Your estimate
| A year | Electric | Your petrol car |
|---|---|---|
| Fuel or charging | ||
| Servicing | ||
| Road tax | ||
| Pay-per-mile charge | £0 | |
| Total | ||
| Cost per mile |
How we work it out
This is an estimate to help you compare. What you actually pay depends on the car, how and where you drive, and your energy tariff. It does not include insurance, tyres, depreciation or the price of the car. We show what each car costs to run for a year, using the figures you enter for your own car.
- Charging: miles ÷ miles per kWh × your electricity price, split between home and public charging as you choose. Standard home rate: Ofgem energy price cap (26.32p per kWh). Overnight EV tariffs are typically around 7.6p, and while you're on the standard tariff we also show what that rate would save. Public rate: Zapmap's average for standard public chargers.
- Fuel: miles ÷ mpg × 4.546 litres per gallon × the pump price. Prices are the UK weekly averages published by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero.
- Efficiency: the typical figures we start from are, for your petrol or diesel car, 48mpg (small), 44mpg (medium) or 40mpg (large); and for the electric car 4.5, 4 or 3.5 miles per kWh. Enter your own car's mpg for a closer answer. Real-world figures vary, especially in cold weather.
- Servicing: electric cars have no oil, spark plugs, clutch or exhaust, and regenerative braking means brakes last longer. We use typical servicing and maintenance costs of £230 a year for an electric car and £330 for petrol or diesel.
- Road tax: we use the figures you enter. Most cars registered from April 2017 pay the standard rate of £200 a year, electric cars included. Cars that cost over £40,000 new pay an extra £440 a year from their second to sixth year; electric cars only if registered from April 2025 and over £50,000 new. Petrol and diesel cars registered before April 2017 are taxed on CO2, from £0 to £790; electric cars from before then pay £20.
- Pay-per-mile: from April 2028 the Government plans a charge of 3p a mile for electric cars (eVED). Tick the box to include it and we add it in full, so you can see what a year would cost once it starts.
Figures last checked 5 November 2026.
If you rely on public rapid charging, an electric vehicle may not always be cheaper to run than a petrol or diesel car. To find out more about charging options and what might work best for you, speak to our team today.
Want the bigger picture? Read Are electric cars cheaper to run as petrol and diesel prices rise?, or talk to our team about a used electric car with an independent AVILOO battery health check.
