EV vs. Gas: How Much Can You Really Save?
Electric vehicles typically cost more upfront but less to fuel. Using real average market prices, here’s when that trade-off actually pays off.
Data refreshed monthly · last updated September 2026
The annual energy cost gap
Typical EV
$634per year to chargeTypical gas sedan
$1,355per year in fuelThat’s $721 a year in energy savings for the EV — against a real average $21,000 higher market price.
The payback period
At real average prices, energy savings alone would take about 29.1 years to offset the higher purchase price.
Where EVs save the most
Annual energy savings of a typical EV over a typical gas sedan, using each state’s gas and electricity prices: