Comparison
Bolt EV vs Prius for Rideshare: Cheapest Mile, With a Catch
Bolt EV for the lowest cost per mile in this entire dataset, if a driver's charging setup makes the downtime close to free.
- Energy 5.2¢/mi
- Maintenance 1.8¢/mi
- Depreciation 11.0¢/mi
- Energy 7.9¢/mi
- Maintenance 2.7¢/mi
- Depreciation 9.8¢/mi
Energy, maintenance and depreciation only, at $4.08/gal and $0.18/kWh. Insurance, registration and any car payment sit on top — add yours in the cost per mile calculator.
| Spec | Chevrolet Bolt EV | Toyota Prius |
|---|---|---|
| Combined MPG | — | 52 |
| kWh / 100 mi | 28.1 | — |
| Used price range | $8,587–$18,487 | $11,360–$20,150 |
| Maintenance per year | $273 | $408 |
| Seats | 5 | 5 |
| Cargo (cu ft) | 16.6 | 27.4 |
| Rear legroom (in) | 36 | 33.4 |
| Uber X | Yes | Yes |
| Uber Comfort | No | No |
| Uber XL | No | No |
Sources: Chevrolet Bolt EV — EPA fuel economy, maintenance estimates, used price guide, Uber vehicle requirements ; Toyota Prius — EPA fuel economy, maintenance estimates, used price guide, Uber vehicle requirements . Updated 2026-08-27.
The short answer
The Bolt EV is the cheapest vehicle to run of any car reviewed on this site, at 18.0 cents a mile, and it beats the Prius — itself one of the cheapest gas-or-hybrid options here — by 2.4 cents a mile. It is also cheaper to buy at both ends of its price range. On every figure this dataset tracks, the Bolt EV wins. What it does not track is charging time, and for an EV that is not a minor omission — it is the one variable that can flip this comparison for a driver whose shift depends on public fast charging instead of a home outlet.
Cost per mile
The Bolt EV runs on electricity: 28.1 kWh per 100 miles at $0.1834 per kilowatt-hour works out to about 5.2 cents a mile in energy cost, against the Prius’s 7.9 cents a mile in fuel at 52 mpg combined and $4.085 a gallon — a 2.7-cent edge for the Bolt EV. Maintenance favors the Bolt EV too: 1.8 cents a mile, the lowest of any vehicle in this dataset, against the Prius’s 2.7 cents, a 0.9-cent edge. Depreciation is the one place the Prius pulls ahead: 9.8 cents a mile against the Bolt EV’s 11.0 cents, a 1.2-cent gap in the Prius’s favor. Net the three together — 2.7 plus 0.9 in the Bolt EV’s favor, minus 1.2 in the Prius’s favor — and the Bolt EV comes out 2.4 cents a mile cheaper overall: 18.0 cents against the Prius’s 20.4.
At a full-time driver’s 30,000-mile year, that gap is $721: about $5,386 for the Bolt EV against $6,107 for the Prius. The current 76-cent IRS mileage rate covers the Bolt EV’s real cost 4.23 times over, the highest multiple of any vehicle in this dataset, against 3.73 times over for the Prius. Depreciation makes up a much larger share of the Bolt EV’s total cost — 61.3 percent — than the Prius’s 48.1 percent, a 13.2-point gap that reflects how much more of the Bolt EV’s low sticker price the resale curve eats up per mile, even though the Bolt EV still wins on the total.
Price
The Bolt EV is also the cheaper car to buy at both ends of its range. This Bolt EV generation runs $8,587 to $18,487 used, against the Prius’s $11,360 to $20,150 — $2,773 cheaper at the floor, $1,663 cheaper at the ceiling. Combined with its lower running cost, the Bolt EV is the stronger buy on every dollar figure this dataset tracks.
Charging time — the real trade-off
Here is the part no cost-per-mile figure captures. The Prius refuels at any gas station in a few minutes; the Bolt EV needs to charge, and charging time is time off the road instead of earning fares. Neither this comparison nor the underlying dataset tracks how long that takes or what it costs in lost driving time — the same gap flagged in every EV review on this site. A driver who charges overnight at home on a Level 2 charger may see close to none of this cost show up during a normal shift. A driver leaning on public DC fast charging mid-shift loses real earning hours to it, and how many hours depends on local charger speed and availability — variables this site does not model and a driver has to estimate from their own market.
Space and comfort
Both cars are hatchbacks by body style, but the interior space split runs opposite to the cost comparison. The Prius carries 27.4 cubic feet of cargo against the Bolt EV’s 16.6, a 10.8-cubic-foot edge for the Prius — a real advantage for a driver hauling luggage or gear. The Bolt EV wins rear legroom, 36.0 inches against the Prius’s 33.4, a 2.6-inch edge that matters more for passenger comfort than for a solo delivery run. Both cars are rated for Uber X only, with no Comfort or XL access on Uber’s own listing — eligibility does not separate this pair the way it does for the Camry Hybrid or Model 3 comparisons.
Break-even
Since the Bolt EV is cheaper both to buy and to run across its full price range against the Prius, the break-even calculator should return no crossover here — the Bolt EV wins at every mileage on cost alone, the same shape of result the Prius produces against the Camry Hybrid. The one variable that calculator does not model is charging downtime, so a driver relying heavily on public fast charging should treat the Bolt EV’s cost advantage as real but incomplete, and weigh it against however many paid hours a week of charging stops actually costs in their own market.
Which one to buy
On cost per mile and purchase price alone, the Bolt EV is the stronger buy — cheaper to acquire, 2.4 cents a mile cheaper to run, and covered nearly four and a quarter times over by the current IRS mileage rate. The Prius remains the safer default for a driver without reliable home or fast-charging access, since its refueling time is a known few minutes rather than an unknown number of charging-dependent hours, and it offers substantially more cargo space besides. Full breakdowns of both cars are in the Chevrolet Bolt EV review and the Toyota Prius review.