Electric car vs petrol: cost of ownership
Compare the full cost of owning an electric car versus a petrol car over several years: purchase, energy, maintenance, insurance and depreciation. See which is cheaper and when the EV breaks even.
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Fill in both cars. Fields with hints (years, maintenance, resale value) can be left at their defaults.
How many years you plan to keep it
How far you drive per year
Car A
I don't know the consumption
Car B
I don't know the consumption
Resale value at end of ownership
Not sure? Keep the defaults (EV 50%, petrol 40%).
Enter the purchase price and consumption for both cars to compare.
How to use it
Enter both cars
Price, consumption and energy price for the electric and the petrol car. Do not know the consumption? Tap "I don't know" and pick a type.
Set period and resale value
Years of ownership, annual mileage and what each car will be worth when sold (as % or your own amount).
Compare the result
The headline verdict, a cost breakdown, the break-even point in years and kilometres, and what drives the difference most.
Why it's useful
An electric car usually costs more to buy but less to run. A simple "cost per kilometre" misses this: the result is driven more by depreciation and the purchase price gap than by fuel. Only a multi-year total cost of ownership gives an honest answer.
This tool models both cars over time, accounts for resale value, subsidy and price growth, and answers not "how much" but "which is cheaper and when it pays off" — something AI cannot compute without your numbers.
Whether you search for "EV vs gas cost", "electric car cost per mile", "EV running cost" or "total cost of ownership", it is the same question — and this calculator answers it with your own numbers, in metric or imperial units.
FAQ
It's every cost over the ownership period: purchase minus resale (depreciation), energy or fuel, maintenance and insurance. TCO shows the real cost of a car, not just the sticker price.