EV Charging Cost Calculator
Charging an EV at home costs roughly the price per kWh times the energy your battery needs, plus charging losses. Enter your battery size, charge window, electricity rate and annual mileage to see the cost per full charge, per top-up session, per mile, and your monthly and annual bill — home versus public charging.
Using US averages. Set your state or ZIP for local electricity, fuel, sun and grid figures. Stays on your device.
Usable capacity; typical 50–100 kWh.
Assumptions
Typical 3–4 mi/kWh.
A single representative public rate; real pricing varies.
Wall-to-battery; AC charging loses ~10–15%.
Annual home charging cost
$662
Energy drawn from the wall, after charging losses.
Verdict: Charging at home runs about $662 a year (5.5¢ per mile) — versus roughly $1,558 on public charging.
Get a shareable image- Cost per full charge
- $13.520 → 100% at home
- Cost per session
- $8.1120% → 80%
- Cost per mile
- 5.5¢at home
- Monthly cost
- $55home charging
- Energy per session
- 47.7 kWhfrom the wall
- Home$662
- Public$1,558
Charging losses are included. The public figure uses one representative rate — real public/DC pricing varies. Estimate only.
Save & compare
Save the current inputs and compare up to 4 side by side. Stored on this device only.
How it works
This calculator turns your electricity rate and how much energy your car needs into the real cost of charging — per charge, per mile, and per month.
- Battery size and charge window set how much energy a charge or a top-up session puts into the battery.
- Charging efficiency accounts for losses, so costs are based on energy drawn from the wall — what your meter bills.
- EV efficiency and annual mileage turn your driving into the kWh, and the dollars, you use over a month and a year.
The headline figure is your annual home charging cost. The bar chart compares that against charging the same mileage at a representative public rate.
Methodology & assumptions
Results use the inputs you provide plus these representative defaults. Sourced figures are tied to a dated reference; the rest are your car and usage. The public rate is a single representative figure — real public and DC fast pricing varies and is sometimes billed per minute.
| Assumption | Default | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Home electricity priceEditable; varies by state and month. | $0.17 /kWh | U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) |
| EV efficiency (default)Editable; typical 3–4 mi/kWh. | 3.5 mi/kWh | U.S. DOE / EPA — fueleconomy.gov |
| Charging efficiencyWall-to-battery losses for AC charging. | 88% | U.S. DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center (AFDC) |
| Public / DC fast priceUser input — a single representative public rate; real pricing varies widely. | $0.40 /kWh | — |
| Battery capacityUser input — usable capacity of your car. | 70 kWh | — |
| Charge windowUser input — the state-of-charge range for a session. | 20% → 80% | — |
| Annual mileageUser input — drives the monthly and annual bill. | 12,000 mi/yr | — |
Full formula, every default and its source: EV charging cost methodology.
Worked example
Take a 70 kWh EV rated at 3.5 mi/kWh, charging at home for $0.17/kWh with an 88% charging efficiency:
- Full charge: 70 ÷ 0.88 ≈ 79.5 kWh from the wall → about $13.52.
- A 20→80% session: 70 × 0.60 ÷ 0.88 ≈ 47.7 kWh → about $8.11.
- Cost per mile: 0.17 ÷ (3.5 × 0.88) ≈ 5.5¢ per mile.
- Over 12,000 miles/year: 3,896 kWh → $662/year, about $55/month.
At a $0.40/kWh public rate the same mileage would cost about $1,558/year — more than double. Put in your own numbers above.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to charge an EV at home?
At the US average rate of $0.17/kWh, a full charge of a 70 kWh battery costs about $13.50 once you include charging losses, and a 20→80% top-up costs around $8. Your figure depends on your electricity rate and battery size — enter both for an accurate result.
Is home charging cheaper than public charging?
Almost always. Home electricity is typically $0.15–0.25/kWh, while public and DC fast charging often runs $0.40/kWh or more. Charging the same annual mileage at the public rate can cost roughly twice as much as charging at home.
What does charging cost per mile compared with gas?
At $0.17/kWh and 3.5 mi/kWh with charging losses, home charging is about 5.5¢ per mile. A 30 mpg gas car at $3.30/gal costs about 11¢ per mile — roughly double. Use the EV vs gas calculator to compare your own numbers.
Why do I pay for more energy than my battery holds?
Charging is not perfectly efficient. AC charging loses roughly 10–15% as heat in the cable, onboard charger and battery, so the energy drawn from the wall — what your meter bills — is larger than the energy that ends up in the battery. We divide by an 88% charging efficiency to account for this.
How does battery size change the cost?
Cost per full charge scales directly with usable battery capacity: a 100 kWh pack costs about 43% more to fill than a 70 kWh pack at the same price. But cost per mile depends on efficiency (mi/kWh), not battery size — a bigger battery just means a longer range per charge.
Do off-peak or time-of-use rates help?
Yes, significantly. Many utilities offer overnight EV rates well below the average — sometimes half. Since most home charging happens overnight, entering your off-peak rate instead of the flat average can sharply cut the annual bill shown here.
Is charging an EV cheaper than buying gas?
For most drivers on home electricity, yes — typically half to a third of the per-mile fuel cost of a comparable gas car. Public-only charging narrows the gap. The savings depend on your local electricity and gas prices.
Related calculators
Related guides
- How much does it cost to charge an electric car?Charging an EV at home costs about $11 per full charge and roughly $5 per 100 miles. See home, public and DC fast-charging costs, plus how to cut your bill.
- Home vs public EV charging: which is cheaper?Home charging usually beats public on cost — often half the price or less. See home, Level 2 and DC fast pricing compared, with worked per-mile numbers.
- EV vs gas: total cost of ownership comparedDo EVs really cost less than gas cars? We model fuel, charging, maintenance and break-even with representative US prices so you can see when an EV wins.
By EnergyTally Team · Editorial & analysis team
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- EnergyTally Team,