ICE vs EV Total Cost of Ownership Calculator
Compare the 5-year total cost of owning an electric vehicle vs a petrol or diesel car, covering purchase price, fuel or electricity, and servicing costs.
How ICE vs EV Cost Comparison Is Calculated
A true apples-to-apples comparison between an internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicle and an electric vehicle (EV) must account for fuel, maintenance, depreciation, insurance, and purchase price.
Annual Fuel Cost Formulas:
ICE vehicle:
Annual Fuel Cost = (Annual km / Fuel Economy L/100km) × 100 × Fuel Price $/L
EV:
Annual Electricity Cost = (Annual km / 100) × kWh/100km × Electricity Rate $/kWh
Worked example at 15,000 km/year:
ICE: 7.5 L/100km, fuel at $1.65/L
- Annual fuel = (15,000 / 100) × 7.5 × $1.65 = $1,856/year
EV: 16 kWh/100km, electricity at $0.15/kWh
- Annual electricity = (15,000 / 100) × 16 × $0.15 = $360/year
Maintenance Cost Difference (annual average):
- ICE: oil changes, filters, spark plugs, exhaust, transmission: ~$700–1,200/year
- EV: tires, brake pads (lasting longer due to regen braking), cabin filters: ~$200–400/year
5-Year Total Ownership Comparison: Assuming $5,000 higher purchase price for EV:
- Fuel savings: $1,496 × 5 = $7,480
- Maintenance savings: ~$600 × 5 = $3,000
- Net EV savings over 5 years: $10,480 − $5,000 = $5,480 ahead
Break-even typically occurs at 3–5 years depending on fuel prices and driving volume.
Drivers who cover more kilometers annually break even faster. Someone driving 25,000 km/year may recover the price premium in under 3 years, while a driver covering only 8,000 km/year may take 7 to 9. Model your actual driving before assuming any of it.
About the CO₂ figure. The result panel estimates emissions from petrol at 2.3 kg of CO₂ per litre burned, which is fixed chemistry, and from the EV at 80 g CO₂ per km, which is not. That 80 is a rough world-average grid figure and it is the single softest number on this page. A car charged in Norway or France is closer to 10 to 20 g/km; the same car in Poland or India is 150 to 200. If you know your grid’s carbon intensity in g per kWh, multiply it by your kWh/100km and divide by 100 to get your own g/km, and read the EV row accordingly.
How we build and check this calculator
This calculator runs entirely in your browser, so the numbers you enter stay on your device. The math behind it is written by hand and tested against worked examples and standard references before the page goes live.
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