EV vs petrol — Total Cost of Ownership
Compare the 5-year cost of an electric car against an equivalent petrol car using your own driving and tariff numbers. All calculation runs in your browser — nothing is sent to a server.
Your inputs
Not used — public only
More options
Tick this if you can salary-package an FBT-exempt EV. Adds an estimate of the FBT-exemption tax saving as a separate line — does not change running costs.
Estimated saving over 5 years
—
—
Breakeven
—
when EV total drops below petrol
+ — additional FBT-exemption saving over the same period via novated lease.
Electric
—
—
—
Petrol
—
—
—
Cost breakdown over 5 years
Total cost is purchase price plus running costs minus the residual value at the end of the period.
Cumulative cost over time
The crossover point is when the EV's running-cost savings have paid back the higher purchase price.
Share these numbers — your inputs are encoded in the URL.
Assumptions & sources
EV running costs. Energy use derived from each model's WLTP range and battery, multiplied by a real-world factor of 1.1× (this also covers charging losses, which an ADAC study found are no higher at DC fast chargers than at home). Home electricity defaults to $0.3/kWh (Canstar, Sep 2026). "Mostly at home" assumes 80% of charging at home (Ausgrid/EVenergi owner review: 70–85%).
Public charging. DC fast charging costs about $0.72/kWh (typical non-member price across Chargefox, Evie, NRMA, Tesla and bp pulse: CarsGuide survey, Jul 2026, and NRMA price list, Oct 2026). Slower AC street and shopping-centre chargers cost about $0.45/kWh (council and network pages, Oct 2026). "Mostly at home" drivers use public chargers on road trips, so we use the DC price. For "Mix" and "Public only" we assume 70% DC and 30% AC (EV Council 2025 owner survey and UNSW kerbside study), an average of $0.64/kWh. The weekly hours line assumes about 50 kW at DC and 7 kW at AC.
Memberships and fees. Memberships aren't modelled — enter your member rate in the Public charging field. Examples: Evie Mates (free, 5c off once you use over 100 kWh a month), motoring clubs (10% off at club-owned Chargefox sites), RACQ (4c off at Evie in Queensland), AGL customers (6c off at bp pulse to 31 Dec 2026) and Tesla's monthly membership for non-Tesla cars. Many networks also charge idle fees if you stay plugged in after charging finishes; these aren't included.
Petrol car. Fuel price defaults to $2.38/L, the national average retail petrol price for the week ending 25 October 2026 (AIP). Fuel use comes from the Green Vehicle Guide for petrol-only models still on sale. The ute and the van are compared with diesel models, because there are no mainstream petrol dual-cab utes or mid-size vans left. If you pick either one, enter your local diesel price in the fuel field.
Fixed costs (per year). Registration $900, insurance $2,440 EV / $1,865 petrol, servicing $410 EV / $660 petrol. Tyres pro-rated from a 5-year baseline of $1,200 EV / $800 petrol.
Depreciation. Both vehicles retain a residual value at the end of the period — 45% of MSRP for the EV / 50% for the petrol at 5 years (NRMA Best Value Car Awards, Aug 2026, and RedBook forecasts). Shorter or longer horizons scale geometrically.
FBT bonus (when ticked). Estimated as ~20% of vehicle value × marginal tax rate (37% default), capped at $18,000/year. Eligibility requires a battery-electric EV below the LCT fuel-efficient threshold of $91,661 and that you can salary-package via your employer. The estimate applies the phased wind-back year by year: full exemption to 31 Mar 2027, then only for EVs up to $75,000 (others get a 25% FBT discount), and the 25% discount for all from 1 Apr 2029. See full incentive details on the Deals page.
Sources. RACQ Running Costs 2025 (servicing and tyres) · CHOICE car insurance study, Jan 2026 · Canstar electricity rates, Sep 2026 · AIP weekly petrol prices · Green Vehicle Guide (fuel consumption) · NRMA and RedBook (depreciation) · CarsGuide and NRMA (DC charging prices) · council and network pages (AC charging prices) · EV Council 2025 Ownership Survey and UNSW (public charging mix) · ADAC (charging losses). All sources →
This is an estimator, not financial advice. Your actual costs will differ — verify with your insurer, dealer and accountant before purchase.