Car fuel costs by model
What does your car actually cost to run? Yearly fuel or charging cost for 488 models across 58 makes, at today's US average prices and 12,000 miles a year. Open any car for the per-mile and monthly breakdown — plus what it costs per 100 km around the world, in local currency.
Median of every model we track in each group, at 12,000 mi/yr, $4.28/gal regular, $6.28/gal diesel and $0.17/kWh home electricity.
Browse by make
Every car we price
488 cars, cheapest to run from $443 a year.
Your mileage, your country, latest prices.
What an EV would save you over the years.
Real routes, priced end to end.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to fuel a car per year?
At 12,000 miles a year and today's US average prices, a typical petrol car in this list costs about $1,617, a diesel $1,937 and an electric car $565 on home charging. The gap between the cheapest and thirstiest car here is $2,923 a year for identical mileage.
Which car is cheapest to run?
Of the 488 models here, the Lucid Air is cheapest at about $443 a year — electric cars take most of the top places, because home electricity buys roughly three to four times as many miles per dollar as petrol.
Do these figures include tax, insurance and servicing?
No — these are fuel and charging costs only, which is the part that moves week to week with pump prices. Depreciation, insurance, tax and servicing are separate and depend far more on where you live and what you paid for the car than on which model it is.
Where do the fuel economy numbers come from?
Manufacturer combined-cycle figures: WLTP in Europe, EPA combined in North America. They convert between units exactly (235 ÷ L/100 km = US MPG), so every car here is comparable. Real-world consumption typically runs 5–15% higher, and more in cold weather or heavy city traffic.
Do these prices update?
Yes. US pump prices come from the U.S. Energy Information Administration's weekly retail survey — currently $4.28/gal for regular and $6.28/gal for diesel, for the week of 2026-10-19 — so every figure on these pages moves with the market rather than being frozen at publication.