Tankful
An electric car using 17 kWh per 100 km covers 100 km for about €4.27 when charged at home and €10.88 at a fast charger. A petrol car (7 l/100 km) spends €12.97 on the same distance at Polish prices, and a diesel (6 l/100 km) €12.36. The EV wins clearly when you charge at home – at fast chargers the gap narrows.
Cost of 100 km: electricity vs fuel
| Drivetrain | Consumption | Cost of 100 km |
|---|---|---|
| EV – home charging | 17 kWh | €4.27 |
| EV – fast charger | 17 kWh | €10.88 |
| Petrol | 7 l | €12.97 |
| Diesel | 6 l | €12.36 |
| LPG | 9 l | €6.72 |
For electricity we assume €0.25/kWh at home and €0.64/kWh at a fast charger – typical Polish rates; your tariff or charging subscription may differ. Fuel prices are Polish national averages from 28 September 2026.
Cost of popular routes
| Route | EV – home | EV – fast charger | Petrol 7 l |
|---|---|---|---|
| Warsaw – Kraków (297 km) | €12.69 | €32.30 | €38.52 |
| Warsaw – Gdańsk (338 km) | €14.46 | €36.80 | €43.89 |
| Kraków – Gdańsk (599 km) | €25.59 | €65.13 | €77.68 |
| Warsaw – Berlin (571 km) | €24.38 | €62.05 | €77.35 |
On a longer drive you usually combine both: you set off with a battery charged at home and top up along the way. The real cost lands somewhere between the two EV columns.
What drives electricity use
- Speed – at motorway speeds an EV uses noticeably more than in town. It's the opposite of a combustion car, which burns the most in traffic jams – in town an EV recovers energy when braking.
- Temperature – in winter the battery and cabin heating raise consumption, by up to several tens of percent. Pre-heating the car while it's still plugged in helps.
- Car size – small city cars use around 14–15 kWh/100 km, large SUVs over 20 kWh.
When an EV pays off
You save the most when most of your kilometres run on electricity from home or work, and you only use fast chargers on longer trips. If you can't charge day to day and rely only on fast chargers, the running cost can come close to a diesel's.
Cost a specific trip in an EV in the Tankful calculator – choose electric and enter your consumption and electricity price. For a comparison with autogas, see is LPG worth it.