EV Charging Cost Calculator

Calculate what charging an electric car costs per year, per month and per 100 miles or kilometers, with home and public charging and charging losses.

How far you drive in a year.

The average energy use of the car, from the trip computer or the specifications. An official EPA rating in kWh per 100 miles already includes charging losses.

Which share of the energy you charge at home. The rest you charge on the road.

From your electricity rate, including taxes: about 18 cents per kWh on average in the US. With solar panels it can be lower.

The average at public chargers and fast chargers. Fast charging usually costs more.

Energy lost as heat while charging, often about 10%. You still pay for it. Leave it at 0 if your energy use is an official EPA rating, which already includes it.

Show cost per

Per 100 kilometers or per 100 miles.

Please check

Charging cost per year

$914.76

11,000 mi

Per month

$76.23

Cost

$8.32 per 100 mi

Energy charged per year

3,630 kWh

Of which home charging

$457.38

Of which public charging

$457.38

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

Distance per year17,702.784 km × Efficiency20.5052 kWh/100 km ÷ Per100 =Energy used by the car per year3,630 kWh

Step 2 · Energy charged per year

Energy used by the car per year3,630 kWh × 1 + Charging loss (%)0 ÷ Per100 =Energy charged per year3,630 kWh

Step 3 · Charged at home

Energy charged per year3,630 kWh × Charged at home (%)70 ÷ Per100 =Charged at home2,541 kWh

Step 4 · Charged on the road

Energy charged per year3,630 kWh − Charged at home2,541 kWh =Charged on the road1,089 kWh

Step 5 · Charging cost per year

Charged at home2,541 kWh × Home price per kWh$0.18 + Charged on the road1,089 kWh × Public price per kWh$0.42 =Charging cost per year$914.76

How the calculation works

Calculate 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 kilometers.

First the calculator figures 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 highways 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 cent, 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

  • Fast 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 7 cents 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 highway speeds.

Is an EV cheaper to run than a gas 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

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.

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