Not that the $7,500 discount on electric vehicles is officially gone, he question remains: is it cheaper to skip out on an electric vehicle in favor of a gas car? We made it our mission to find out.
The total cost of ownership (TCO) is the only math that matters when buying a vehicle. That TCO includes everything from maintenance and depreciation to fuel costs-and it’s where EVs still pull ahead.
The sticker price is what most people think about when they compare the prices of different cars. From that perspective, the disappearance of the $7,500 federal EV tax credit puts EVs at a significant disadvantage on upfront costs when compared to gasoline or passive-hybrid cars.
|
Winner 🏆 |
Internal combustion engine vehicles |
Traditional gasoline cars usually have the lowest sticker price compared to their electrified counterparts. These types of vehicles have long-established supply chains and economies of scale that make them cheaper to manufacture, according to Antuan Goodwin, CNET’s EV senior writer. |
|
Runner-up 🥈 |
Hybrid vehicles |
Hybrid-electric vehicles often have a slight premium over pure gas cars due to the dual gas and electric powertrain, but are usually still more affordable than most pure EVs. |
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Loser 💸 |
Electric vehicles |
Electric cars are typically at the top end for sticker price. “The battery is going to be the biggest reason that EVs are more expensive,” Goodwin says. EVs also don’t benefit as much from economies of scale. Plus, consumers are still subsidizing the research and development that legacy automakers are doing to design electric cars, according to Amelia Dalgaard, an automotive expert known online as Motorhead Mama. |
Comparing fuel and charging costs
This is where you start to see some of the biggest savings between EVs and gasoline-powered vehicles. Here’s how the costs shake out:
|
Winner 🏆 |
Electric vehicles |
The cost of charging an EV depends a lot on your local electricity rates, and on where you charge your vehicle. Charging at home with a Level 2 charger is usually the cheapest way to fuel your EV, while public Level 3 fast-chargers are usually the most expensive. Generally speaking, charging an EV at home is cheaper than fueling a comparable car with gasoline, according to Goodwin and Dalgaard. For that average 11,000 miles per year, at the national average electricity rate, you’d spend $550 on charging. |
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Runner-up 🥈 |
Hybrid vehicles |
The fuel costs for passive hybrids are usually lower than regular gas cars because they get better overall gas mileage. Some models, like the Toyota Prius, get an average 54 miles per gallon. So while their upfront cost might be higher than a pure gasoline car, hybrids have a much lower cost per mile, and therefore lower refueling costs. |
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Loser 💸 |
Internal combustion engine vehicles |
Gasoline is usually the more expensive way to fuel a car when compared to an electric battery. “Electricity has historically been less expensive than gasoline by a significant chunk,” Goodwin says. The average gasoline car gets 26 miles per gallon, which accounts to a $1,320 annual fuel cost for the average 11,000 miles driven per year. |
Maintenance and repair costs: Less is more
EVs are also a big winner for lower maintenance costs, which adds a nice bit of savings to their total cost of ownership. Here’s how they compare to gasoline cars:
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Winner 🏆 |
Internal combustion engine vehicles |
Because gasoline cars have been around for so long, their resale value follows a predictable and well-established depreciation curve. Currently, that usually means gas cars depreciate more slowly than electric cars. |
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Runner-up 🥈 |
Hybrid vehicles |
These cars have traditionally held their value well due to strong demand and fuel efficiency. |
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Loser 💸 |
Electric vehicles |
Historically, EVs have experienced higher and faster depreciation than gas vehicles. That’s partly because the EV technology improves so quickly (leading to better battery range and faster charging) that older models become undesirable more rapidly (very much like the old iPhone models, Dalgaard says). That said, as the EV market matures, this effect might begin to lessen, Goodwin observes, leading to better resale value for EVs. |
The verdict on total cost of ownership
I did the math with a real example, comparing an electric and gasoline-powered version of the same car: the new 2026 release of the Chevrolet Equinox.
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Auto type |
Electric vehicles |
Gas-powered vehicles |
|---|---|---|
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Brand/model/year |
2026 Chevrolet Equinox EV |
2026 Chevrolet Equinox |
|
MSRP (sticker price) at purchase |
$36,495 |
$30,495 |
|
Fuel/charging cost |
$0.05 per mile |
$0.12 per mile |
|
Cost of gasoline or electricity |
$0.175 per kWh |
$3.20 per gallon (US average) |
|
Maintenance costs |
6 cents per mile |
10 cents per mile |
|
Cost over 5 years |
$42,792 |
$43,088 |
|
Cost over 10 years |
$49,744 |
$56,994 |
|
Cost over 15 years |
$57,420 |
$72,345 |
Winner: Electric vehicles 🏆
Loser: Internal combustion engine vehicles 💸
Even without the federal government’s $7,500 tax credit, EVs can still have a lower total cost of ownership than internal-combustion engine cars.
“In general, you’re going to be better off with an EV,” Dalgaard says. That’s because even though EVs have a higher upfront cost, gasoline cars can have more than double the fuel costs, and significantly higher maintenance costs.
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