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EV vs Petrol Running Cost Calculator

Compare the annual running cost of an electric car against a petrol car.

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Enter Annual distance (km), Petrol use (L/100km), Petrol price per litre, EV use (kWh/100km), Electricity price per kWh and the EV vs Petrol Running Cost Calculator works out Petrol annual cost, EV annual cost, Annual savings with EV straight away. For instance, with Annual distance (km) = 15,000, Petrol use (L/100km) = 7, Petrol price per litre = 1.8, EV use (kWh/100km) = 18 and Electricity price per kWh = 0.25 it returns Petrol annual cost = $1,890.00, EV annual cost = $675.00 and Annual savings with EV = $1,215.00.

How to use it

  1. Enter your values: Annual distance (km), Petrol use (L/100km), Petrol price per litre, EV use (kWh/100km), Electricity price per kWh.
  2. Read the result instantly: Petrol annual cost, EV annual cost, Annual savings with EV.

Frequently asked questions

How does the EV vs Petrol Running Cost Calculator work?

It takes Annual distance (km), Petrol use (L/100km), Petrol price per litre, EV use (kWh/100km) and Electricity price per kWh and derives Petrol annual cost, EV annual cost and Annual savings with EV from them. The calculation is live as you type, so the result updates on every change.

Which values does the calculator ask for?

5 values: Annual distance (km), Petrol use (L/100km), Petrol price per litre, EV use (kWh/100km) and Electricity price per kWh. Nothing else is required — no account, no file upload.

What does a typical calculation look like?

With Annual distance (km) = 15,000, Petrol use (L/100km) = 7, Petrol price per litre = 1.8, EV use (kWh/100km) = 18 and Electricity price per kWh = 0.25, the calculator returns Petrol annual cost = $1,890.00, EV annual cost = $675.00 and Annual savings with EV = $1,215.00. Those figures come from running this exact tool, so you can reproduce them by entering the same values.

How much does the result change with different inputs?

It moves a lot. Using Annual distance (km) = 16,500, Petrol use (L/100km) = 14, Petrol price per litre = 3.6, EV use (kWh/100km) = 36 and Electricity price per kWh = 0.5 instead, Petrol annual cost goes from $1,890.00 to $8,316.00 — which is why it is worth testing a few scenarios rather than trusting a single figure.

What does it give for smaller values?

Scaled down to Annual distance (km) = 13,500, Petrol use (L/100km) = 3.5, Petrol price per litre = 0.9, EV use (kWh/100km) = 9 and Electricity price per kWh = 0.13, Petrol annual cost comes out at $425.25. The relationship is worth checking at both ends before you rely on a single result.

When would I actually use this?

Deciding between two cars, or between keeping one and replacing it: fuel or charging, insurance, depreciation and what a kilometre really costs.

What is the most common mistake?

Comparing on fuel alone. Depreciation is usually the largest line in the first years and dwarfs the difference in consumption between two comparable cars.

What is the difference between the EV vs Petrol Running Cost Calculator and the EV charging cost calculator?

This one returns Petrol annual cost and EV annual cost; the EV charging cost calculator returns Charging cost. That is the whole difference — open the one whose figure you need.

Is there a tool for the next step?

Fuel cost calculator is the closest one after this: Estimate the fuel needed and its cost for a trip from distance and consumption.

What else is worth having open alongside it?

Trip cost calculator and Cost per mile calculator — they come up in the same task often enough to be worth a second tab.

Further reading

All guides →
ComparisonEV vs Gas: Comparing the Real Annual Running CostHow much does it actually cost to fuel an EV versus a gas car each year? We compare cost per mile from electricity and gasoline, plus the factors that swing the answer.ComparisonElectric or Petrol: From How Many Miles a Year Does It Pay Off?The break-even is a division, and the number underneath it moves more with where you charge than with which country you live in. Electricity and fuel prices from 2025 and 2026, the arithmetic in full, and the point at which an electric car stops saving anything at all.ExplainerWhat a Car's CO2 Figure Actually MeasuresA car's CO2 number and its fuel consumption number are the same measurement in different units, tied together by chemistry that you can do on paper. Here is the derivation, and then the three things the figure quietly leaves out.How-toThe Real Cost Per Mile of Driving: Beyond Just FuelFuel is only part of what a mile costs. Add depreciation, insurance and maintenance to find your true cost per mile — and why it is higher than the pump suggests.GuideThe Real Cost of a Trip Is Not the FuelComparing a drive with a train ticket on fuel alone understates the car by a factor of five. Here is how to build the marginal cost of a trip, how to separate it from the fixed cost of ownership, and why both numbers are correct answers to different questions.How-toFuel Cost for a Road TripDivide distance by fuel economy, then multiply by the price. Here's the calculation, metric vs mpg, what pushes it up, and how to split the cost.