whats more expensive gas or electric
Gas is usually cheaper per unit of energy, but electric is often cheaper to run once you look at the whole picture (especially for cars), depending heavily on local prices and how you use it.
First: What are you comparing?
When people ask âwhatâs more expensive, gas or electric?â, they usually mean one of two things:
- Cars: gasoline car vs electric vehicle (EV) running costs
- Home energy: gas heating/cooking vs electric heating/cooking
The answer is different in each case, so both angles matter.
Cars: Gas vs electric
For vehicles, electricity is currently cheaper per mile in most realâworld scenarios.
- One recent 2025 comparison estimates electricity at roughly $3â$5 per 100 miles for an EV, versus $12â$15 per 100 miles in gasoline for a typical gas car at around $3.70â$3.80 per gallon.
- Over 7â15 years of ownership, those fuel and maintenance savings can add up to around $7,000â$11,000 in favor of electric, even though EVs usually cost more to buy up front.
- EVs also tend to have lower maintenance costs (no oil changes, fewer moving parts), which helps tilt total cost of ownership toward electric over time.
So for cars, gas is usually more expensive to fuel over the long term, but cheaper to buy at the start.
Home heating: Gas vs electric
For home heating, the story flips: gas is usually cheaper per unit of energy than electricity.
- A 2024â2025 UK cost guide shows average unit prices of about 6.04p per kWh for gas vs 24.5p per kWh for electricity , so electricity is roughly 4Ă the price per kWh there.
- Using those prices, a typical gasâheated home might spend around ÂŁ708 per year on gas heating, while an equivalent electric system (like storage heaters) can be well over ÂŁ3,000 per year under the same assumptions.
- However, electric systems can be cheaper to install than full gas central heating and may be more efficient in some setups, so the upfront vs runningâcost balance is similar to the car situation, but reversed.
So for heating, electric is usually more expensive to run than gas in places where electricity is much pricier per kWh.
Quick HTML table: Car fuel vs home heating
| Use case | Gas cost | Electric cost | Which is usually cheaper to run? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Car fuel (per 100 miles) | $12â$15 in gasoline at typical 2025 prices | [3][1]$3â$5 in electricity for an EV | [1][3]Electric usually cheaper per mile | [3][1]
| Home heating (per kWh) | ~6.04p per kWh gas | [5]~24.5p per kWh electricity | [5]Gas usually cheaper per kWh | [5]
How to think about it in âreal lifeâ
When you ask âwhatâs more expensive, gas or electric,â the real answer is:
- For driving : electric almost always wins on running cost if you can charge at home and drive regularly, even if the car itself costs more.
- For heating : gas usually wins on running cost where electricity is several times the unit price of gas, though electric can make sense in small spaces, wellâinsulated homes, or where gas isnât available.
- Location matters a lot: some regions now have very high electricity prices or subsidies that can swing the equation either way.
Bottom line: Gas is generally cheaper per unit of energy , but electric can be cheaper overall in specific uses (like cars) once you factor in efficiency, maintenance, and how you actually use it.
Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.
