Direct answer: The RAV4 vs CR-V maintenance cost gap is small. RepairPal puts the Honda CR-V at about $407 a year and the Toyota RAV4 at about $429, a $22 difference. Over five years, Edmunds and CarEdge put total ownership within roughly $1,000 to $2,000 of each other, and which SUV wins depends on the model year and the source.
How much does it cost to maintain a RAV4 vs a CR-V?
Three sources publish maintenance and repair costs for both SUVs, and they do not agree on a winner. That is the honest answer to this question, and it is the part most comparison pages leave out. Many pages quote one source and call it settled.
| Source | Toyota RAV4 | Honda CR-V | Cheaper |
|---|---|---|---|
| RepairPal, per year (maintenance and repairs) | $429 | $407 | CR-V by $22 a year |
| RepairPal, times five years (our arithmetic) | $2,145 | $2,035 | CR-V by $110 |
| CarEdge, five-year maintenance and repairs | $1,938 | $2,425 | RAV4 by $487 |
| Edmunds, five-year maintenance plus repairs (2025 RAV4 LE, 2026 CR-V LX; our sum) | $5,892 | $6,237 | RAV4 by $345 |
| Edmunds, five-year maintenance plus repairs (used 2021 RAV4 XLE FWD, CR-V EX AWD; our sum) | $7,722 | $8,665 | RAV4 by $943 |
Sources: RepairPal figures as reported by Autoblog on Yahoo Autos (March 2026) and CarBuzz (updated September 30, 2026), which also reports CarEdge. Edmunds figures from TopSpeed (December 2025) and TopSpeed’s used-SUV comparison (updated September 2026).
Read the table this way. RepairPal looks at the whole fleet of vehicles that shops actually repair. It leans on how often cars visit a shop and what a typical visit costs. Edmunds and CarEdge model a new car over five years and 60,000 miles from a maintenance schedule. The two methods can reasonably land on different sides of a $22-a-year gap, and neither gap is big enough to base a purchase on.
What does RepairPal say about the RAV4 and CR-V?
RepairPal lists the RAV4 at $429 a year for maintenance and repairs, and its CR-V page lists $407. A comparison of RepairPal data reports the same two numbers. RepairPal’s own reliability pages compare the CR-V’s $407 with an average of $521 for compact SUVs, so both models sit below the class average. The sources we found also report the same repair frequency for both SUVs, about 0.3 shop visits a year, with RepairPal’s chance of a severe repair at 9% for the CR-V and 10% for the RAV4. We could not open RepairPal’s pages directly (the site blocked our requests), so we rely on its figures as reported by Autoblog and CarBuzz. Treat the severity percentages as second-hand.
Two cautions apply to any RepairPal average. It blends model years, so a 2012 and a 2024 car sit in one number, and it varies by shop and region. If you are pricing a specific used car, use the figure as a ceiling check, not a quote.
Which is cheaper to insure, the RAV4 or the CR-V?
The Honda CR-V is usually cheaper to insure than the Toyota RAV4, by about $40 to $200 a year in most sources. Insurance is the one cost where nearly every source points the same way.
| Source | RAV4 per year | CR-V per year | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Insure.com, full coverage (2026 data) | $2,159 | $2,037 | $122 |
| The Zebra, full coverage ($143 vs $133 a month) | about $1,716 | about $1,596 | $120 (our arithmetic) |
| CarEdge | about $1,999 | $1,959 | $40 |
| MoneyGeek, full coverage | $2,140 | $2,139 | $1 |
| Edmunds, five-year insurance (2025 RAV4 LE vs 2026 CR-V LX) | $6,698 | $5,678 | $1,020 over five years, or $204 a year (our arithmetic) |
Sources: Autoblog on Yahoo Autos (March 22, 2026; it cites Insure.com, The Zebra, CarEdge and MoneyGeek and estimates the five-year gap at $200 to $830) and TopSpeed for Edmunds.
