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There is no universal cost winner. In AAA’s 2026 comparison of selected vehicles, EV charging cost 66%–70% less than gasoline, but higher depreciation, fees and financing more than offset the energy savings in some categories. For medium sedans, AAA put the selected gas models at $10,582 a year—$3,080 less than the comparable EVs. Your result can differ substantially with the exact cars, resale value, insurance quote, location and charging setup.
What total cost of ownership includes
A car’s total cost is more than its purchase price or monthly payment. For a fair EV-versus-gas comparison, add the costs of owning and operating each vehicle over the same number of years and miles. AAA’s ownership framework includes depreciation, financing, fuel or electricity, insurance, government fees, and maintenance, repairs and tires.
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AAA’s 2025 methodology used a five-year, 75,000-mile ownership period. That is a useful example of a consistent comparison window, not a prediction that every driver will keep a car for exactly that long. Choose a period and mileage that reflect your plans: keeping a car for three years can produce a different result from keeping it for eight, especially because resale value and depreciation change over time.
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1Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems2Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches3Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors- Depreciation: The vehicle’s purchase price minus its expected value when you sell or trade it.
- Financing: Interest and other loan costs over your expected ownership period. Include the real loan terms, not just the monthly payment.
- Energy: Gasoline for a gas car; electricity for an EV, including the mix of home and public charging you expect to use.
- Insurance: Premiums for the exact car, driver, address and coverage you will have.
- Maintenance, repairs and tires: Scheduled service, unexpected mechanical or electrical repairs, and tire replacement.
- Taxes and fees: Purchase taxes and recurring registration or other government charges.
- Home charging equipment: Any charger, electrical work or permits needed for your particular home and vehicle.
Keep these costs separate in your worksheet. A lower energy bill can look compelling on its own while a higher resale-value loss or insurance premium changes the overall answer.
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Use the same accounting boundary for both cars. For example, do not count an EV’s home-charger installation in one total while leaving out comparable purchase-related costs for the gas car, or compare a five-year EV estimate with a three-year gas-car estimate. The purpose is not to produce a perfect forecast; it is to make the assumptions visible and consistent enough to tell whether one option is likely to cost meaningfully less.
What AAA’s current comparison says—and what it does not
AAA’s September 2026 analysis is a comparison of selected new vehicles within matched categories, not a rule for every EV and gas car. It reports that charging costs for the selected EVs were about 66%–70% below fuel costs for traditional gas vehicles. Yet higher depreciation, fees and financing often outweighed that advantage.
| AAA 2026 medium-sedan comparison | Annual ownership cost | How to read it |
|---|---|---|
| Selected gas medium sedans | $10,582 | AAA’s reported annual cost for the category. |
| Selected EV medium sedans | $13,662 | Calculated from AAA’s reported $3,080 annual difference versus gas models. |
| Difference | $3,080 per year | AAA says the selected EV medium sedans cost 29.1% more annually. |
The $13,662 figure is the sum of AAA’s reported gas-model cost and the reported difference; it is not a separate quoted figure from AAA. These are category results, not estimates for a particular buyer or a guarantee that an EV will cost more. The models chosen, their transaction prices and expected resale values matter.
AAA reported a weighted average annual depreciation cost of $4,422 across the vehicles in its 2026 analysis, and said depreciation for EV medium sedans was about twice that of gas models in the category. Depreciation is an estimate, not a fee you pay each year. It represents value lost between buying and selling, so actual purchase price and eventual resale proceeds can move the result significantly.
AAA’s 2026 analysis used $4.152 per gallon for gasoline and 18.0 cents per kilowatt-hour for home electricity as study-time assumptions. These are inputs to that analysis, not current prices guaranteed for your location. Your local gas price, utility tariff and charging habits may produce a different energy-cost gap.
AAA also reported an average annual cost of $12,863 to own and operate a new vehicle in 2026. Its 2025 report put that broad average at $11,577, but AAA changed its methodology; the figures should not be treated as a clean year-over-year increase. Neither broad average substitutes for comparing the two specific cars you are considering.
The category comparison is most useful as a reminder to include every cost, rather than as a price tag to apply to your household. AAA’s director of automotive engineering, Greg Brannon, said that comparing EVs, hybrids and traditional gas-powered vehicles within the same categories helps consumers understand how total ownership costs vary by powertrain. Matching categories improves the comparison, but individual transaction prices, financing terms, mileage and resale values can still produce a different result for you.
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How to make a fair comparison for your two cars
Use the same ownership period, annual mileage, location and financing assumptions for both vehicles. Compare actual candidate cars and offers rather than a generic EV against a generic gas car.
- Choose the same ownership window. Decide how many years and miles you expect to keep each car. Use the same period for both, and make clear whether your estimate assumes a sale or trade-in at the end.
- Enter real purchase and loan figures. Use the transaction price you can actually obtain, down payment, loan amount, interest rate and term. Include an incentive only after confirming that it applies to your vehicle and circumstances. AAA notes that actual purchase price affects its depreciation and financing calculations.
