EV vs Petrol or Diesel Cost Calculator
Compare annual driving costs using your own distance, energy consumption, fuel economy and local prices.
Currency selection changes the unit label, not an exchange rate. Enter every price in the selected currency.
How to choose the inputs
For a bill-to-bill comparison, EV consumption must include energy bought at the charger or meter. There is no separate efficiency input here. For example, 18 kWh/100 km at the battery and 90% charging efficiency become 20 kWh/100 km from the grid (18 / 0.90). Vehicle presets do not establish this measurement boundary.
Formula and measurement boundary
Three worked scenarios
These are fixed hypothetical examples, not live tariffs or verified product data. They use EUR and kilometres where applicable and do not change with the form settings. Only the table input changes.
Unchanged inputs
- Annual distance: 20,000 km
- EV energy consumption: 20 kWh/100 km
- Fuel consumption: 6 L/100 km
- Fuel price: 1.7 EUR/L
| Electricity price | Estimated result |
|---|---|
| 0.15 EUR/kWh | €1,440.00 EV saving/year |
| 0.25 EUR/kWh | €1,040.00 EV saving/year |
| 0.6 EUR/kWh | €360.00 fuel saving/year |
Fuel costs remain €2,040/year in these examples. EV costs are €600, €1,000 and €2,400. At the highest electricity price the cheaper option reverses; the result label identifies which vehicle saves money.
What this result does not establish
- This is energy cost, not total ownership cost: purchase, depreciation, repairs and insurance are excluded.
- Use an energy-weighted charging price if home and public charging are mixed.
- Do not treat an unverified vehicle preset as measured annual consumption.
Find the electricity price at which the running-cost advantage disappears
The following are additional hypothetical decision examples. Separately discussed fees, reserve allowances or running costs are not automatically added to the form result.
Consider an illustrative petrol car using 6.5 L/100 km at €1.70/L: fuel costs €11.05/100 km. An EV using 20 kWh/100 km at the battery and charging at 90% efficiency buys 22.22 kWh/100 km. Its break-even electricity tariff is 11.05 ÷ 22.22 = €0.497/kWh. Below that tariff its energy cost is lower; above it the comparison reverses. This threshold is specific to these inputs, not a claim about every EV.
A driver buying 80% of electricity at €0.20/kWh and 20% at €0.60/kWh has an energy-weighted tariff of €0.28/kWh. Weight by purchased kWh, not by the number of sessions. At the stated consumption the EV costs €6.22/100 km; over 15,000 km the energy difference is about €724. A public-charging-heavy driver should calculate a different mix.
Keep purchase price, finance, insurance, maintenance and depreciation in a separate ownership budget. A saving in this calculator is an energy saving, not a total-cost or payback result. Compare winter and summer consumption and check whether annual distance is realistic before using the figure in a buying decision.
Sources and their scope
- EIA: measuring electricity — Power and energy units only; not equipment performance.
These reference pages were accessed on 21 September 2026. The equations and examples are the site’s own model; these sources do not certify its defaults or results.
Frequently asked questions
How do I combine tariffs?
Divide total charging expenditure by total purchased kWh over the same period.
Can fuel be cheaper?
Yes. The calculation compares the entered costs; it does not assume an EV always wins.
Read the model and verification limits