Database / Guides / EV vs gas: the five-year fuel math
The sticker price is the distraction. Over five years, fuel is where EVs quietly win — here's the math from the EPA's own figures, averaged across every EV in our database.
The EPA estimates fuel costs assuming 15,000 miles a year. Across the 91 EVs in this database, the average annual fuel cost is $784 — versus $2,855 for the average hybrid, which is already the thriftiest kind of gas car. Against a typical new gasoline vehicle, the average EV here saves $8,082 in fuel over five years. That's the EPA's comparison, not ours.
The single cheapest EV to fuel in our database is the 2025 Lucid Air: $500 a year in electricity. That's roughly $42 a month — less than one tank of gas for most drivers.
Two reasons. Electricity is simply cheaper per mile than gasoline — about 3–4 cents a mile for an efficient EV versus 13–16 cents for a gas car at current prices. And EVs waste far less of it: an electric motor turns ~90% of its energy into motion, while a gas engine throws away two-thirds as heat. Efficiency compounds the price advantage.
The EPA's figures use national-average electricity and gas prices — yours will differ. Expensive California electricity or cheap Texas gas narrows the gap; cheap overnight charging rates widen it. Fast public charging costs more per kWh than home charging. And fuel is only one cost: insurance, tires, and depreciation matter too. But on fuel alone, the math isn't close. Plug your own rates into our fuel-cost calculator to see your version.
It varies by model, but the EPA's five-year savings figure — versus a typical new gasoline vehicle — averages several thousand dollars across the EVs in our database. See the guide for the exact average.
They're standardized, which makes them fair for comparison. They assume 15,000 miles a year at national-average energy prices — your electricity and gas rates will shift the numbers. Our fuel-cost calculator lets you plug in your own.
No — the average EV in our database costs less per year to fuel than the average hybrid, which is already the thriftiest gas-powered option. Electricity is simply cheaper per mile.
Figures: U.S. EPA via fueleconomy.gov, model years 2025–2027. Updated October 2026.