Would an EV save you money?
Pick your car, or leave it and we'll use a typical 26-mpg sedan.
Any fully electric model since 2011 (hybrids and plug-in hybrids now live on the Hybrid page). The EPA supplies the figures.
A Level 2 install averages about $1,700 nationally. Some utilities rent you one for $27–36 a month instead (that's $324–432 a year, forever).
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Insurify's 2026 report (235M+ quotes) found EVs cost 18% more to insure than gas cars for 2024-or-newer models, but 42% more across all model years. Older EVs miss the driver-assist tech now standard on newer cars of either kind. Gap varies a lot by state, so a real quote for the exact model settles it.
Defaults follow AAA's September 2025 Your Driving Costs report. EVs skip oil changes but wear tires faster (instant torque, heavier pack), so the gap is smaller than people expect. Your service records beat ours.
| Per year | Gas car | EV | Difference |
|---|
One-time lines sit outside the yearly number on purpose: they're paid once, so they appear as payback. Not modeled: purchase price, depreciation, financing, resale. Running cost, not total cost of ownership.
From the U.S. Department of Energy's Alternative Fuels Data Center.