- Estimate the end value. Use a resale estimate for each exact model and the same age and mileage. Subtract that value from the purchase price to estimate depreciation. Treat the result as uncertain: resale markets and future vehicle values can change.
- Calculate energy from your own driving. Estimate annual miles, use each vehicle’s efficiency, then apply local gasoline and electricity prices. For an EV, separate home charging from public charging if you expect to use both; a home-electricity rate is not a fair proxy for every public charging session.
- Get paired insurance quotes. Ask for quotes on both exact vehicles using the same driver information, address, coverage limits and deductibles. Compare premiums for the same time period.
- Estimate service, repairs and tires. Use model-specific service schedules and estimates where available. Keep routine service, unexpected mechanical or electrical repairs, tires and accident repairs distinct so that unlike costs are not blended together.
- Add taxes, fees and charging setup. Check the applicable purchase taxes and registration costs for your location. Add home charging equipment and installation only if you need them.
- Sum every category, then test the uncertain inputs. Calculate the total for each car. Recalculate with different resale values, fuel or electricity prices, annual mileage and insurance premiums to see which assumptions could change your decision.
AAA’s cost calculator lets users adjust state, annual mileage, vehicle and fuel or electricity prices. Its full-coverage insurance assumption is for a driver with at least six years’ experience; it is a calculator input, not a quote for every driver. AAA describes its estimates as generalized and intended for comparison.
The U.S. Department of Energy’s Alternative Fuels Data Center Vehicle Cost Calculator supports vehicle selection or custom assumptions and uses driving habits and energy inputs to estimate ownership costs and emissions. The DOE cautions that vehicle prices and specifications change frequently and that not all site data are verified by DOE or the laboratory managing the site. Use either calculator as a starting estimate, then verify the vehicle’s price, specifications and other inputs.
When you use a calculator, inspect its inputs rather than relying only on the result. Confirm that the selected trim and vehicle specifications match the cars you are shopping for, and check whether the assumptions fit your location and driving habits. A calculator can organize the categories and make scenarios easier to compare; it cannot supply a current insurance quote or guarantee what a car will sell for years from now.
For a useful sensitivity check, change one uncertain input at a time. Try a lower or higher resale value, a different annual mileage, or your actual electricity and gasoline rates. If the EV remains less expensive across plausible scenarios, the conclusion is more robust. If a small change in insurance or resale value flips the result, treat the totals as close and avoid presenting the difference as certain.
Why lower charging costs may not mean lower total cost
The EV energy advantage is only one line in the calculation. AAA’s selected vehicles show why buyers should set that saving against depreciation, financing, fees and the other costs for their own models. A large gap in any of those categories can outweigh cheaper energy over the period you own the car.
Depreciation deserves particular attention because it can be a larger cost than a driver’s routine annual bills. If two vehicles have different purchase prices, do not assume that the more expensive one will retain enough value to make up the difference. Estimate each vehicle’s value at the same future age and mileage, and recognize that the estimate is uncertain.
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Financing also changes the comparison. A lower monthly payment can reflect a longer loan rather than a cheaper vehicle, while the total interest paid depends on the amount borrowed and the loan terms. Compare total financing cost over your chosen ownership window and account for any balance that would remain if you sell before the loan ends.
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Fees can also vary with location and purchase price. Treat taxes and registration as their own line items rather than assuming they are identical for every buyer. A state or local fee, as well as a vehicle’s transaction price, can change the total. Verify the charges that apply where you live and avoid treating a national or category-level estimate as a local bill.
Insurance: use quotes for the exact cars
There is no supported universal premium increase for EVs that can be applied to every driver. Insurance varies with location, driving history, coverage, deductible, vehicle value, repair network and insurer underwriting. A broad average would not answer what a particular household will pay for two specific cars.
Request quotes for the exact EV and gas model, using identical details for the driver, garaging address, annual mileage, liability limits, collision and comprehensive coverage, and deductibles. Compare the same policy term and ask whether any listed discount is included. If the quote assumes different coverage or deductibles, it is not an apples-to-apples comparison.
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For a clean comparison, request quotes close together in time and make sure both vehicles are quoted under the same policy assumptions. If one insurer cannot quote one of the cars, compare quotes from the same insurer when possible or clearly label the difference in providers. The important point is to avoid interpreting a difference in coverage, deductible or insurer as a powertrain effect.
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Repairs, routine maintenance and collision damage are different costs
AAA groups routine maintenance, unexpected repairs and tire replacements in its maintenance cost category. That is useful for comparing overall ownership costs, but the combined category does not mean every type of repair has the same pattern for every model.
- Routine service is scheduled work and inspections. Compare the manufacturer’s service requirements for the exact vehicles and your expected mileage.
- Mechanical or electrical repairs are unscheduled fixes to vehicle systems. Their likelihood and cost depend on the model, age, use and repair circumstances.
- Tires should be tracked separately if estimates permit. Tire replacement is included in AAA’s broader maintenance category, but tire costs depend on the specific vehicle and use.
