EV Total Cost of Ownership Calculator
Compare the full cost of owning an EV versus a petrol or gas car using purchase price, grants, annual running costs, maintenance, resale values, and your expected ownership period.
How to use this calculator
Enter the purchase price of the EV and the petrol or gas vehicle you want to compare, then add any EV grant or incentive that reduces the upfront price. Next, enter your expected annual charging and fuel costs, annual maintenance costs, and the ownership period you want to model. If you have resale assumptions, add those too.
The calculator then estimates total ownership cost for both vehicles, the total difference between them, the monthly equivalent of that difference, and a break-even estimate where the numbers support one. It is most useful when you test more than one case rather than assuming a single “average” answer is reliable.
Who this calculator is for
Buyers comparing overall ownership cost
If you already know that running costs are only part of the picture, this calculator helps you compare the bigger ownership question rather than just fuel or charging bills.
Drivers weighing an EV price premium
This tool is useful when an EV costs more upfront and you want to see whether lower running and maintenance costs could offset that difference over time.
Households planning for longer-term costs
If you expect to keep a vehicle for several years, ownership period and resale value matter. This calculator helps make those longer-horizon trade-offs clearer.
What can distort the result
The result depends on the realism of the assumptions you enter. If the EV annual charging cost or the petrol annual fuel cost is too optimistic, the comparison becomes misleading. The same applies if maintenance assumptions are unrealistic or if resale values are based more on hope than on market conditions.
Financing, insurance, tax treatment, battery condition, and local market conditions can also affect real ownership cost but are not modeled in full here. That means the calculator is best used as a structured estimate rather than as a replacement for deeper due diligence.
Example scenario
Imagine an EV with a purchase price of 45,000 and a comparable petrol car at 32,000. Suppose the EV receives a 5,000 incentive, costs 900 per year to charge, and 400 per year to maintain, while the petrol vehicle costs 2,200 per year in fuel and 800 per year in maintenance. Over five years, those annual differences can narrow the gap substantially.
But the answer changes if the purchase premium is larger, the EV incentive is smaller, resale assumptions weaken, or annual charging costs rise because of heavy public charging. That is why it is better to test a conservative case and an optimistic case, not just one number set.
About these estimates
This calculator is designed to compare ownership scenarios using your own assumptions. Real costs vary by vehicle, market, financing, insurance, battery condition, resale demand, local incentives, maintenance patterns, and driving style. If you want a fuller explanation of how to compare the bigger ownership picture properly, read How to compare EV vs gas/petrol total cost of ownership properly.
Need the running-cost inputs first?
If you have not yet estimated annual charging and fuel costs, start with the EV vs Gas Cost Calculator and then return here for the full ownership view.
Try EV vs Gas/Petrol Calculator