Your own premium will depend on your state, age, record and trim far more than on the badge. The same Autoblog article cites Compare.com rates for the RAV4 ranging from $68 a month in North Carolina to $352 a month in New York. Get quotes for both before you decide, and read our guide to dropping collision coverage on an older car if you are buying used and want to trim the bill later.
How much fuel does each SUV use, according to the EPA?
Fuel economy is the clearest difference, and it depends on which engine you pick. The 2026 RAV4 is sold only as a hybrid, according to Consumer Reports. The 2026 CR-V comes as a 1.5-liter turbo gas engine or a 2.0-liter hybrid. fueleconomy.gov estimates annual fuel cost on 15,000 miles a year, 45% highway and 55% city driving, at current fuel prices.
| 2026 model (EPA) | Combined mpg | EPA annual fuel cost | Five years (our arithmetic) |
|---|---|---|---|
| RAV4, front-wheel drive | 43 | $1,500 | $7,500 |
| RAV4, AWD LE or SE | 42 | $1,550 | $7,750 |
| CR-V, 2.0 L hybrid, front-wheel drive | 40 | $1,600 | $8,000 |
| CR-V, 2.0 L hybrid, AWD | 37 | $1,750 | $8,750 |
| CR-V, 1.5 L turbo gas, front-wheel drive | 30 | $2,150 | $10,750 |
| CR-V, 1.5 L turbo gas, AWD | 29 | $2,200 | $11,000 |
Source: fueleconomy.gov 2026 Toyota RAV4 and 2026 Honda CR-V listings. We read the 2.0-liter CR-V rows as the hybrid, which is the only 2.0-liter engine in that lineup, and the 1.5-liter turbo rows as the gas model.
Compare like with like. The RAV4 hybrid against the CR-V hybrid is a $100 to $200 a year gap in the RAV4’s favor, or $500 to $1,000 over five years. The RAV4 hybrid against the gas CR-V is about $650 a year, or $3,250 over five years on front-wheel drive. That fuel gap is bigger than any maintenance difference above. If you are weighing hybrid against gas for its own sake, use our hybrid vs gas break-even guide or the gas vs hybrid vs EV calculator.
Prices and mpg change, and the EPA numbers are estimates for a standard driver. Run your own mileage in our mpg calculator.
What is the 5-year cost to own a RAV4 vs a CR-V?
Five-year totals add depreciation, fuel, insurance, maintenance and repairs, and sometimes financing and fees. Two large sources publish a figure, and a third gives a used-car view.
| Source | Toyota RAV4 | Honda CR-V | Cheaper |
|---|---|---|---|
| Edmunds, 5 years and 60,000 miles (2025 RAV4 LE, 2026 CR-V LX) | $44,667 | $43,628 | CR-V by $1,039 |
| CarEdge, 5 years and 60,000 miles (2025 RAV4, 2026 CR-V LX) | $35,894 | $33,935 | CR-V by $1,959 |
| Edmunds, used 2021 models (RAV4 XLE FWD, CR-V EX AWD) | $38,333 | $39,354 | RAV4 by $1,021 |
Sources: TopSpeed, December 5, 2025 for the first two rows, and TopSpeed’s used comparison for Edmunds’ 2021 figures. Edmunds’ published new-car figure is for the 2025 RAV4 LE, so that is the RAV4 we compare. TopSpeed’s text calls the Honda a 2026 CR-V LX, though its table heading says CR-V Hybrid, so treat the trim as approximate.
Two things stand out. First, the margin is small: $1,039 is 2.3% of the Edmunds RAV4 total, and $1,959 is 5.5% of CarEdge’s (our arithmetic). Second, the winner flips with the model year. New cars favor the CR-V in Edmunds and CarEdge, mostly because of cheaper insurance. The used 2021 models favor the RAV4 because Edmunds estimates fewer repairs ($2,269 vs $3,193) over five years.
Look at what drives each total. In the new-car Edmunds row, the CR-V is $1,020 cheaper on insurance and $345 more expensive on maintenance plus repairs. Depreciation is nearly identical ($9,861 for the CR-V vs $9,940 for the RAV4). That means the new-car win comes from the insurance line, which depends on your own quote.
