- At national average prices, the median battery electric vehicle (BEV) in model years 2024 and 2025 costs $0.063 per mile to fuel. The median plug-in hybrid (PHEV) costs $0.109 per mile using EPA's utility-factor blend of electric and gasoline driving, 1.7 times as much.
- A PHEV's cost depends on how it is driven: the median PHEV costs $0.091 per mile in electric mode and $0.135 per mile in gasoline-only mode. The median BEV is cheaper per mile than the median PHEV in electric mode.
- Median electric range is 30 miles for PHEVs (range 1 to 54) and 289 miles for BEVs (range 114 to 516).
- Against gasoline vehicles of the same class, the PHEV median is cheaper per mile in all 5 classes with enough PHEVs to compare; the BEV median is cheaper in all of them.
01 PHEV vs BEV: The Basics
A plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) combines a battery and electric motor with a gasoline engine. It can drive a limited distance on electricity, then switches to gasoline. A battery electric vehicle (BEV) runs entirely on electricity. This article compares the 592 BEV and 90 PHEV configurations in the EPA/DOE Fuel Economy Guide for model years 2024 and 2025 that report the ratings needed for a cost estimate. It does not compare individual models.
EPA/DOE Fuel Economy Guide (vehicles.csv), model years 2024 to 2025: BEVs (atvType EV, combE above zero) and PHEVs with electric (combE), gasoline-only (comb08) and utility-factor (combinedUF) ratingsThe EPA rates electric energy use in kWh per 100 miles. To turn that into a cost, multiply by the electricity price: at the 2024 national average residential rate of 16.5 cents per kWh, an electric mile costs kWh per 100 miles ÷ 100 × $0.165. A gasoline mile costs the gasoline price ÷ MPG; this article uses the 2025 average regular price of $3.10 per gallon.
EIA-861 Table 5A (2024): U.S. average residential price 16.48 cents/kWh; EIA U.S. regular gasoline 2025 annual average $3.097A PHEV's cost per mile depends on how much of its driving is electric. The EPA publishes a utility factor (UF), its estimate of the share of miles an average owner drives on electricity. The blended cost per mile is UF × electric cost + (1 − UF) × gasoline cost. Across these PHEVs the utility factor has a median of 61% (range 22% to 77%).
EPA/DOE Fuel Economy Guide, combinedUF field; blended cost calculated by this site02 Fuel Cost per Mile Comparison
| Measure (median of configurations) | BEV | PHEV |
|---|---|---|
| Configurations | 592 | 90 |
| Electric-mode cost per mile | $0.063 | $0.091 |
| Gasoline-only cost per mile | n/a | $0.135 |
| Blended cost per mile (EPA utility factor) | $0.063 | $0.109 |
| Lowest and highest blended cost per mile | $0.038 to $0.118 | $0.048 to $0.170 |
The table below compares the BEV and PHEV medians with the average gasoline vehicle of the same class. Classes are shown only where there are at least four PHEV configurations. PHEV pickups do not appear in the data for these model years.
| Class | BEVs | BEV $/mile | PHEVs | PHEV $/mile (blended) | Gasoline $/mile (class average) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Compact car | 53 | $0.064 | 5 | $0.097 | $0.118 |
| Midsize car | 53 | $0.054 | 12 | $0.103 | $0.119 |
| Large car | 60 | $0.058 | 4 | $0.111 | $0.128 |
| Small SUV / crossover | 143 | $0.054 | 24 | $0.080 | $0.127 |
| Standard SUV | 166 | $0.068 | 25 | $0.114 | $0.167 |
The BEV median is below the PHEV median and below the gasoline class average in every class shown. The PHEV median is below the gasoline class average in compact car, midsize car, large car, small SUV / crossover, standard SUV.
03 Efficiency and Range
| Rating (median) | BEV | PHEV |
|---|---|---|
| Electric energy use (kWh per 100 miles) | 38.2 | 55.0 |
| Gasoline-only fuel economy (MPG) | n/a | 23 |
| All-electric range (miles) | 289 | 30 |
| Range, lowest to highest (miles) | 114 to 516 | 1 to 54 |
PHEVs in this data use more electricity per mile in electric mode than BEVs (median 55.0 versus 38.2 kWh per 100 miles), which is partly because many PHEVs are SUVs. The comparison by class above adjusts for vehicle type.
04 When a PHEV Makes More Sense
A PHEV can drive all-electric only within its electric range. With a median range of 30 miles, a driver whose round-trip commute is shorter than that and who charges every night can do most workday driving on electricity. The EPA's utility factor for the median PHEV assumes 61% electric driving for an average owner; a driver who charges daily can exceed that, and a driver who never charges falls to the gasoline-only cost of $0.135 per mile.
EPA/DOE Fuel Economy Guide: rangeA and combinedUF fields, medians for model years 2024 to 2025For a driver without home charging, this site has no federal data on public charging prices, so it does not compare public charging with a PHEV's gasoline operation. See residential versus transportation electricity rates for what the EIA data does and does not show.
05 Annual Energy Cost Scenarios
The table applies the median cost per mile to three mileage levels, and compares with a gasoline car at 27.2 MPG (the EPA average for new model year 2024 vehicles). All scenarios assume home charging at the national average residential rate.
| Scenario | BEV | PHEV, always charged (electric mode) | PHEV, EPA utility factor | PHEV, never charged (gasoline only) | Gasoline car (27.2 MPG) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Short commuter (8,000 mi/yr) | $504 | $725 | $870 | $1,077 | $911 |
| Average driver (12,000 mi/yr) | $756 | $1,088 | $1,305 | $1,616 | $1,366 |
| High mileage (18,000 mi/yr) | $1,134 | $1,631 | $1,957 | $2,424 | $2,049 |
At 12,000 miles a year, the median BEV costs $756 a year to fuel, the median PHEV following the EPA utility factor $1,305, and the average new gasoline car $1,366. A PHEV that is never charged costs $1,616, which is more than the gasoline car because PHEV medians are heavily weighted toward SUVs and larger vehicles; the class table above is the fairer comparison.
Calculated from the table aboveEstimate your vehicle's driving cost using official EPA fuel economy data.
Use the Calculator06 Data Sources
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency / Department of Energy: Fuel Economy Guide vehicle dataset, model years 2024 and 2025 (comb08, combE, combinedUF, range, rangeA). fueleconomy.gov
- U.S. Energy Information Administration: Form EIA-861 Annual Electric Power Industry Report, Table 5A: Average Monthly Bill, Residential (2024). eia.gov
- U.S. Energy Information Administration: U.S. regular gasoline retail price, annual average (2025). eia.gov
- EPA: The 2025 Automotive Trends Report (EPA-420-R-26-001), Table 2.1. epa.gov