2026 Chevrolet Silverado EV vs. 2025 Ford F-150 Lightning Review

2025 Chevrolet Silverado EV LT ・ Photo by Brady Holt

America’s favorite vehicles are the Ford F-Series and Chevrolet Silverado full-size pickups. These are huge, comfortable, capable vehicles – and they typically use a lot of gas. But these days, you can cut gas entirely with all-electric versions of each truck: the 2025 Ford F-150 Lightning and the 2026 Chevrolet Silverado EV. 

These electric trucks aren’t cheap. They start at sticker prices north of $50,000, and they can reach into six figures. But they deliver wildly quick, nearly silent, and inexpensive acceleration; the broad benefits of any big pickup; and some EV-specific perks. But which one is for you? 

For this review, we’ve tested both the F-150 Lightning and the Silverado EV for a week. Keep reading as we explore how these trucks compare in each of eight categories, then name our overall winner. 

Exterior Design

Chevrolet and Ford took two different approaches to their trucks’ design. 

The F-150 Lightning uses the body of a regular F-150 pickup, just with a bit of extra decoration. It’s an upright, traditional truck with thick LED lighting, available front and rear lightbars, and funkier wheel designs. 

The Silverado EV looks nothing like the gas model. It also has a front lightbar (including a halo effect around the Chevy bowtie logo), but its squinting headlights and flowing silhouette say “truck of the future” rather than “truck of the present.” You’ll also notice that the cab and bed are part of a single body, rather than separate like a traditional pickup (including the F-150 Lightning). We’ll let you pick your preferred approach and call this category a tie. 

Winner: Tie 

2023 Ford F-150 Lightning Platinum ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Interior Design

Inside, the F-150 Lightning has a conventionally blocky truck dashboard. Base models share their 12-inch touchscreen with the gas F-150, while upper trim levels have a portrait-oriented 15.5-inch unit. It’s not an ultra-posh dashboard, though we appreciated our test truck’s rich leather. The controls would be easier to use with more physical buttons and knobs, and the big screen is a little plain. But it all works pretty well overall, and you can use your phone apps via Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. We also liked the feature that lets you turn the center console into a laptop table; EVs don’t lose much electricity while idling, so the F-150 Lightning is a great mobile office. 

The Silverado EV interior is slicker and more modern. The huge 17.7-inch touchscreen bumps up against a digital gauge cluster, and for 2026, it comes standard on all trim levels. The Silverado EV has Google Maps and some other apps embedded into the infotainment system, but the big screen doesn’t include Android Auto or Apple CarPlay. Some other functions take more steps than in the Ford, and the interior doesn’t get as lavishly trimmed. 

Winner: Ford F-150 Lightning

2025 Ford F-150 Lightning Flash ・ Photo by Ford

Passenger Accommodations

We also found the F-150 Lightning a little more comfortable inside. Its seats are cushier than the Chevrolet’s, and the backseat is a little higher for better thigh support. 

Both trucks are quite comfortable, to be clear. They’re four-door full-size crew cab trucks with acres of space in both the front and rear seats. They’re available with heated and ventilated front seats, heated rear seats, and heated steering wheels. But the F-150 Lightning takes a slight edge. 

Winner: Ford F-150 Lightning

2023 Ford F-150 Lightning Platinum ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Cargo and Utility

Both the F-150 Lightning and the Silverado EV make use of their electrification to provide more flexible cargo capabilities than a gas-powered truck. First, they both have a front trunk or “frunk”: a cargo hold where the engine would go. It measures 10.7 cubic feet in the Chevrolet and 14.1 cubic feet in the Ford. In other words, each truck has roughly the space of a small sedan’s trunk – perfect for things like shopping bags or luggage that you don’t want to toss into the bed. 

The Silverado also has a unique “midgate” panel that lets you extend its 5-foot-11-inch bed into the cabin. On Silverado EVs with this option, you can fold down the rear seat and remove this panel, and the bed grows into the cabin to more than 9 feet long – more than any other pickup on the market. The F-150’s bed measures 5 feet 6 inches with no extension available. 

The Silverado EV can also tow more – up to 12,500 pounds versus the Ford’s 10,000-pound max. The F-150 Lightning has a higher maximum payload of more than 2,000 pounds (versus 1,800 pounds on the Chevy), but that’s partly because it’s available with a smaller battery with less range than any Silverado. In other words, part of the Chevrolet’s payload capacity is “carrying” the battery. Payload and towing vary by trim level, so check carefully on the particular truck you’re buying. 

You might choose differently based on your own truck needs, but we’ll say that the Silverado EV’s longer bed, midgate panel, and higher towing capacity beat the F-150 Lightning’s bigger frunk and higher max payload. 