Which holds its value better, the RAV4 or the CR-V?
The Toyota RAV4 holds its value slightly better than the Honda CR-V by most estimates, though the size of the edge depends on the source. SlashGear on Yahoo Autos (May 26, 2026) shows these estimated resale values as a share of the price paid:
| Years owned | 2026 RAV4 | 2026 CR-V |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | 94.5% | 86.7% |
| 5 | 75% | 71.1% |
| 7 | 62% | 58% |
| 10 | 45.8% | 43.3% |
On a $35,000 purchase, the five-year gap of 3.9 points is about $1,365 (our arithmetic; use your own price). The article notes these are estimates that depend on maintenance, mileage and options, and it does not name its data source. Edmunds’ dollar depreciation for the two cars is nearly the same, so treat resale as a modest RAV4 advantage, not a guarantee. Resale matters most if you plan to sell at five years. If you will drive it to 200,000 miles, it matters much less.
Does the hybrid change the maintenance math?
We could not find a trustworthy, named-source dollar comparison of the RAV4 hybrid against the CR-V hybrid. One dealer-blog estimate puts a 10-year gap near $2,400, and another near $1,200, but neither names the data behind its figures, so we left both out. If a page quotes a clean number with no source, be skeptical.
What you can plan around is the normal list of wear items. A typical set of front brake pads and rotors costs $322 to $586 per axle, and both SUVs will need that work somewhere in the first 100,000 miles. Tires are the other big line, and a new set of tires costs about the same for both, since neither source we found shows a real difference. For a cost-per-mile view that bundles all of this, see our cost per mile to drive a car guide.
Is the RAV4 or CR-V more reliable?
RepairPal rates both SUVs as excellent for ownership cost, according to the secondary sources we checked, and the repair frequency is the same at about 0.3 visits a year. The repair numbers above are averages, not a promise. The practical advice is to pick the specific car, not the badge: a clean service history, a pre-purchase inspection and the right engine for your budget matter more than a $22-a-year average.
Some cost drivers are the same for both:
- Age and mileage. Repair costs climb after about 100,000 miles on both.
- Transmission and fluid service. Follow the owner’s manual interval. Skipped fluid changes are the most common way to turn a cheap-to-own car into an expensive one.
- Your shop. Independent shops often charge less than dealers for the same work.
- Recalls and warranty. Check the VIN on NHTSA’s recall lookup before you buy any used SUV, and ask what factory coverage remains.
- Belt or chain, and emissions parts. Ask the seller whether the engine uses a timing belt or chain and when it was last serviced (our timing belt vs timing chain guide explains why it matters). On an older SUV, budget for emissions repairs too: a catalytic converter runs $400 to $2,500 or more, and a check engine light for an EVAP leak such as P0455 or P0442 is worth looking up and pricing before you buy.
If a repair bill ever lands on a high-mileage SUV, our repair or replace guide walks through the 50% rule so you can tell when fixing is still the cheaper choice.
So which should you buy to keep costs lowest?
There is no clean winner, so match the SUV to your situation:
- Highest fuel savings, new: the RAV4 hybrid, which is the only 2026 RAV4. It beats the CR-V hybrid by $100 to $200 a year and the gas CR-V by about $650 a year.
- Lowest insurance, new: the CR-V, by $40 to about $200 a year depending on the source.
- Lowest repair risk, used: the RAV4 looks better in Edmunds’ 2021 estimate and in CarEdge’s five-year numbers. RepairPal’s annual average favors the CR-V by $22. We call this a tie.
- Resale at five years: the RAV4, by an estimated 3.9 points.
- Lowest sticker price: compare local prices for the same year and trim. We found no sourced dealer-price comparison, so we did not rank this.
The five-year totals differ by about $1,000 to $2,000 on a $35,000 to $45,000 vehicle. A better price, a lower interest rate or a good insurance quote can erase that. Do not pay more for one SUV over the other for a maintenance edge worth a few hundred dollars. If you are timing the purchase, see the best time of year to buy a car.
