Plug-in Hybrid Economy Calculator

Enter Calculation

Electric Miles (per period)

Gas Miles (per period)

Electric Efficiency (mi/kWh)

Electricity Price ($/kWh)

Gas Efficiency (MPG)

Gas Price ($/gallon)

Formula

Show calculation steps (1)

1. Cost Per Mile

   

   Cost per mile = Total Cost divided by total miles (Electric Miles + Gas Miles)

Results

Total Fuel + Electricity Cost

$65.4

for the period entered

Electric driving cost	$34.29
Gas driving cost	$31.11
Total miles driven	1,200
Average cost per mile	$0.0545

What is the Plug-in Hybrid Economy Calculator?

A plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) runs on battery power for shorter trips and switches to a gasoline engine for longer drives. This means your fuel budget has two separate components: electricity drawn from the grid and gasoline burned at the pump. This calculator combines both to estimate your true running cost over any period — a week, a month, or a year.

A PHEV runs on both grid electricity and gasoline, so total cost combines two energy sources.

How to use it

Enter how many miles you drove in electric mode and how many in gas mode. Then add your vehicle's electric efficiency in miles per kWh, your electricity price per kWh, your gas efficiency in MPG, and your gas price per gallon. The calculator returns the total cost, a breakdown of electric vs gas spending, and your blended average cost per mile.

The formula explained

Electricity cost per mile equals price per kWh divided by miles per kWh. Gas cost per mile equals price per gallon divided by MPG. Multiply each by the miles driven in that mode and add them together:

$$\text{Cost} = \text{electric\_miles} \cdot \frac{\text{elec\_price}}{\text{efficiency}} + \text{gas\_miles} \cdot \frac{\text{gas\_price}}{\text{MPG}}$$

Total cost is the sum of electric-mile cost and gasoline-mile cost.

Worked example

Suppose you drive 800 electric miles and 400 gas miles. Your PHEV gets 3.5 mi/kWh at $0.15/kWh and 45 MPG at $3.50/gallon. Electric cost per mile = \(0.15 \div 3.5 = \$0.042857\), so electric cost = \(800 \times 0.042857 = \$34.29\). Gas cost per mile = \(3.50 \div 45 = \$0.077778\), so gas cost = \(400 \times 0.077778 = \$31.11\). Total = $65.40 for 1,200 miles, or about $0.0545 per mile.

FAQ

Why is electric driving usually cheaper? Electricity per mile is often a fraction of gasoline per mile because EV powertrains are far more efficient and electricity prices per unit of energy are typically lower.

What if I only drive electric? Set gas miles to zero and the calculator returns only your electricity cost.

Does this include charging losses? No. To account for charger inefficiency (typically 10-15%), reduce your stated mi/kWh figure slightly to reflect energy actually drawn from the wall.