Electric cars are often marketed as cheaper to run than petrol cars - but is that actually true? As editor-in-chief of Electrifying.com I've driven almost every electric car on sale in the UK and spent years looking at what drivers really pay per mile.

When you factor in electricity prices, home charging, public chargers and real-world efficiency, the picture becomes much clearer - and in many cases electric cars can cost significantly less to run than petrol or diesel models.

Electric cars are usually cheaper to run than petrol cars in the UK, and that continues to be the case in 2026, even with fuel prices rising as a result on the conflict in the Middle East. 

Charging an EV at home on a typical off-peak electricity tariff can cost around 2p to 7p per mile, while the average petrol and diesel car typically costs 12p to 20p per mile depending on fuel prices and efficiency. However, running costs can be higher if you rely heavily on public rapid chargers.

If you want to compare the numbers for yourself you can also try our EV fuel cost calculator, which shows how electricity costs compare with petrol or diesel depending on how and where you charge.

How much does an electric car cost to run in the UK?

If you’re on a fixed rate tariff in the UK, your maximum electricity costs are governed by the Ofgem cap, which dictates the maximum amount you pay per kilowatt hour of electricity. 

For a driver doing 8,500 miles per year, and charging on the current Ofgem flat rate, you'll be paying around £517 per year, or if you use one of the cheaper fixed overnight tariffs that are still available then that cost falls to around £149 per year. For some context, fuelling a VW Golf 1.5 TSI at current pump prices (even if it's doing over 60mpg) will cost £859. 

The Ofgem flat rate is actually set to fall by nearly 7% between April and June this year, but it is expected to rise after that as a result of the US-Iran conflict in the Middle East. 

For some context, when the price cap falls after April 2026, it will cost roughly £12.34 for 50kWh of electricity (which would get you some 200- to 250 miles of real world range in the average electric car). If the price cap rises by the predicted 15% after June 2026, that price will rise to around £14.20.  

If you use an off-peak tariff that gets you cheap overnight electricity - and you can see the energy tariffs currently available right here - then you can cut that cost by more than half. 

Are electric cars cheaper than petrol per mile in the UK?

In short, yes! Even if you don’t take advantage of off-peak tariffs, and are paying the Ofgem price cap, you’ll still be paying around 6 to 8 pence per mile. If you use the timed charging facility on your EV or your home charger to charge at an off-peak tariff, that can drop to as low as 2p per mile. A petrol car doing 45mpg will currently cost around 13p per mile, or you’ll need to be doing over 60mpg do get that down to 10p per mile at current March 2026 average fuel prices of around £1.32 per litre. 

A diesel car doing 60mpg will cost around 10p per mile, or if that drops to 50mpg then you’ll be paying more like 14p per mile, assuming fuel costs of around £1.40 per litre.​

Obviously, it’s not just cheap electricity that affects how much an EV costs to run. Getting an efficient electric car that does as far as possible per kilowatt hour of energy will also save you money. You need an EV with good miles/kWh, basically - which is the equivalent of mpg for electric cars. Check out our top five most efficient EVs, if you're keen to save money on your running costs.

What are the best EV tariffs in the UK?

Now that’s a complicated question, but we’ve got you covered with our guide to the best electricity tariffs in the UK right now. 

Are electric cars still cheaper if you rely on public chargers?

Public charging is more expensive than charging at home, but there’s good news as it’s likely that it’s going to get cheaper with plans to cut VAT on public charging from 20% to just 5%. 

It’s very difficult to give an estimate for what public charging will cost as it varies so much between different providers - and even varies depending on what time you’re charging. According to Zap-Map, EV drivers pay, on average, 54p per kWh for slower AC public chargers or 77 per kWh for DC rapid and ultra-rapid chargers. This works out at just under 16p per mile for an EV chagrin gat a public AC charger, or 22p per mile for an EV charging at a DC rapid charger, assuming efficiency of 3.4 m/kWh.

Is there VAT on public charging and should it be cut?

Yes, currently VAT is charged at 20% on charging at public car chargers, but it’s likely that this will be cut to 5% as a result of a recent UK tribunal at the beginning of 2026. This will see costs fall noticeably, but with some uncertainty over wholesale energy prices rising as a result of the US-Iran conflict in the Middle East, it’s hard to make any accurate predictions. 

Are electric cars cheaper to service and maintain than petrol cars?

Generally, yes. Many manufacturers offer longer servicing schedules and lower servicing costs than on petrol or diesel (ICE) cars. EV’s don’t need regular oil changes like a petrol car, and an EV won’t need brake pads so often as they rely on regen braking (which doesn’t use the friction brakes). 

It’s difficult to be specific as it depends on your EV and usage as to how much servicing will cost. Tesla, for instance, doesn't have any fixed service schedule for its cars and relies on the car's sensors to warn when it needs maintenance, with many owners reporting that the cars don't need servicing at all for the first few years. As a rough average you can expect an electric car to cost around 30% less than a petrol car for servicing. 

Fuel prices are rising, but you can still find a cheap electricity tariff in the UK