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Side by side comparisons for vehicles shoppers actually cross shop, from same category rivals to gas versus hybrid and gas versus electric matchups.

How to cross-shop by fuel cost

Fuel economy alone rarely decides a purchase, but it's one of the few ownership costs you can estimate precisely before you buy, unlike future maintenance or resale value. Each comparison below states plainly which vehicle is more fuel efficient, by how much, and translates that gap into a dollar figure using EPA's own annual cost methodology, so you can weigh it directly against the other factors that matter to you.

The comparisons cover four kinds of matchups: two conventional gasoline vehicles competing in the same category, a gasoline nameplate against its own hybrid version, a gasoline vehicle against a fully electric alternative, and two electric vehicles against each other, each with its own explanation of what the numbers mean for that specific kind of comparison.

Every comparison goes beyond a single annual dollar figure. Each page projects the fuel cost gap forward across a three and five year ownership period, so a modest sounding difference of a few hundred dollars a year can be weighed against how it actually accumulates over time, and pairs that against the corresponding difference in tailpipe CO2 emissions, since fuel economy and emissions move together one to one within the same fuel type.

Frequently asked questions

Not necessarily. Fuel cost is only one part of ownership cost, alongside purchase price, insurance, maintenance, and depreciation. A vehicle with better fuel economy will cost less to fuel over time, but a higher purchase price or higher insurance premium can offset that saving depending on how many miles you drive and how long you keep the vehicle.

Each comparison uses EPA's own annual fuel cost estimate for both vehicles, which assumes 15,000 miles of driving per year at that vehicle's combined fuel economy rating and EPA's assumed national average fuel price. The gap shown is simply the difference between those two figures, so it's a fair apples-to-apples comparison even though it won't match your own annual mileage or local fuel price exactly.

MPGe converts an EV's electricity use into a gasoline-equivalent unit so it can be placed on the same scale as MPG, but it measures energy efficiency, not what you'll actually pay, since gasoline and electricity are priced completely independently. For an honest cost comparison between a gas and electric vehicle, use the EV versus gas comparator linked from each gas-versus-electric matchup, which works in cost per mile using your own local prices instead.

Each pair reflects a matchup real shoppers actually cross shop: same-category rivals like a compact sedan against its closest competitor, a nameplate's gasoline version against its own hybrid variant, a hybrid against a different gasoline model, a gasoline vehicle against an electric alternative, and electric vehicles against each other, rather than arbitrary or unrelated pairings.

Open each vehicle's own page instead; every vehicle tracked on this site includes its full EPA fuel economy breakdown, annual cost estimate, and emissions figures, plus a calculator you can run with your own numbers for either vehicle even without a dedicated side by side page.

Each comparison page projects the annual fuel cost gap out to three and five years of ownership so you can see the cumulative difference, not just the yearly figure. A modest sounding annual gap of a few hundred dollars routinely becomes well over a thousand dollars across a typical multi-year ownership period.

Yes. Each comparison page includes the CO2 emissions gap between the two vehicles, projected out to an annual figure at 15,000 miles of driving, alongside the fuel cost comparison, since the two move together directly: better fuel economy always means lower emissions per mile within the same fuel type.

Where the data supports it, yes. Comparisons between two gasoline or hybrid vehicles include an estimated range between fill-ups based on each vehicle's tank size and fuel economy, and gas-versus-electric comparisons note the practical difference between refueling at a pump in minutes versus charging an EV, which usually happens overnight at home instead.

For most buyers, no, not on its own. It's one of the more reliably measurable and predictable ownership costs, which is exactly why it's useful to isolate and compare directly, but purchase price, financing terms, insurance cost, reliability history, and how well a vehicle actually fits your life all matter too, and none of those are covered by the comparisons on this site.