Winner: Chevrolet Silverado EV

2025 Chevrolet Silverado EV LT ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Range and Charging

We mentioned the Silverado EV’s big battery. It results in incredible distance traveled per charge. The “Max Range” battery gives the truck an EPA-estimated range of 478 to 494 miles, depending on the trim level. The more popular Extended Range is also impressive at 410 to 424 miles. And even the Standard Range of 283 to 286 miles is more than enough for many folks’ daily use and passable on road trips. 

The bigger batteries are perhaps the most useful for towing. Pulling a trailer cuts sharply into an EV’s range, and it’s less convenient to recharge on the go. A Silverado EV Max Range can go a credible distance even while bringing along your boat, camper, or other trailer. 

The F-150 Lightning still goes a decent distance for many people. The base Standard Range goes 240 miles per charge, while the Extended Range (the only available upgrade) provides an EPA-estimated 300 to 320 miles per charge depending on the trim level. 

Both trucks get the equivalent of about 64 to 72 miles per gallon, depending on the trim level and battery size. That makes them much cheaper to run than a gas-powered pickup or even a Toyota Prius – as long as you can charge at home, which tends to be much cheaper than a public charging station. You wouldn’t be able to fully recharge an empty battery overnight at home, but you could get a couple hundred miles of range on a 240-volt car charger. And at a DC fast-charging station, each truck could get from about 10 percent to 80 percent charge in about 45 minutes.

With a longer range that doesn’t even take longer to replenish, and with no efficiency penalty, the Silverado EV wins this category. 

Winner: Chevrolet Silverado EV

2025 Chevrolet Silverado EV LT ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Acceleration

Both the Silverado EV and the F-150 Lightning aren’t just efficient. They’re also extraordinarily quick. Traditionalists will miss the burly sound of a V8 engine, but these electric trucks can zip to 60 mph in little more than 4 seconds. 

The Chevrolet has a selectable “WOW Mode” (standing for Wide Open Watts) that you’d apply for maximum speed, but it’s still wildly quick for a big truck in its Normal mode. The Ford gives you peak performance without adjusting any settings. But with similarly awesome speed, we’ll call this category a tie. 

Winner: Tie 

2023 Ford F-150 Lightning Platinum ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Ride and Handling

The F-150 Lightning looks like a more traditional truck than the Silverado EV, but it’s actually the better-driving electric pickup. That’s because the Chevy’s huge battery is so much heavier. The Ford already weighs more than 6,000 pounds, but the Silverado EV weighs 8,500 pounds and up. That’s the weight of nearly two base-model gas Silverados. 

For its girth, the Silverado EV rides and handles well. It’s comfortable and easy to drive for a big, massively heavy truck. But if you need to swerve faster or slam the brakes, the extra weight reveals itself. 

The F-150 Lightning drives even better. It has a cushy ride, yet the truck is steady and not too clumsy. Credit its more sophisticated suspension and lower center of gravity than a standard F-150. 

Winner: Ford F-150 Lightning

2023 Ford F-150 Lightning Platinum ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Pricing and Features

The F-150 Lightning and Silverado EV have both seen their prices bounce around, and they’ve both been subject to huge and fluctuating discounts. And through September 30, 2025, both trucks can be eligible for a $7,500 federal tax credit on U.S.-made EVs. Buyers are subject to an income cap and must choose a truck with a sticker price below $80,000 to qualify.

The 2025 F-150 Lightning starts at $54,780 plus a $2,195 destination charge. The 2026 Silverado opens at $52,800 plus a $2,095 destination charge with similar equipment. Both trucks are available with decadent high-end amenities – heated and ventilated front seats, sunroofs, hands-free driving systems, and premium stereos. 

The Silverado EV’s Super Cruise lets you take your hands off the wheel on more of America’s roads than the F-150 Lightning’s BlueCruise. And the Chevrolet has an available panoramic sunroof versus the Ford’s standard-sized unit (though the Silverado EV’s is fixed glass while the Ford’s opens).

You might find that the features you might want are more cheaply available on the F-150 Lightning, or that your Ford dealer is offering a better deal. But the Silverado EV wins in our book for its lower starting sticker price and slicker Super Cruise. 

Winner: Chevrolet Silverado EV

2025 Chevrolet Silverado EV LT ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Final Thoughts

The F-150 Lightning is faster, more comfortable, and much more economical than a gas-powered pickup, and it has enough range for many people’s needs. Still, our winner is the Silverado EV. 

The Chevrolet isn’t quite as comfortable or opulent as the Ford, and we missed its Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. But we otherwise came away impressed with its mega range and clever cargo flexibility – all for similar or less money than the F-150 Lightning. 

If you don’t need to go a long distance per charge (especially when towing) or make use of the flexible Midgate panel, you can stick with the Ford to enjoy its smoother ride, cushier seats, and posher upper-trim upholstery. But overall, the Silverado EV is our top overall pick. 

Winner: Chevrolet Silverado EV

2025 Chevrolet Silverado EV LT ・ Photo by Brady Holt