Buying an electric vehicle: Does $4 gas change the math?

Editor’s note: This article first appeared in Money Matters, a newsletter from Britannica Money, on April 26, 2026.

Open full sized image

Incentives are gone, but the math may still work.

© Gerald Bernard, AleksViking, nathamag11/stock.adobe.com; Photo illustration Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

If you drive a gas-powered car, you’re likely feeling the pain of higher prices at the pump. The national average has climbed to just over $4 a gallon, according to AAA. The war with Iran has disrupted global oil supplies, leaving many commuters to do little more than watch as prices jump 10, 20, or 40 cents at a time.

If the sudden run-up in costs has you reconsidering what you drive, you may also be wondering whether buying an EV still makes financial sense following the expiration of federal tax credits that helped make electric vehicles more affordable. The answer is less clear-cut than you might think. How much you drive, where you live, and where you charge your vehicle are big factors. In some cases, an EV can still cost less to run. In others, the savings are small or may not be worth it.

If you’ve been thinking about shifting to an electric vehicle because of higher gas prices, you’re not alone. In early March, the share of car shoppers researching EVs and hybrids began climbing, a sign that higher fuel costs were once again shaping buying decisions.

That renewed interest comes despite a major policy shift. The passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act last July ended Biden-era tax credits of up to $7,500 for new EVs, a key incentive that had helped narrow the price gap with gas-powered cars.

EV sales dropped in 2025 after years of steady growth, as the end of tax credits and higher borrowing costs made many buyers think twice.

Nonetheless, EVs still account for a meaningful share of new car sales, and more models (including cheaper ones) are entering the market. The question isn’t whether EVs are disappearing—they’re not. It’s whether they make sense for you right now.

On paper, the case for an EV is straightforward: Electricity is usually cheaper than gasoline. Using an average electricity cost of about 18 cents per kilowatt-hour, and assuming $3 a gallon for gas—well below current levels—it costs roughly $6 to drive 100 miles in an electric vehicle, compared with about $12 for a gas-powered car that gets 25 mpg. Larger vehicles like electric trucks tend to cost more to run, narrowing that gap.

But fuel is only part of the equation. Electric vehicles don’t require routine oil changes, which at $100 or more elicit their own sticker shock. EVs also have fewer moving parts to maintain and fix.

Even so, the math in favor of EVs isn’t universal. Electricity prices vary widely depending on where you live—sometimes twice as high in some parts compared to other regions—and public fast charging can cost significantly more than charging at home. As a result, savings can be substantial in some areas, while in others, they’re modest or nonexistent.

Up-front cost is another piece of the equation. New EVs still tend to cost more than comparable gas-powered cars—about $6,500 more on average, although that gap has been narrowing.

A few factors tend to matter more than others when deciding whether to buy an EV. Some are straightforward, others are easy to overlook, but all affect whether an EV makes sense for you:

One underappreciated factor is what it’s like to live with an EV. Once drivers get used to charging at home, many never go back to gas.