How Far €10 Goes on Electric vs Petrol vs Diesel in Portugal
Published: 04/07/2026
How far €10 goes: electric vs petrol vs diesel in Portugal
Take a €10 note and see how far it carries you. Charged at home, an electric car covers 287 km on that €10 in Portugal. Petrol? Around 99 km. Diesel manages 118 km. That's nearly three times the distance for the same money — and it isn't a manufacturer's estimate, it's data from a European index comparing 17 countries.
This is the simplest way to understand how far €10 goes electric vs petrol in Portugal. Forget the kWh-and-litres maths. The question is blunt: how many km on €10?
Where these numbers come from
Norwegian charger maker Zaptec built an index — the Zaptec Index, continuously updated — that measures how far €10 of energy takes you across 17 European markets. To keep the comparison fair, it uses three versions of the same car: the electric Volkswagen ID.3 Pro (14.3 kWh/100 km), the petrol Golf 1.5 TSI (5.1 L/100 km) and the diesel Golf 2.0 TDI (4.3 L/100 km).
Energy and fuel prices come from official sources — Eurostat, the EU Weekly Oil Bulletin, national statistics agencies and the published tariffs of the main charging networks. No marketing in between.
"People shouldn't have to be energy analysts to know what it costs to drive a car," said Kurt Østrem, Zaptec's CEO.
Portugal is one of Europe's best countries to charge an EV
Here's the part that surprises people: Portugal is the 4th best country in Europe for home charging. With electricity at roughly €0.24/kWh, that €10 buys 287 km. Only Norway (364 km), Iceland (344 km) and Finland (310 km) do better — all countries with cheap, heavily renewable electricity.
| Country | EV home (km) | Petrol (km) | Diesel (km) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Norway | 364 | — | — |
| Iceland | 344 | 126 | 132 |
| Finland | 310 | 89 | 104 |
| Portugal | 287 | ~99 | ~118 |
| France | 273 | 98 | 117 |
| Austria | 214 | 109 | 122 |
| Germany | 181 | — | — |
Austria props up the table of 17 markets at 214 km on home charging — and even there the EV still does about double the petrol car. In other words: there isn't a single European country where home charging fails to beat the pump.
The cost of an electric car vs petrol in Portugal, in numbers
Let's take the Portuguese case slowly. In June 2026, petrol 95 sits around €1.65/L and diesel at €1.66/L — both below the EU-27 average of roughly €1.81/L. Home electricity holds at that €0.24/kWh.
With those prices and the Volkswagen trio's consumption, €10 translates into:
- Electric (home): 287 km — €0.24/kWh, 14.3 kWh/100 km
- Diesel: ~118 km — €1.66/L, 4.3 L/100 km
- Petrol: ~99 km — €1.65/L, 5.1 L/100 km
The home-charged electric car travels about three times further than petrol and 2.4 times further than diesel for the same money. Put another way: what a petrol tank covers in 99 km, your home socket covers in nearly 300 km.
And if you charge on the street? Public charging stacks up too
Not everyone has a garage with a socket. The good news is that Portugal also makes the public-charging podium: 3rd best in Europe, with 233 km per €10 at an average tariff of €0.30/kWh. Only Iceland (250 km) and Finland (241 km) do better.
On the Mobi.E network — Portugal's national public charging system — prices vary a lot by station and power output:
| Charging type | Approx. tariff (€/kWh) |
|---|---|
| AC (alternating current) | 0.15 – 0.30 |
| DC fast | 0.30 – 0.50 |
| Ultra-fast | 0.50 – 0.70 |
At €0.30/kWh, the EV still leaves petrol (99 km) and diesel (118 km) far behind.
The catch: fast charging can cost more than petrol
Here's the honest part. The EV's advantage depends on where you put the energy. On Portugal's ultra-fast chargers the tariff can climb to €0.65/kWh or more — and at that rate the 287 km from the start shrink to roughly what a combustion car manages.
It isn't only a Portuguese quirk. In Italy (€0.70/kWh) and the UK (€0.73/kWh) the index shows EVs doing just 101 and 96 km per €10 on public charging — less than a diesel. Anyone relying solely on fast chargers on the road loses much of the saving.
The practical reading is simple: the EV wins clearly for drivers who charge at home or on cheaper AC points. For the motorway user living off the ultra-fast charger, the maths edges back towards petrol.
Frequently Asked Questions
Charging at home at around €0.24/kWh, €10 takes you about 287 km in an EV like the Volkswagen ID.3 (14.3 kWh/100 km), according to the Zaptec Index. The same €10 buys only ~99 km of petrol and ~118 km of diesel at June 2026 prices (€1.65 and €1.66/L). In other words, the EV travels nearly three times further for the same money.
For drivers who charge at home, running an EV costs about a third of what petrol costs per kilometre. The EV covers roughly three times the distance of petrol and 2.4 times that of diesel for every €10 of energy. The advantage only narrows for people relying solely on ultra-fast public chargers.
Yes. For home charging, Portugal ranks 4th of the 17 European markets studied (287 km per €10), behind only Norway, Iceland and Finland. On public charging it is still 3rd best, with 233 km per €10 at an average €0.30/kWh tariff — ahead of markets like France, Germany and Austria.
Home electricity is around €0.24/kWh, which yields 287 km per €10. On the public Mobi.E network prices vary: ~€0.15-0.30/kWh on AC, €0.30-0.50/kWh on DC fast and €0.50-0.70/kWh ultra-fast. At €0.30/kWh you still get about 233 km per €10, but the faster the charger, the more expensive the energy.
It can, in some cases. On Portugal's ultra-fast chargers the tariff can reach €0.65/kWh or more, shrinking those 287 km close to what a combustion car manages. In Italy (€0.70/kWh) and the UK (€0.73/kWh) the index even shows EVs covering fewer kilometres than a diesel on public charging — which is why the saving depends on charging mostly at home or on cheaper AC points.
Is it worth it for you?
If you cover most of your kilometres from home — true for the vast majority of drivers on daily commutes — the numbers are clear: running an electric car in Portugal costs about a third of what petrol does. And the country ranks among the cheapest in Europe to do it, something few here would have guessed.
Before deciding, add the ISV exemption and reduced IUC for EVs to the sum — both are Portuguese car taxes that weigh on the total cost of ownership. The €10 note already tells you the essential: per kilometre, a home socket is hard to beat.