The 2023 Nissan Titan is a solid full-size pickup truck that truck shoppers may want to consider, but it’s competing against a lot of other great trucks. The 2023 Chevy Silverado is one of those great trucks, and it’s one of the most popular cars in America for good reason.

Regardless, it can be helpful to compare the 2023 Nissan Titan against the 2023 Chevy Silverado, so here’s a look at which full-size pickup truck is more affordable to own in the long term.

Here’s how the base 2023 Nissan Titan compares to the 2023 Chevy Silverado

Edmunds compared the base version of the two trucks, and it’s not surprising that, in many ways, they’re both very similar. The Titan has a starting price tag of about $42,100, while the Silverado’s starting price tag is just $42,000.

With that being said, there was a bigger difference in terms of the average price that gets paid. For the Titan, that average price was about $39,000, while the Silverado’s was roughly $41,000. 

Despite the similar price tags, there are some major differences between the two under the hood. Nissan gave the Titan a single engine option, and it’s a 5.6-liter V8 that gets 400 hp and 413 lb-ft of torque.

The base version of the Silverado, however, comes with a 2.7-liter turbo four-cylinder that gets 310 hp and 430 lb-ft of torque. The Chevy’s engine is more fuel efficient, as it gets 20 mpg combined compared to the Nissan’s 18 mpg combined.

Breaking down the five-year ownership costs of these two full-size pickup trucks

Although the two trucks have similar base price tags, their efficiency difference, as well as their other differences, ultimately make the Silverado the cheaper truck to own. The Silverado costs $63,758 over five years to own, while the Titan costs $66,809. That’s a difference of over $3,000. It should be even larger since Edmunds likely made a mistake when it said that the Titan needs $0 for repairs while the Silverado needs $1,071. 

Fuel costs are the main expense for both owners, since the Titan uses $22,246 worth of gas while the Silverado uses $20,029. Depreciation is another big chunk, as this costs Titan owners $19,480 while it only costs $16,704 for Silverado owners. However, the two trucks are similar in many other categories. For example, the Titan has $8,919 in financing costs compared to the Silverado’s $9,070.

Nissan owners pay $4,994 in taxes & fees, while Chevy owners pay $5,352. In terms of insurance, that’s costing Titan owners $7,486, while it costs Silverado owners $7,197. The last category, and one of the few categories where the Nissan has the advantage, is maintenance. This costs Titan owners $3,684, while Silverado owners have to pay $4,335. 

The 2023 Nissan Titan costs similarly to the 2023 Chevy Silverado overall

Based on these ownership cost estimates, the Chevy has a big lead of about $4,000 if repair costs aren’t included. That said, a big portion of that lead comes from the slight fuel economy advantage that the standard version of the Silverado has over the Titan. The problem is that Chevy offers many engine options, and it’s very likely that owners equip their truck with one of the more powerful, but less efficient engine options.

As a result, in the real world, the Silverado’s five-year ownership costs probably aren’t that different from the Titan’s. It ultimately comes down to consumer preference though. Some truck owners are fine with the Silverado’s standard Work Truck trim, but many others want more than that.