- Accident repairs follow a collision and are not the same as routine maintenance or a mechanical breakdown. Lower routine service costs do not establish that collision repairs will be cheaper.
AAA’s 2025 report described selected EVs as having lower operating costs, particularly for fuel and maintenance, while its analyzed categories still produced higher overall ownership costs for some EVs. That finding is not proof that every EV has lower repair bills, nor does it establish a universal difference in accident-repair costs. Do not treat a possible battery or motor replacement as routine maintenance, or assume a battery will need replacement during your ownership period without model-specific evidence.
Be precise about what a repair estimate includes. A source that combines maintenance, repairs and tires cannot tell you the separate cost of collision work, and an estimate of routine service does not predict the price of an unexpected mechanical or electrical failure. If you have model-specific estimates, keep their scope and time period visible beside the number. That makes it less likely that two unlike estimates will be mistaken for a direct comparison.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Include home charging only when you need it
An EV may be charged at home or at public stations, and the cost comparison depends on the mix you will actually use. If a suitable outlet is conveniently located, Level 1 charging uses a standard 120-volt outlet. Level 2 uses 240 volts and can be a faster home-charging option, but it may require equipment and electrical work.
AAA’s home-charging explainer discusses Level 1 and Level 2 setup and installation considerations, including estimates attributed to third parties. Those estimates are not fixed installation prices. Whether you need a dedicated charger, what your home’s electrical system can support, and whether permits or an electrician are required depend on the property and local requirements.
Do not automatically add a Level 2 charger to every EV estimate. First check whether the vehicle’s charging needs and your daily driving can be met by an existing suitable outlet or the charging access you already have. If you do need faster home charging, obtain an installation estimate for your address and confirm vehicle compatibility, electrical capacity and permit requirements before counting the cost.
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A practical decision checklist
- Are the two cars in the same class and being compared over the same years and miles?
- Do the totals use realistic transaction prices, loan terms and end-of-period resale estimates?
- Are fuel and electricity prices local, and does the EV estimate reflect your home/public charging mix?
- Do you have comparable live insurance quotes for the exact vehicles and matching coverage?
- Are maintenance, unexpected repairs, tires and collision damage distinguished rather than treated as interchangeable?
- Have you included location-specific taxes and registration costs, plus home charging work only if it is needed?
- Have you varied the uncertain inputs to see whether the apparent winner changes?
The better-value choice is the one with the lower credible total for your circumstances—not necessarily the lower sticker price, fuel bill or calculator headline. If the totals are close, prioritize the assumptions you can verify now, especially actual car prices, loan terms, insurance quotes and charging costs; treat future resale value and repair needs as estimates rather than certainties.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is an electric car cheaper to own than a gas car?
Not in every comparison. AAA’s 2026 analysis found charging costs 66%–70% below gasoline costs for selected vehicles, but higher depreciation, fees and financing often offset the savings. In its medium-sedan category, selected gas models cost $10,582 per year, $3,080 less than selected EV models. Your exact vehicles, location, mileage, insurance and resale estimates can change the result.
How should I compare EV and gas-car insurance costs?
Get live quotes for the exact vehicles using the same driver, garaging address, mileage, coverage limits, deductibles and policy term. There is no universal EV premium difference that can substitute for those quotes. Enter the quoted premiums as separate ownership costs.
Do EVs always cost less to repair and maintain?
No. AAA groups routine maintenance, unexpected repairs and tires in one cost category, and its findings do not establish that every EV has lower costs for every type of repair. Routine service, mechanical or electrical repairs, tires and collision damage are distinct. Lower routine maintenance does not prove that accident repairs will be cheaper.
Do I need to buy a Level 2 charger to own an EV?
Not necessarily. Level 1 charging can use a conveniently located, suitable standard 120-volt outlet; Level 2 uses 240 volts and may be faster but can require equipment and electrical work. Whether you need a charger depends on your vehicle, driving and home setup. Check compatibility, electrical capacity, installation costs and permit requirements before adding one to your cost estimate.
What ownership period and mileage should I use?
Use the same period and mileage for both cars and choose figures that reflect your plans. AAA’s 2025 method used five years and 75,000 miles as its comparison window, but that is an example, not a required assumption. A shorter or longer holding period can change depreciation, financing and operating totals.
Can I use AAA or DOE calculators as my final cost estimate?
Use them as comparison tools, then verify the inputs. AAA allows users to adjust state, mileage, vehicles and energy prices; its full-coverage insurance assumption is for a driver with at least six years’ experience, not a personal quote. The DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center calculator supports vehicle selection or custom assumptions, but the DOE notes that prices and specifications change and some site data are not verified by DOE or the laboratory managing the site.
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The Bottom Line
Compare the exact cars over the same years and miles, and include depreciation, financing, energy, insurance, fees, repairs, tires and any home charging work you actually need. AAA’s 2026 results show why fuel savings alone are not enough: the selected EVs used less costly energy, while depreciation and other expenses could outweigh that advantage. Use current quotes and local prices, then test whether uncertain resale and repair estimates change the result.
Quick Recap
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
