Know what a charge really costs.
Enter your battery size, how far you want to fill it and your price per kWh. See the cost of this charge, the cost of every mile, the miles it adds and how it stacks up against a gas car.
The charge
Fill these in to turn kWh into miles and to compare the same driving in a gas car.
What this charge is telling you
How electricity price changes the cost
Charge cost across a range of kWh prices
How far you top up
Cost as your target charge moves
Charge scorecard
Monthly and yearly cost by miles driven
The same car and the same kWh price, run across different monthly mileage, with a gas car for comparison. A typical 1,000 miles a month is highlighted.
| Miles / month | kWh / month | EV per month | EV per year | Gas per year | You save / year |
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EV charging cost, explained
How the charging cost is worked out
The math is simple once you split it in two. First, the energy that lands in your battery is the usable capacity times the charge you are adding, so a 60 kWh pack going from 20 percent to 80 percent stores 60 times 0.60, or 36 kWh. Second, no charger is perfect, so the grid has to supply more than that. At 90 percent efficiency the grid energy drawn is 36 divided by 0.90, about 40 kWh. Multiply that grid energy by your price per kWh and you have the cost of the charge. Everything else on this page, cost per mile, miles added and the gas comparison, comes off those two numbers.
Home charging versus public fast charging
Where you plug in changes the price more than anything else. A typical home rate sits near 0.17 dollars per kWh, and many drivers pay even less on an overnight or time-of-use plan. Public DC fast charging often runs 0.40 to 0.60 dollars per kWh, which can double or triple the cost of the exact same charge. The trick most owners land on is simple: charge at home for daily driving and save the fast chargers for road trips, where the higher price buys you speed you actually need.
Two habits keep the home number low. Charge to about 80 percent for daily use, since the last stretch to 100 percent is slower and harder on the battery, and shift charging to off-peak hours if your utility offers a cheaper overnight rate. Both are free and both add up over a year.
Common questions
How much does it cost to charge an EV at home?
Take the kWh you add to the battery, divide by your charging efficiency to get the grid energy, then multiply by your price per kWh. A 60 kWh pack charged from 20 percent to 80 percent stores 36 kWh, draws about 40 kWh at 90 percent efficiency, and costs roughly 6.80 dollars at 0.17 dollars per kWh.
Why is the grid energy higher than the battery energy?
Charging is never perfectly efficient. Some energy is lost as heat in the charger, cables and the battery itself, so the grid has to supply more kWh than actually reach the pack. At 90 percent efficiency you pay for about 11 percent more energy than you store, which is why the calculator divides the battery energy by the efficiency.
What is a good cost per mile for an EV?
It depends on your rate and how efficient the car is. At 0.17 dollars per kWh and 3.5 miles per kWh, energy costs about 0.05 dollars a mile after charging losses. A gas car at 28 MPG and 3.40 dollars a gallon costs about 0.12 dollars a mile, so charging at home is often less than half the fuel cost.
Should I charge to 100 percent every time?
For daily driving most makers suggest topping to about 80 percent, since sitting at a full charge and the slow final stretch both add wear to the battery. Charge to 100 percent when you need the full range for a long trip, and time it so the car finishes close to when you leave.
Does cold weather change the charging cost?
Yes. In cold weather the battery uses energy to warm itself and charging efficiency drops, so the same charge can pull more kWh from the grid and cost a little more. Range per kWh also falls, which raises the cost per mile. Lowering the efficiency figure in the calculator shows the effect.
How do I lower my EV charging bill?
Charge at home instead of public fast chargers, move charging to off-peak hours if your utility offers a cheaper overnight rate, top to about 80 percent for daily use, and keep the car efficient with correct tire pressure and gentle driving. Each one trims the cost per mile shown here.
Estimates for planning only. Real charging cost varies with your utility rate and time-of-use plan, charger losses, battery temperature, how full the pack already is and public charging fees. Home charging is usually far cheaper than public DC fast charging. Check your own rate before you rely on any figure here.