Published 4 July 2026 · EV Costs Comparison
Strip away the hype in both directions and the maths is simple: for a typical Australian driver in 2026, an electric car costs about $520 a year in electricity where the equivalent petrol car costs about $1,850 in fuel — a saving of roughly $1,300 a year before you count cheaper servicing. Here's how those numbers are built, and what makes them move.
Australians drive about 13,000 km a year on average. A mid-size EV uses about 16 kWh per 100 km in mixed driving; a comparable petrol car burns about 7.5 L per 100 km. With 2026 prices — home electricity around 25c/kWh on a mixed tariff and petrol around $1.90 a litre — the yearly energy bills come out at $520 electric versus $1,853 petrol. Per 100 km, that's $4 versus $14.25: the EV is roughly 70% cheaper to "fuel".
Your electricity tariff is the biggest lever you control. Charge overnight on an off-peak rate (~15c/kWh) and the EV's yearly cost drops to about $312. Charge from rooftop solar — where your true cost is only the ~5c feed-in tariff you forgo — and it falls near $104 a year, barely 2c per kilometre. Distance matters too: a 25,000 km-a-year driver saves roughly double the average.
Honesty cuts both ways. If you rely mostly on public fast charging at 45–65c/kWh, the EV's advantage narrows a lot — a full public-charging lifestyle can cost half as much as petrol rather than a quarter. Petrol prices are volatile, so cheap fuel narrows the gap and 2022-style spikes widen it. And none of this includes the purchase price: EVs still typically cost more to buy, which is a real cost the yearly savings must repay — our break-even calculator works out exactly how long that takes for the two cars you're comparing.
Two effects usually favour the EV further. Servicing is simpler — no oil changes, spark plugs or timing belts — typically saving $100–300 a year. And the emissions gap is real even on today's grid: about a tonne of CO₂ avoided per year for an average driver, growing every year as the grid gets cleaner and near-zero if you charge on solar.
Averages are a starting point, not your answer. The free EV vs fuel calculator lets you set your own distance, cars and prices and shows the full comparison instantly — and the solar charging calculator shows what rooftop panels change. Every formula is shown on the page, and nothing needs a sign-up.
Figures use this site's 2026 Australian defaults (see how accurate are these calculators?). Estimates only, not financial advice.
