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Ford F150 Lightning vs. Chevy Silverado EV: Which one should you buy?

Ford vs Chevy - the debate spills into EVs

James Dolan
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2024 Chevy Silverado EV WT trim on the road.
The Ford F Series and the Chevrolet Silverado are the most popular pickup trucks in the United States. Of course, as the world is shifting towards electric vehicles, both GM and Ford don’t want to lose their golden goose and they now offer electric models of their best-selling vehicles. The Ford F150 Lightning was first delivered to customers in 2022, and the Chevy Silverado EV is finally available for delivery in 2023.

Since both models fall in the same price range, you may be wondering which one should you buy if you’re searching for an electric pickup. Besides that, there are a few EV trucks on the market, and the F150 Lightning and Silverado EV are the most affordable options. Which one is the better option if we compare them head-to-head? Let’s find out.

Three Ford F-150 Lightning models parked with red, blue and gray colors.
Ford / Ford

The Chevy Silverado EV and Ford F150 Lightning have almost the same price range

When the Chevy Silverado EV was unveiled in 2022, GM promised that it would start at $39,900. However, due to inflation, the automaker adjusted the price to $50,000 — as reported by Inside EVs. Interestingly, Ford reduced the price of the F-150 Lightning by almost $10,000 to offer the low cost trim starting at $49,995. This means that the cheapest Chevy Silverado EV trim will be sold at almost the same price as the Ford F-150 Lightning Pro trim.

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However, the Ford F150 Lightning has more trim options at different price ranges than the Chevy Silverado EV. More succinctly, Ford F-150 Lightning has two trims selling between $54,000 and $60,000, and two other models selling at $69,995. On the other hand, the Chevy Silverado EV is available with two models for fleet customers at $74,800 and $79,800 — this is almost the same price range as the F-150 Lightning Lariat Extended Range model which is sold at $77,495.

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The most expensive Chevy Silverado RST EV trim is sold at $106,895, while the most expensive F-150 Lightning Platinum Extended Range model is priced at $91,995. Ford also offers a limited F-150 Platinum Black Edition at $97,995.

2024 Silverado EV RST
Chevrolet/General Motors / GM

The Chevy Silverado EV has a longer range and faster charging time

The Chevy Silverado EV has an EPA estimated range of up to 450 miles on a fully charged battery. This is a longer range than what you would get on the Ford F-150 Lightning which comes with a range of up to 320 miles.

Despite the Chevy Silverado EV having a longer battery range, it can charge faster than the Ford F-150 Lightning. This is because the Chevy Silverado EV is built on GM’s Ultium architecture that can charge the battery with a speed of up to 350 kilowatts at 800 volts. If we do an estimation, the Chevy Silverado EV is equipped to add a range of 100 miles in 10 minutes or charge to 80% in half an hour at a DC fast charger. In contrast, the Ford F-150 Lightning is limited to a charging speed of up to 155 kilowatts which should charge the bigger battery model to 80% in 41 minutes.

Both the Chevy Silverado EV and Ford F-150 Lightning will be installed with Tesla’s NACS port by 2025 to adopt Tesla’s Supercharger network.

F-150 Lightning Platinum Black Edition parked in front of a house.
Ford / Ford

The Ford F-150 Lightning is faster but the Chevy Silverado EV is more powerful

The Ford F-150 Lightning model with an extended-range battery can speed up from 0 to 60 mph in four seconds. This is faster than the Chevy Silverado EV which can accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in 4.5 seconds. However, the Chevy Silverado EV is available with up to 754 horsepower and 785 lb-ft of torque produced by dual motors. This makes it significantly more powerful than the F-150 Lightning which takes it up to 580 horsepower and 775 lb-ft of torque with dual motors.

Another metric that you may consider is the payload, especially if you want an electric pickup truck to haul goods. Both the Ford F-150 Lightning and Chevy Silverado EV have a towing capacity of 10,000 pounds. But if you’re adding weight to the cargo area, the Chevy electric truck can handle a maximum of 1,440 pounds. On the other hand, the F-150 Lightning comes with a maximum payload of up to 2,235 pounds.

Chevy Silverado EV with V2H bidirectional charging capability connected to a home
GM / GM

Both Ford F-150 Lightning and Chevy Silverado EV can power your home

In case of a natural disaster that could cause the grid to go offline, both the Ford F-150 Lightning and Chevy Silverado EV can power your home using vehicle-to-home (V2H) bidirectional chargers. But first, your home’s electrical panel should be upgraded to support V2H bidirectional charging capability.

How long can you expect the electric trucks to power your home? It depends on the battery size and your power consumption at home. The Ford electric truck with a 131-kWh battery should be enough to supply backup power to most average households for at least 10 days. As for the Chevy Silverado EV that comes with a bigger 200-kWh battery, it should have enough juice to power an average household for at least 14 days.

However, if you want a Chevy Silverado EV to backup your home during a power outage, you may have to wait until 2026.

F-150 Lightning Platinum Black Edition
Ford / Ford

Both EVs have self-driving technology and top-notch interior

The interior of the F-150 Lightning and Chevy Silverado have almost similar interior features which include spacious seats, climate control, and massage function. The touchscreen infotainment screen on the F-150 Lightning Pro and XLT models are available in 12 inches — but the Platinum and Lariat models have a 15.5-inch touchscreen display. The Chevy Silverado EV comes with a slightly bigger 17-inch touchscreen display.

Both electric pickups are also designed with self-driving driving technology that includes automatic lane change assist, in-lane repositioning, and adaptive cruise control that can be activated across major highways in North America. 

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James Dolan
James Dolan
Contributor
James Dolan is an automotive writer with extensive work experience having been published on The Drive, Hot Cars, Green…
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