EV vs hybrid vs gas: what each really costs to fuel
The sticker price is only half of the story. Over several years, what you pay for fuel or electricity can close a gap of thousands of dollars, or fail to. This guide shows the simple arithmetic behind a fair comparison so you can check any car yourself.
The three numbers you need
- How far the car goes on one unit of energy. For gas and hybrid cars that is miles per gallon (MPG) in the U.S., or litres per 100 km in Canada. For electric cars it is kilowatt-hours per 100 miles (or per 100 km). Both come from official tests: the U.S. EPA publishes them at fueleconomy.gov and Natural Resources Canada publishes the Canadian ratings in its Fuel Consumption Ratings dataset.
- What a unit of energy costs where you live. That is dollars per gallon (or per litre) of gas, and cents per kWh of electricity.
- How much you drive. A yearly distance. Fuel cost scales directly with it.
The formulas
- Gas or hybrid: yearly distance ÷ MPG × price per gallon.
- Electric: yearly distance ÷ 100 × kWh per 100 miles × price per kWh.
- Plug-in hybrid: a mix of the two, depending on how much of your driving happens on the battery. See our guide to plug-in hybrids.
A worked example
Take 12,000 miles a year, the U.S. average residential electricity price of 18.31 cents per kWh (EIA, July 2026) and a gasoline price of $4.33 per gallon (EIA, week of October 12, 2026). Using EPA ratings for three 2026 models in our tool:
| Car | Rating | Fuel per year |
|---|---|---|
| Tesla Model 3 Standard RWD (electric) | 24.3 kWh per 100 mi | $534 |
| Toyota RAV4 Hybrid FWD | 43 MPG combined | $1,209 |
| Chevrolet Equinox FWD (gas) | 27 MPG combined | $1,925 |
These are different body styles and prices, so this is an illustration of the method and not a verdict on the cars. The point is how the inputs move the answer.
Where your electricity price changes the answer
Residential electricity prices differ a lot by state. In our July 2026 EIA data Washington averages 14.71 cents per kWh and California 33.61. For the same Model 3 at 12,000 miles, that is about $429 a year of electricity in Washington and about $980 in California. The electric car is still cheaper to fuel than the gas car in both cases in this example, but the gap is very different. Your own rate is the number to check first.
Things that quietly change the result
- Public fast charging usually costs more per kWh than home charging. If you cannot charge at home, use a higher electricity price in the calculation.
- Real-world efficiency. Cold weather, high speeds and short trips use more energy than the test cycle. Treat ratings as a fair way to compare cars, not a guarantee.
- Time-of-use plans. Many utilities charge less for overnight electricity. If you charge off-peak, your real cost can be lower than the average rate.
- What the calculation leaves out: insurance, maintenance, depreciation, financing, taxes and incentives. These can matter as much as fuel, so use fuel cost as one input.
Payback: when does a pricier car catch up?
If car A costs more to buy but less to fuel, divide the extra purchase price by the yearly fuel savings. The result is the number of years until the savings cover the gap. Our tool does this for any two or three cars you pick. If the answer is longer than you plan to keep the car, the cheaper car wins on fuel and price alone.