Independent · sourced · dated
What an electric car really costs you
As of August 2026: an electric car is often not the cheapest to own over 5 years once depreciation and insurance are counted — in many of our 62 markets a hybrid or gas car wins, and we say so plainly. The verdict flips with the model, your mileage and your local rates.
The true total cost of owning any EV, hybrid or gas car — depreciation, charging, fuel, insurance and financing — 62 localized calculators across 36 countries, with every figure sourced and dated.
And when a gas or hybrid car is the cheaper one to own, we say so. No manufacturer money. No referral fees. No spin.
- 62 markets
- Every figure sourced & dated
- No affiliate links
- We tell you when gas wins
Every car is two numbers: what you pay up front, and what you pay to run it. We show exactly where — and whether — they cross, for your car, your miles and your market.
Start your calculation
Pick your market — you'll land on its calculator with local models, rates and taxes loaded.
Choose your market
EV economics swing by country — the models on sale, prices, electricity and fuel rates, taxes and incentives. Pick yours for numbers true where you live.
More markets are added as we confirm a licensed, dated data source for each — every estimate is labeled as an estimate and calibrated to a dated public source.
Original data: our EV vs Gas 5-Year Cost Index 2026 — where an electric car is (and isn't) the cheapest to own across our markets — and the flip side, where EVs actually win.
The global verdict right now
As of August 6, 2026: in 7 of the 35 markets in our cost index (Singapore’s bespoke COE system is computed separately), the cheapest car to own over 5 years is electric — Ireland (Hyundai Inster Elegance 49 kWh), Norway (MG4), Denmark (Renault 5 E-Tech 52kWh Techno) and others. In the other 28, a petrol, hybrid or plug-in hybrid model still wins the total — usually because purchase price and depreciation outweigh the fuel savings.
The full country-by-country table lives in the 5-Year Cost Index; the winners' side of the story is at where EVs actually win. Both are recomputed from source data every build — never hand-edited. Right now that is 1,440 localized model prices across 36 countries, all from one open cost engine.
Cheapest to own over 5 years — a 10-market snapshot
The single cheapest-to-own model in each market, at that market’s own dated rates and in its own currency — the “Data as of” column shows each market’s snapshot date:
| Market | Cheapest to own | Powertrain | 5-year total | Data as of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 🇺🇸 United States | Toyota Prius LE (hybrid) | hybrid | $35,276 | 2026-08-06 |
| 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | Dacia Sandero Expression TCe 100 | gas | £24,770 | 2026-07-02 |
| 🇩🇪 Germany | Dacia Sandero TCe 100 | gas | 23.105 € | 2026-07-02 |
| 🇫🇷 France | Dacia Sandero (essence) | gas | 20 265 € | 2026-07-02 |
| 🇳🇱 Netherlands | Kia Picanto 1.0 | gas | € 27.654 | 2026-07-02 |
| 🇯🇵 Japan | Daihatsu Move X (2WD) | gas | ￥2,424,601 | 2026-07-02 |
| 🇨🇦 Canada | Toyota Corolla (LE gas) | gas | $43,561 | 2026-07-02 |
| 🇦🇺 Australia | Toyota Corolla Hybrid | hybrid | $42,750 | 2026-07-09 |
| 🇰🇷 South Korea | Kia Ray 1.0 Gasoline | gas | ₩26,204,264 | 2026-07-02 |
| 🇹🇼 Taiwan | CMC J Space 廂型車 5人標準型 (5MT) | gas | NT$776,948 | 2026-07-02 |
A hybrid or gas car tops most of these lists — that is the honest state of 5-year costs in 2026, and each market page shows exactly which inputs would flip it.
How these numbers are made
Every figure on this site comes from one open cost engine — the same code computes the build-time pages and the live calculators, so a number can never disagree with itself. Each market feeds it locally sourced, dated inputs: electricity and fuel rates, insurance context, road taxes, incentives and residual-value curves. Where a figure can't be sourced, we leave it out rather than estimate it.
The site is written and maintained by Ivan H., takes no manufacturer money, and keeps a public corrections log — errors get dated entries, not silent edits. Sources and assumptions are documented in the methodology, and every data refresh is logged in the changelog.
Frequently asked questions
Do electric cars cost less to own than gas cars?
What does the total cost of ownership include?
Which markets does EVCostIQ cover?
How current are the numbers?
All markets by continent
Europe
🇬🇧 United Kingdom 🇮🇪 Ireland 🇫🇷 France 🇩🇪 Germany 🇦🇹 Austria 🇨🇭 Switzerland 🇳🇱 Netherlands 🇧🇪 Belgium 🇱🇺 Luxembourg 🇪🇸 Spain 🇵🇹 Portugal 🇮🇹 Italy 🇳🇴 Norway 🇸🇪 Sweden 🇩🇰 Denmark 🇫🇮 Finland 🇵🇱 Poland
North America
🇺🇸 United States 🇨🇦 Canada 🇲🇽 Mexico
South America
Asia
🇯🇵 Japan 🇰🇷 South Korea 🇹🇼 Taiwan 🇹🇭 Thailand 🇻🇳 Vietnam 🇮🇩 Indonesia 🇲🇾 Malaysia 🇸🇬 Singapore 🇭🇰 Hong Kong 🇵🇭 Philippines
Middle East
🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates 🇮🇱 Israel
Oceania
We take no manufacturer commissions, no utility-territory deals, and no referral fees that change the math. Independent estimates for planning, not financial advice. We tell you when gas wins.