How do you run the numbers for your own car?
Use your own mileage, state and trim in the calculator below. It adds insurance, fuel, repairs and depreciation into one yearly figure, so you can compare the two SUVs side by side with quotes you trust.
Free calculator
See your yearly cost to own the RAV4 or CR-V, with your own fuel, insurance and repair numbers.
To compare, run the calculator once for each SUV with the same mileage and ownership years. Change only the inputs that really differ: the purchase price, insurance quote, mpg and an estimated repair budget. Our ownership cost calculator and the wider buying guides cover the rest of the decision.
FAQ
Is a Toyota RAV4 or Honda CR-V cheaper to maintain?
It depends on the source. RepairPal lists $407 a year for the CR-V and $429 for the RAV4. CarEdge and Edmunds estimate lower five-year maintenance and repair costs for the RAV4. The gaps are $22 a year to about $487 over five years, so neither is a clear winner.
Is the RAV4 or CR-V cheaper to insure?
Usually the CR-V. Insure.com shows $2,037 for the CR-V and $2,159 for the RAV4, and Edmunds estimates $5,678 for the CR-V and $6,698 for the RAV4 over five years. The gap is often $40 to $200 a year, and your state and record matter more.
What is the 5-year cost to own a RAV4 vs a CR-V?
Edmunds estimates $44,667 for a 2025 RAV4 LE and $43,628 for a 2026 CR-V LX over five years and 60,000 miles. CarEdge estimates $35,894 and $33,935. Edmunds’ used 2021 comparison favors the RAV4 by $1,021. The gaps are about 2% to 6%.
Which holds its value better, the RAV4 or CR-V?
The RAV4, by most estimates. SlashGear estimates a 2026 RAV4 keeps 75% of its price after five years and a CR-V keeps 71.1%. Edmunds’ depreciation dollars for the two are nearly equal, so the edge is modest.
Does the RAV4 or the CR-V get better gas mileage?
The 2026 RAV4 hybrid is rated 43 mpg combined in front-wheel drive and $1,500 a year in fuel by the EPA. The CR-V hybrid is rated 40 mpg and $1,600. The CR-V gas turbo is rated 30 mpg and $2,150, based on 15,000 miles a year.
Sources
- RepairPal, Toyota RAV4 repair and maintenance cost (annual cost; the site blocked our direct access, so we use the figure as reported by Autoblog and CarBuzz)
- RepairPal, Honda CR-V repair and maintenance cost ($407 a year; compact SUV average $521)
- Autoblog on Yahoo Autos, “2026 Toyota RAV4 vs Honda CR-V: Which One Costs Less to Insure?” (March 22, 2026; insurance by source, RepairPal annual costs)
- CarBuzz, “Subaru’s Forester Costs More To Maintain Than A RAV4 Or CR-V Hybrid” (updated September 30, 2026; CarEdge five-year maintenance and RepairPal annual costs)
- TopSpeed, “Toyota vs. Honda: The Lowest Ownership Costs For Their Most Popular SUVs” (December 5, 2025; Edmunds and CarEdge five-year tables)
- TopSpeed, “Toyota RAV4 Vs Honda CR-V: Which Used SUV To Buy?” (updated September 9, 2026; Edmunds True Cost to Own, 2021 models)
- fueleconomy.gov, 2026 Toyota RAV4 and 2026 Honda CR-V EPA ratings (accessed October 2026; 15,000 miles a year)
- SlashGear on Yahoo Autos, “Toyota RAV4 Vs Honda CR-V: Which SUV Depreciates Faster?” (May 26, 2026)
- Consumer Reports, “12 Hybrids That Save You the Most Money on Gas” (2026; RAV4 now hybrid-only)
Figures are estimates from different model years, trims and methods, and they will not match your car. Our arithmetic is labeled where used. Check current quotes and prices before you buy.
Updated October 2026. By Rasel Hakkani.
This article is general information, not financial or mechanical advice. Get a pre-purchase inspection and insurance quotes for the exact car you plan to buy.
