EV vs hybrid vs plug-in hybrid: Which is cheaper?
It depends on your budget and where you can charge. Charged at home, a typical EV costs about $15.19 a week to run, a plug-in hybrid about $22.12 and a regular hybrid about $27.41 in fuel (250 km a week, NSW). Over 5 years the purchase price matters most. The cheapest to own under $40,000 is the BYD Atto 1 (EV); from $40,000 to $50,000 it's the Honda ZR-V e:HEV (hybrid); from $50,000 to $65,000 it's the KGM Actyon Hybrid (hybrid).
The cheapest of each type at every budget
The lowest 5-year cost to own in each price range, counting the price, a home charger for EVs, charging or fuel, servicing and tyres. Green is the cheapest in the row.
| List price | Cheapest EV | Cheapest hybrid | Cheapest plug-in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under $40,000 | BYD Atto 1 Essential$29,146 over 5 yrs | MG3 Hybrid+ Excite$36,759 over 5 yrs | BYD Atto 2 DM-i Essential$37,590 over 5 yrs |
| $40,000–$50,000 | MG S5 EV Essence 49$53,684 over 5 yrs | Honda ZR-V e:HEV e:HEV X$53,121 over 5 yrs | GWM Haval H6 PHEV Lux$53,551 over 5 yrs |
| $50,000–$65,000 | Fiat 500e La Prima$64,470 over 5 yrs | KGM Actyon Hybrid K50$61,270 over 5 yrs | GWM Haval H6 GT PHEV Ultra Hi4 AWD$62,069 over 5 yrs |
What do "on the road" and "cost to own" mean?
Before on-road costs (+ on-roads): the car's list price only. You pay extra government charges and dealer fees on top when you buy.
On-road costs: stamp duty, first year's registration, compulsory third party (CTP) insurance, number plates and the dealer's delivery fee. They usually add $3,000–6,000 depending on the car and your state. Where a price is "before on-roads" we add about $4,000. See stamp duty and rego by state.
Drive-away: a price that already includes the on-road costs, so it's what you actually pay to drive the car home.
On the road price: the drive-away price, or the list price plus our on-road estimate.
Cost to own: everything you'd spend over the years you keep the car (5 unless you change it): the on the road price, plus a home wall charger for EVs (about $2,000, one-off), plus charging or fuel, scheduled servicing and tyres for every year. Divide it by the number of weeks to see what the car really costs you each week.
Match score (Pick my car): this is about fit, not quality. Each car that fits your answers is compared only with the other cars that fit, on eight things, and a car that does something less well than the others in that group scores lower on it, even if it's good at it. Change your budget or answers and the group changes, so the scores do too. The eight things: how much car the money buys (price, 20%), ANCAP safety rating (15%: a current rating counts in full, an expired one less, and a car ANCAP hasn't rated counts as middling), range (15%), performance (0–100 km/h, or power where no time is published, 10%), fast-charging speed (peak DC kW, 10%), warranty length (10%, with the battery warranty counted for cars that plug in), servicing and tyre costs (15%), and recalls and track record (5%: major recalls in Australia on our list count against a car (our recall list covers the bigger, well-reported ones, so a clean record here is not a guarantee), and models sold here for longer get a little credit). A figure we don't have counts as middling, not as bad. "Most car for my budget" ranks by this match score; "Lowest cost to own" ranks by cost and uses the score only to split near-ties.
Not included: yearly rego renewals and insurance after the first year (see what EVs and hybrids cost to insure), finance interest, and what the car is worth when you sell it. These vary too much by person and car to estimate fairly, and resale value is the biggest unknown, especially for newer brands.
How far you drive changes the answer
Three similarly priced cars over 5 years. The more you drive, the more an EV's cheap running costs count. Plug-in hybrids do best when daily trips fit inside their electric range.
| Driving | Tesla Model 3 (EV) | Kia Sportage Hybrid (hybrid) | GWM Haval H6 PHEV (plug-in) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 150 km a week | $55,997 | $56,464 | $50,983 |
| 250 km a week | $58,178 | $60,751 | $53,551 |
| 400 km a week | $61,482 | $68,132 | $58,232 |
Which suits you?
- Choose an EV if you can charge at home and mostly drive around town. It has the lowest running costs and the fewest moving parts to service.
- Choose a plug-in hybrid if you can plug in at home most nights but regularly drive long country trips. Most daily driving is electric, with petrol as backup, and no wall charger needed.
- Choose a regular hybrid if you can't charge at home. Relying on public chargers would add about $2,471 to the Tesla Model 3's charging bill over 5 years, and a plug-in you never charge uses about $32.89 a week in petrol.
Compare specific cars
Every car has its own page with costs by state, and Compare ranks all of them together using your own driving. Browse EVs or hybrids and plug-ins.
More: checklist, calculators, questions and more guides
Buying an EV checklist
Work out your real driving needs, what to check on the test drive, the running costs to compare and the paperwork before you sign. 2 A4 pages.
Calculators for this
Common questions
Is an EV cheaper than a hybrid in Australia?
Week to week, yes if you charge at home: about $15.19 a week for a typical EV against $27.41 in fuel for a typical hybrid, driving 250 km in NSW. Over 5 years, compare cars at the same price, because the purchase price is the biggest cost.
Is a plug-in hybrid worth it?
Only if you charge it. Plugged in at home most nights, a typical plug-in hybrid costs about $22.12 a week to run. Never charged, it's a heavy petrol car using around 5.5–8 L/100 km.
What if I can't charge at home?
A regular hybrid is usually the cheaper choice. Public fast charging costs about 59–79c per kWh, roughly double home charging, which wipes out much of an EV's running-cost advantage.
Do hybrids or EVs cost more to service?
EVs generally have simpler, cheaper servicing, though intervals vary by brand. Each car's page shows its servicing cost per year.
More guides
More in Choosing a car
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How we work it out, and our sources
Weekly cost = the car's energy use × 250 km × your electricity or fuel price, with 90% of charging at home. Prices are list prices at November 2026; check with the dealer.
- Electricity: 2026–27 default rates (AER, Victorian Default Offer, state retailers). Public charging: Sydney network prices, July 2026.
- Petrol and diesel: capital-city daily averages from state government price feeds, via FuelRadar, 12 November 2026. Diesel for Hobart, Canberra and Darwin is estimated from the national fall.
- Cars: maker figures via CarExpert, Drive, CarsGuide and EV Central. Plug-in electric range is taken as 80% of the claim.
- Servicing: published capped prices; marked as an estimate where not yet published (CarExpert comparison).
- Tyres: an EV set lasts about 35,000 km, a petrol or hybrid set 50,000 km (RACV); prices from Gridly.
- Home charger: about $2,000 installed ($1,000–$3,000). Novated leases: PwC summary.
Printed from EV Pick Australia · evpick.com.au. Prices and costs are estimates; check with the dealer. © 2026 EV Pick (T. Crouch). For personal use only; not to be copied, republished or sold without permission.
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✓ You now know
- Charged at home, an EV is the cheapest to run week to week
- Over five years the purchase price matters most
- The more you drive, the more an EV's low running costs count
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