EV Charging Cost Calculator
Work out what charging an electric car costs per year, per month and per 100 miles or kilometres, with home and public charging and charging losses.
Charging cost per year
£1,151.36
9,400 mi
Per month
£95.95
Cost
£12.25 per 100 mi
Energy charged per year
2,829 kWh
Of which home charging
£514.86
Of which public charging
£636.50
Please note: The result is an estimate and has been rounded. Actual costs and values may differ, and no rights can be derived from this calculation.
Subscriptions, session fees, parking at chargers and prices that change by the hour are not included.
How this number is calculated
The blocks use your input. Change a value above and they update with it.
Step 1 · Energy used by the car per year
Step 2 · Energy charged per year
Step 3 · Charged at home
Step 4 · Charged on the road
Step 5 · Charging cost per year
How the calculation works
Work out what charging an electric car costs. Enter how far you drive, the efficiency of the car and how much you charge at home, and see the cost per year, per month and per 100 miles or kilometres.
First the calculator works out how much energy the car uses in a year: the distance times the energy use. Some energy is lost as heat while charging; that charging loss is added, because you still pay for it. The energy charged is split between home and public charging, each with its own price per kWh. Together that is the charging cost per year.
Formula
Energy charged (kWh) = distance × energy use per distance × (1 + charging loss ÷ 100). Charging cost = energy charged at home × home price + energy charged on the road × public price. Cost per 100 km or mi = energy use per 100 × (1 + charging loss ÷ 100) × average price per kWh.
Assumptions
- The efficiency is a yearly average. In winter, on motorways and on short trips the car uses more.
- The charging loss applies to all energy, at home and on the road.
- Prices per kWh are fixed averages. Subscriptions, session fees and parking at chargers are not included.
- Amounts are rounded to the penny, energy to whole kWh.
Example calculations
The button fills in the calculator above, so you can carry on from there.
-
Home and public
Charging cost per year
£907.67
Distance per year 15,000 km · Efficiency 17 kWh/100 km · Charged at home (%) 70 · Home price per kWh £0.24 · Public price per kWh £0.49 · Charging loss (%) 13
-
Home charging only
Charging cost per year
£520.70
Distance per year 12,000 km · Efficiency 16 kWh/100 km · Charged at home (%) 100 · Home price per kWh £0.24 · Public price per kWh £0.49 · Charging loss (%) 13
-
Rapid charging only
Charging cost per year
£2,793.00
Distance per year 20,000 km · Efficiency 19 kWh/100 km · Charged at home (%) 0 · Home price per kWh £0.24 · Public price per kWh £0.70 · Charging loss (%) 5
Frequently asked questions
What does an EV cost per mile?
Driving 12,000 miles a year at 3.5 miles per kWh, with 10% charging loss and 85% charged at home for 0.17 per kWh and the rest at 0.45, costs 799.54 a year: 6.66 per 100 miles, under 7p a mile.
How much does charging at home save?
At 15,000 km a year, 17 kWh per 100 km and 10% charging loss, charging only at home for 0.26 per kWh costs 729.30 a year. Charging only in public for 0.50 per kWh costs 1,402.50.
What is charging loss?
While charging, some energy is lost as heat in the charger and the battery. The charger and your electricity meter still count that energy. At home the loss is about 10%.
What is a normal efficiency?
Many electric cars average 3 to 4 miles per kWh, or 15 to 20 kWh per 100 km. Large and heavy cars use more, and so does any car in winter and at motorway speeds.
Is an EV cheaper to run than a petrol car?
Usually, as far as energy goes. For the total cost, the purchase price, depreciation, insurance and taxes count too; the car cost comparison puts them side by side.
Sources and checks
Sources
- NTS0901: Annual mileage of cars by ownership, fuel type and trip purpose: England | DfT (opens in a new tab)
- Energy price cap unit rates and standing charges | Ofgem (opens in a new tab)
- Electric car charging prices at public chargers | RAC (opens in a new tab)
How we check it
This calculator has 11 fixed checks: 7 calculations with a result that is fixed in advance, and 4 cases of invalid input that must be rejected. They all run automatically every time we publish; if one fails, the calculator does not go live.
See the calculations
- Distance per year 15,000 km · Efficiency 17 kWh/100 km · Charged at home (%) 70 · Home price per kWh £0.24 · Public price per kWh £0.49 · Charging loss (%) 13 → Charging cost per year £907.67
- Distance per year 12,000 km · Efficiency 16 kWh/100 km · Charged at home (%) 100 · Home price per kWh £0.24 · Public price per kWh £0.49 · Charging loss (%) 13 → Charging cost per year £520.70
- Distance per year 20,000 km · Efficiency 19 kWh/100 km · Charged at home (%) 0 · Home price per kWh £0.24 · Public price per kWh £0.70 · Charging loss (%) 5 → Charging cost per year £2,793.00
- Distance per year 15,000 km · Efficiency 17 kWh/100 km · Charged at home (%) 80 · Home price per kWh £0.10 · Public price per kWh £0.49 · Charging loss (%) 13 → Charging cost per year £512.91
- Distance per year 12,000 mi · Efficiency 3.5 mi/kWh · Charged at home (%) 85 · Home price per kWh £0.17 · Public price per kWh £0.45 · Charging loss (%) 10 → Charging cost per year £799.54
- Distance per year 15,000 km · Efficiency 160 Wh/km · Charged at home (%) 70 · Home price per kWh £0.24 · Public price per kWh £0.49 · Charging loss (%) 13 → Charging cost per year £854.28
- Distance per year 10,000 km · Efficiency 15 kWh/100 km · Charged at home (%) 50 · Home price per kWh £0.30 · Public price per kWh £0.60 · Charging loss (%) 0 → Charging cost per year £675.00
Changes
- : Separate default values, units and sources for the UK and the US: distance in miles, efficiency, charging prices and charging loss.
- : First version. Default home price 0.26 per kWh (Ofgem price cap); a US kWh-per-100-miles rating already includes charging losses. Sources added.
Last reviewed: · How we build and check our calculators
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