cox Automotive gap: new electric vehicles averaged nearly $5,000 more than the average new gas vehicle in August 2026, after the federal credit had already ended. Enter the real gap between the two cars on your shortlist, after any state rebate. The federal $7,500 credit ended September 30, 2025, and the home-charger credit ended for property placed in service after June 30, 2026; neither is baked into the default.

THE CHARGING LEDGER

Gas cost per year$2,292.86

Electric cost per year$864.00

Saved per year$1,676.86

Payback2.98 years

The itemized ledger

Line item	Gas car	Electric car

Every mileage, side by side

The same two cars at five yearly mileages. Mileage is the lever: the per-mile saving never changes, but the years of saving you collect do.

Miles per year	Gas fuel	Electricity	Saved per year	Payback

The years ahead, net of the price gap

Years kept	Running-cost saving	Minus price gap	Net ahead

Step 4 — Before you decide, check these

One: what is your actual electricity rate, including the fixed charges on your bill, and how much of your charging happens at home versus at public fast chargers? Two: does your state still offer a rebate, and does your utility? Three: how many miles do you really drive, from last year's odometer, not from a guess? Four: can you charge at home at all, and if not, where is the nearest fast charger and what does it charge? The arithmetic above answers the running-cost question. These four checks answer the rest.

EV cost questions

How much does an electric car save per mile?: At the calculator defaults, a gas car at $4.28 a gallon and 28 miles per gallon costs 15.29 cents a mile in fuel, and an electric car at 18 cents per kilowatt-hour and 32 kilowatt-hours per 100 miles costs 5.76 cents a mile in electricity. The fuel saving is 9.53 cents a mile, or $1,428.86 over 15,000 miles a year, before the $248 maintenance saving. Your own saving moves with your gas price, your electricity rate, and your miles.
How long until an EV pays for its higher price?: Divide the price premium by the yearly saving. At the defaults, a $5,000 premium divided by $1,676.86 a year in fuel plus maintenance savings pays back in 2.98 years, about 36 months. Add a $1,200 home charger install and the payback stretches to 3.70 years. Drive 8,000 miles a year and it takes 4.95 years; drive 25,000 and it takes 1.90 years. Miles are the lever.
What does this calculator leave out?: Insurance, depreciation, financing, and resale value, which AAA has found can outweigh the fuel and maintenance savings for some models, and the charging mix: the electricity rate you enter should be your blended rate, because public fast charging costs far more than home charging. Cold weather also cuts electric efficiency, which is why the efficiency input is yours to raise in winter. This is a running-cost comparison, not a total cost of ownership verdict.
Is an electric car still worth it without the $7,500 tax credit?: The federal credit ended September 30, 2025, so a buyer today prices the EV at full price, minus any state or utility incentive. At the defaults the answer is still yes on running costs: $1,676.86 a year saved, a $5,000 premium repaid in 2.98 years, and $3,384.29 ahead after five years. At Hawaii electricity rates of 48 cents per kilowatt-hour, the same comparison saves only $236.86 a year and takes 21.11 years. The credit mattered; the zip code matters more now.
Why is the maintenance saving only $248 a year?: Because tires eat most of the oil-change saving. AAA's 2026 Your Driving Costs study, comparing electric, hybrid, and gasoline models in the same four categories, found electric models spent $248 a year less on maintenance, repair, and tires on average: $225 less for a medium sedan, $552 less for a compact SUV, $45 less for a medium SUV, and $170 less for a pickup. No oil changes or spark plugs, but heavier cars wear tires faster. The $248 default is that AAA average, and you can set it to zero to see the fuel-only answer.