About EnergyCanAfford

Free, private, plain-language utility and energy calculators for Texas households.

Why this site exists

Utility bills are one of the largest monthly costs most households carry — and in Texas the numbers are confusing: deregulated electric plans with bill-credit tricks, one gas company per area, and water rates that differ wildly by city. Bills arrive every month; they rarely explain what you are paying for.

EnergyCanAfford exists to close that gap. Each calculator answers one concrete question Texans actually ask — "what should my electric bill be?", "is the EV cheaper than the gas car over 5 years?", "how long until solar pays for itself now that the 30% credit is gone?", "what does charging at home really cost?" — and each one ships with a short guide written in plain language, not utility jargon. Every prefilled rate is dated and sourced, and every number is editable.

How we stay free

This site is supported by advertising. That's the whole business model: the calculators are free, unlimited, and require no account, and there is no "pro" tier hiding your results. Keeping the tools client-side (everything runs in your browser) also keeps our costs low, which keeps the site free.

What we're not

We are not a utility, a broker, or financial advisors. Every number on this site is an estimate based on standard math and the utility rates in effect in 2026. Rates, plans, and tax credits change — for anything that affects real money, please check with your utility provider or a qualified professional. See our Terms of Service for the full picture.

Privacy, briefly

We don't have user accounts and we don't want your data. Calculations run entirely in your browser; nothing you type into a calculator is sent to us. Read the full Privacy Policy for details.

Get in touch

Found a bug, have a tool request, or want to report an incorrect figure? We'd like to hear from you — see our contact page.