EV vs gas — 5-year cost calculator

How the comparison works

An EV almost always costs more upfront and less to operate. The 5-year crossover depends on six variables this calculator captures: purchase price gap, miles driven, your local electricity rate vs gas price, your state's EV surcharge, available tax credits, and reduced maintenance.

The Department of Energy's AFDC vehicle cost calculator runs on the same math. We made the inputs easier to fill in and added the registration surcharge, which the federal tool leaves out.

Five-year fuel cost — the biggest swing variable

At 12,000 miles/year, a 30 MPG gas car burns 400 gallons. At $3.50/gal, that's $1,400/year, or $7,000 over 5 years. Drive the same miles in a 3.5 mi/kWh EV at $0.16/kWh and you spend $549/year, or $2,743 over 5 years. The fuel savings alone come to $4,257 over 5 years. But that number swings hard with where you plug in: Hawaii electricity runs $0.40+/kWh, while Washington sits closer to $0.10.

EV registration surcharges eat 20-30% of fuel savings

42 states + DC now charge EVs an extra registration fee to recover some of the gas tax revenue they never collect at the pump. The range runs $36 (DC) up to $290 (New Jersey). At $200/year over 5 years, that's $1,000 clawed back from what you saved on fuel — about 23% of a $4,257 cushion, and New Jersey's $290 fee claws back closer to a third. Pull your exact rate from our EV surcharge tracker, or read our EV fees by state article for the fuller picture.

Tax credits — but they're conditional

The federal Clean Vehicle Credit (up to $7,500) only lands if the car clears North American assembly rules, battery sourcing rules, and a buyer income cap. Plenty of popular EVs qualify for half the credit, or none of it. State credits stack on top — Colorado runs $5,000, New Jersey $4,000 — though most carry their own income limits too. Pull up the IRS qualified vehicle list before you pencil in the full $7,500.

Maintenance — a real but smaller win

EVs skip oil changes, transmission fluid, spark plugs, timing belts, and exhaust work. The savings are real, just not dramatic: figure $300 to $600 a year, not $2,000. Regenerative braking makes brake pads last roughly twice as long, while the extra torque and weight chew through tires about 20% faster. AAA's 2023 EV ownership study put the net maintenance saving at $330/year. We default the calculator to $400, a small bump for the reliability gains on newer models.

Frequently asked questions