E-bike vs car cost calculator

What does a year of commuting cost in electricity on an e-bike, compared with fuel for a car or a monthly transit pass? Put in your own distance and prices: the defaults are only examples.

Your trips

Distance per day, round trip (km) example value — change to yours

Days per year you make the trip example value — change to yours

E-bike

E-bike energy use (Wh/km) our assumption — adjust it

Energy lost while charging (%) our assumption — adjust it

Electricity price ($ per kWh) example value — change to yours Your rate is on your electricity bill.

Other e-bike costs per year ($) example value — change to yours Optional: add maintenance, insurance or parts.

Car

Fuel use (L/100 km) example value — change to yours Your car’s figure is in its manual or trip computer.

Fuel price ($ per litre) example value — change to yours

Other car costs per year ($) example value — change to yours Optional: add insurance, parking, maintenance. Left at 0, the car total is fuel only.

Transit

Monthly transit pass ($) example value — change to yours

Months per year you’d buy a pass example value — change to yours

Yearly cost for 4,800 km

Yearly cost and cost per km, from the numbers above
Option	Per year	Per km
E-bike (electricity)	$13	$0.00
Car (fuel)	$670	$0.14
Transit pass	$1,800	$0.38

With these numbers, the e-bike costs $657 less per year than the car and $1,787 less than the transit pass.

E-bike electricity: 85 kWh a year. Car fuel: 432 litres a year.

How it’s worked out

Distance per year = km per day × days per year.
E-bike: distance × Wh per km ÷ 1,000 = kWh into the battery; divided by (1 − charging loss) = kWh from the wall; × your electricity price; + any other e-bike costs you add.
Car: distance × L/100 km ÷ 100 = litres; × your fuel price; + any other car costs you add.
Transit: monthly pass × months per year.

Every default is labelled. Example values are placeholders, not averages for any city or province: replace them with your own. Our assumptions (e-bike energy use and charging loss) are our working figures for a typical e-bike, not measured values for yours. The calculator leaves out the price of the bike or the car and depreciation.

Commuting by e-bike? Check the rules

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Estimate how far a charge goes from your battery size, weight, assist level, hills and temperature. Every assumption is on the page.

Published by Zeus Ebikes

ebikelaws.ca is a free guide from Zeus Ebikes, a Canadian online e-bike retailer. Whatever e-bike you choose, compare its motor power and speed with your province’s rules before you ride on public roads.

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