Is it more expensive than its gas counterpart? Yes.. is it that much better? also yes. I was a bit skeptical going in, but after running the epropulsion vs. my 3.5hp Mercury, it was a night and day difference. The best part was that when I got home, I didn't have to worry about draining the carb or filling a bucket of water to clean the cooling system. I did a rapid rinse off (30 seconds) and went about my day. I had some initial range anxiety, but I do not anymore. Two hours of constant running at 1/4-1/2 throttle and still had approx. 70% battery left. Boat was an alumacraft 1542, a fairly large boat for this outboard.