Electric vs gas car cost calculator
Pick an electric car and a gas, diesel or hybrid car, and see what each costs in fuel or electricity every year where you live. Add what each car costs to buy and you also get the total over 3, 5, 8 or 10 years and how long the electric car takes to pay back a higher price. The numbers shown are an example, so change them to yours.
The two cars
Both start on an example car. Pick the two you are weighing, from the official Canadian fuel ratings.
Loading the official ratings...
Loading the official ratings...
How and where you drive
Optional. We only use the first letter, to pick your province.
An example. Use your own.
Starts at the August 2026 average for Ottawa-Gatineau (Ontario part), Toronto, Thunder Bay (Statistics Canada).
This is an example, not your rate. On your power bill, divide the total by the kWh used, or find your price per kWh.
Add what each car costs to buy
Leave both blank to compare only running costs.
Pick both cars and check the prices to see the comparison.
Cold weather cuts an electric car's range, and charging away from home usually costs more than charging at home. This uses the official lab ratings and one electricity price, and leaves out rebates, insurance, maintenance and resale value.
Keep going with Uobo
Uobo is your personal car agent. Text it what you need and it does the research and the checks, asks dealerships about availability, condition and price for you, and helps you decide. This is the text you would send:
On a computer? Text (289) 819-4586 from your phone and paste what you copied. Standard message rates apply. Reply STOP any time to stop.
How it works
For each car we start from its official rating from Natural Resources Canada: litres per 100 kilometres for the gas car, and kilowatt-hours per 100 kilometres for the electric one.
The gas car's yearly cost is its litres times the pump price, which starts at the latest Statistics Canada monthly average for your province. The electric car's yearly cost is its kilowatt-hours times your electricity price. Home electricity prices are not published in one fresh official table, so you enter yours. The box starts on an example rate, not a real one.
If you add what each car costs to buy, the tool adds the running costs year by year so you can see the totals side by side. The payback time is the extra price of the electric car divided by what it saves each year.
Example: a 2023 Toyota RAV4 against a 2024 Hyundai IONIQ 5
Driven 15,000 km a year in Ontario, the RAV4 (7.9 L/100 km) costs $2,003.84 a year in fuel at 169.1 cents a litre. The IONIQ 5 Long Range (18.6 kWh/100 km) uses 2,790 kWh, which costs $334.80 a year at an example rate of 12 cents per kWh. That saves $1,669.04 a year in energy. If the electric car cost $12,000 more to buy, it would take about 7.2 years of that saving to pay the difference back.
What this does not cover
- Cold weather cuts an electric car's range and raises its use, and the ratings are lab values. Charging away from home, especially at fast chargers, usually costs more per kilowatt-hour than charging at home.
- It uses one electricity price. Time-of-use and tiered plans, which charge different rates by hour or by how much you use, are not modelled.
- It leaves out rebates and incentives, insurance, maintenance, resale value and the cost of installing a home charger. Programs differ by province and change often, so check your province's official pages before you buy.
- Plug-in hybrids are not included, because their cost depends on how often they are charged.
- Ratings belong to a specific version of a model. Pick the version that matches the car you are looking at.
Common questions
Is an electric car cheaper to run than a gas car in Canada?
The energy often costs less per kilometre, but it depends on your province's electricity price against its gas price, and on how you charge. Enter your own numbers above. With the example rates on this page, the electric car saves about $1,669 a year.
How long does it take for an electric car to pay for itself?
Divide how much more it costs to buy by what it saves each year in energy. Add both purchase prices under More options and the calculator does it. In the example, a $12,000 higher price pays back in about 7.2 years.
What does it cost to charge an electric car at home?
Multiply the car's kilowatt-hours per 100 km by your kilometres, divide by 100, then multiply by your price per kWh. The calculator does this for the car you pick.
What electricity price should I use?
Use the price per kilowatt-hour on your power bill. If the bill shows only a total, divide the total by the kWh used that month. The starting figure of 12 cents is an example and not your rate.
Do electric cars cost less to maintain?
Maintenance is not part of this calculator, because we have no honest figure to put in. Ask owners of the model, and check the maker's service schedule for both cars.
Are there rebates for electric cars in Canada?
Programs change often and differ by province, so they are not included here. Check your province's official pages and the dealership before you decide. A rebate changes the purchase price you can enter under More options.
Where the numbers come from
Last checked against these official pages on 2026-10-07. Rates and rules change, so check the source before you rely on a figure.