Is an electric car cheaper than petrol or diesel as fuel prices rise?

If you can charge at home, an electric car can cost considerably less to drive than a petrol or diesel car. If you rely on public chargers, the answer depends on where you plug in.

With fuel prices rising, it’s a fair question to ask before choosing your next car. On 22 September 2026, RAC Fuel Watch figures put average UK pump prices at 172.85p per litre for petrol and 196.89p per litre for diesel. Diesel may take you further on a litre, but that higher price still matters.

So how does an EV compare? The clearest way to look at it is the cost of driving the same distance.

Petrol vs diesel vs electric: cost per 100 miles

The figures show why there isn’t one answer for every EV driver. Where you charge can make a bigger difference than the fact that the car is electric.

EV vs petrol and diesel cost calculator

Want to compare the cost of an electric car with petrol and diesel for the miles you actually drive? Enter your mileage into our EV vs petrol and diesel cost calculator below. It estimates what you’d spend on petrol, diesel, EV home charging and standard public EV charging over the same distance.

Try your daily commute, a longer journey or your annual mileage. The results use the fuel prices, charging prices and vehicle efficiency assumptions explained above, so your actual costs may differ.

These are estimates based on the prices and vehicle efficiencies used in our comparison. Your actual cost will depend on your car and where you fill up or charge.

Is an electric car cheaper than a petrol car?

On energy costs, it often is — particularly if you regularly charge at home. In our example, driving 100 miles costs £7.91 in the EV, compared with £17.46 in the petrol car.

At an average standard public charger, the EV costs £16.36 per 100 miles. That’s still slightly below our petrol example, but the gap is much smaller. Use rapid charging for all your miles and the EV costs more to power in this comparison.

That doesn’t mean rapid chargers aren’t useful. They’re especially valuable when you need to add range quickly during a journey. It means the charging price should be part of any running cost comparison.

Is an electric car cheaper than a diesel car?

It depends on the diesel car’s efficiency and the EV driver’s charging habits. Diesel cars can travel a long way on a litre, which helps offset the higher pump price. In our example, the diesel car costs £16.28 per 100 miles.

The home-charged EV is substantially cheaper at £7.91. The EV using standard public charging comes out at £16.36 — effectively level with the diesel car in this example. Using rapid public charging throughout would cost more.

For a driver covering 10,000 miles a year, small differences per mile add up. But few people charge in exactly the same place every time, so your own mix of home, workplace, destination and rapid charging is what matters.

Why do EV charging costs vary so much?

Petrol and diesel are priced by the litre. Electricity for an EV is priced by the kilowatt-hour (kWh), and different places charge different rates.

Someone who can charge overnight at home may pay much less per mile than someone who depends on public rapid chargers. Public charging prices also vary between networks and locations. According to Zapmap’s August 2026 Charging Price Index, average pay-as-you-go charging cost 54p/kWh on 3–49kW chargers and 77p/kWh on chargers rated 50kW and above.

That’s why it pays to check the price shown at a charge point before starting a session. A convenient place to charge while you’re already parked can also make it easier to fit charging into a normal trip.

Does rising fuel cost make switching to an EV worthwhile?

Higher petrol and diesel prices strengthen the case for looking at an EV, especially if you have access to lower-priced charging most of the time. They don’t automatically make every EV cheaper overall.

If you’re deciding whether to switch, look beyond the price of fuel or electricity. Compare the purchase or lease price, insurance, servicing, your annual mileage and where you would realistically charge. Then work out the cost using cars you’d actually consider buying, rather than relying on an average.

The same principle applies if you already drive an EV: knowing your car’s efficiency and the prices at your usual chargers will give you a more useful answer than any headline comparison.