An electric car usually costs more to buy and less to run. Whether it saves money overall depends on three things that vary by driver: how much you pay for electricity, how much you drive, and how fast the car loses value. Here is how the numbers work in 2026, now that the federal purchase credit is gone.
Purchase price: the gap is still real
In June 2026, the average transaction price for a new EV was $56,238, against $49,758 for all new vehicles, according to Kelley Blue Book. The federal clean-vehicle credits — up to $7,500 for a new EV and $4,000 for a used one — ended for vehicles acquired after September 30, 2025, so that gap is no longer offset at tax time. Some states and utilities still offer rebates, and those are worth checking before you shop.
Energy cost: where EVs win
The US average residential electricity price was about 18.3 cents per kilowatt-hour in September 2026, based on EIA data. A typical efficient EV covers around 3.5 miles per kWh. The math for 12,000 miles a year:
| Scenario | Cost per mile | Annual cost (12,000 mi) |
|---|---|---|
| EV charged at home (18.3¢/kWh, 3.5 mi/kWh) | about 5.2¢ | about $630 |
| New gas car (AAA 2025 average fuel cost) | 13.0¢ | about $1,560 |
That is a saving of roughly $900 a year for a driver who charges at home. The saving shrinks quickly if you rely on public DC fast charging, which is typically priced well above residential electricity, and it grows in states with cheap power or time-of-use rates that discount overnight charging. Knowing which charging level you will actually use is the most important input to this calculation.
Maintenance, insurance, and depreciation
Maintenance is lower: no oil changes, no spark plugs, no exhaust system, and regenerative braking that spares the brake pads. Tires are the exception — EVs are heavy and torquey, and tires generally wear faster than on a comparable gas car.
Insurance and financing scale with purchase price, so they tend to run higher. Depreciation is the largest cost of owning almost any new car, and EVs have been losing value faster than gas cars. Put together, AAA’s 2025 Your Driving Costs study found that new EVs cost more to own than comparable gas or hybrid models in three of the four vehicle types it analyzed, despite their lower energy and maintenance costs.
Who actually saves money
An EV tends to pay off for drivers who charge at home, cover above-average mileage, and keep the car long enough for fuel savings to outweigh early depreciation — or who buy used, letting the first owner absorb the steepest drop. It is harder to justify for low-mileage drivers who depend on public fast charging. At the top of the market the premium is steep: the Cadillac Escalade IQ costs about $40,000 more than the gas Escalade, far beyond what fuel savings return. A conventional hybrid such as the Crosstrek Hybrid is the middle path, cutting fuel use without the EV price gap.
Sources: Kelley Blue Book average transaction price data (June 2026); US Energy Information Administration residential electricity prices; AAA Your Driving Costs 2025; IRS guidance on the end of clean-vehicle credits, September 2026. Photos: 4300streetcar and Mutney / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0.
