# evornot

> EV or not? A free, interactive calculator that compares the true total cost of owning a gas, hybrid, or electric vehicle side by side — including every cost dealers never show you.

evornot.app is a single-page web application that helps US consumers make an informed decision when choosing between a gasoline, hybrid, or electric vehicle. It calculates and compares total cost of ownership (TCO) and lifetime CO₂ emissions across all three powertrain types simultaneously.

The tool is free, requires no sign-up, and all calculations happen in the browser. Results can be shared via a URL that encodes all inputs as query parameters.

## What the calculator models

**Financial costs (5 components summed into TCO):**
- Vehicle financing: out-the-door price, down payment, trade-in value, APR, loan term, and total interest paid via standard amortizing loan formula
- Fuel & energy: lifetime fuel cost for gas/hybrid (gallons × $/gal) or blended home/public electricity cost for EVs (kWh × $/kWh), adjusted for solar if applicable
- Maintenance & tires: annual service costs by powertrain (gas ~$650/yr, hybrid ~$500/yr, EV ~$250/yr per AAA 2025), plus annualized tire replacement
- Insurance: annual premium × years (defaults: gas $1,400, hybrid $1,550, EV $1,950/yr per AAA 2025)
- Depreciation: compound annual rate applied to purchase price (gas 15%/yr, hybrid 13%/yr, EV 18%/yr per KBB)

**EV-specific costs:**
- Level 2 home charger installation, net of the federal 30C tax credit (30% reduction)
- Road trip rental car days for users who occasionally need range beyond EV capability

**State EV rebates:** State-only incentives post-elimination of federal credits in 2025 (CO $2,000, CA up to $2,500 CVRP, NY up to $2,000, OR up to $2,500, MA $1,500, MD $3,000, CT $1,000, NJ ~$750)

**CO₂ emissions (lifetime, in metric tons):**
- Gas/hybrid: gallons burned × 19.6 lbs CO₂/gal (EPA emissions factor)
- EV: kWh consumed × state grid intensity (lbs/MWh ÷ 1,000), sourced from EPA eGRID 2023
- Manufacturing carbon premium: EV +14,000 lbs (~6.3 metric tons), hybrid +4,000 lbs (~1.8 metric tons), gas 0 baseline (IVL/MIT lifecycle analysis)
- US national grid average: 767 lb CO₂/MWh (EPA eGRID 2023)
- Grid range: 242 lb/MWh (NY upstate hydro) to 1,490 lb/MWh (Hawaii Oahu oil grid)

## Vehicle presets included

**Gas:** Toyota Camry LE ($29,500, 32 mpg), Honda Accord Sport ($31,000, 30 mpg), Ford F-150 XL ($42,000, 20 mpg), Honda Civic LX ($25,500, 36 mpg), Toyota RAV4 LE ($33,000, 28 mpg)

**Hybrid:** Toyota RAV4 Hybrid ($36,500, 38 mpg), Toyota Prius LE ($31,000, 57 mpg), Honda CR-V Hybrid ($37,500, 40 mpg), Toyota Camry Hybrid ($32,000, 51 mpg), Ford Escape Hybrid ($33,500, 44 mpg)

**Electric:** Tesla Model 3 RWD ($42,990, 4.1 mi/kWh), Chevrolet Equinox EV ($36,000, 3.6 mi/kWh), Ford Mustang Mach-E Select ($43,995, 3.2 mi/kWh), Tesla Model Y RWD ($46,990, 3.8 mi/kWh), Hyundai Ioniq 6 SE ($40,000, 4.3 mi/kWh)

## Fuel reference scenarios

- US gas national average: $3.45/gal (EIA Mar 2025)
- California gas: $4.90/gal (CARB reformulated)
- Texas/Gulf Coast gas: $2.95/gal (refinery proximity)
- High volatile oil market scenario: $5.80/gal (global supply disruption estimate)
- US electricity national average: $0.16/kWh (EIA residential 2025)
- Hawaii electricity: $0.40/kWh (island grid)
- Pacific Northwest electricity: $0.10/kWh (hydropower)
- Public DC fast charging: $0.45/kWh (average session rate)

## Key assumptions and limitations

- Flat fuel price assumed for all ownership years (no escalation modeling)
- Constant annual mileage (no lifecycle variation)
- Registration fees, property taxes, and state inspection costs not included (~$300–$800/yr depending on state)
- Grid carbon intensity held constant (real grid is decarbonizing; model slightly overstates EV carbon for longer ownership periods)
- EV charging efficiency losses (~10–15% AC→DC) and cold-weather range reduction (~15–25%) not explicitly modeled
- Manufacturing carbon range for EVs: 9,000–20,000 lbs depending on battery size and factory energy source; tool uses 14,000 lb midpoint

## Data sources

- AAA Your Driving Costs 2025 — maintenance, fuel, insurance, depreciation benchmarks
- EPA eGRID 2023 (published March 2025) — state grid CO₂ intensity by subregion
- EIA — gasoline and electricity pricing, national CO₂ emissions factors
- EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies Calculator — 19.6 lbs CO₂/gallon gasoline factor
- Kelley Blue Book — depreciation rate benchmarks by vehicle type
- IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute / MIT Energy Initiative — EV battery manufacturing carbon lifecycle analysis
- IRS Section 30C — EV charger federal tax credit rules
- JD Power / Consumer Reports — tire cost and longevity data

## Pages

- https://evornot.app/ — Main calculator (4-step wizard → results)
- https://evornot.app/methodology.html — Full methodology: all formulas, constants, assumptions, and sourcing

## About

evornot is an independent consumer tool. It has no affiliation with any automaker, dealership, fuel company, or financial institution. It carries no advertising. All data is sourced from public government and research databases.

Domain: evornot.app
Contact: adore-ladder-1r@icloud.com
Last updated: March 2026