Free EV charging cost calculator. Enter battery size, electricity rate and charging efficiency to get cost per charge, cost per mile and savings versus gasoline.
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Enter your EV battery size, your electricity rate and your charging efficiency. The calculator finds the energy your battery gains, adds the charging losses your meter bills you for, and multiplies by your rate to give the cost of the session. It also converts the result into cost per mile and compares it with a gasoline car at your local fuel price. All figures are estimates: electricity rates, efficiency and driving conditions vary.
The cost of charging an electric car comes from four numbers: battery capacity, the percentage you add, charging efficiency and your electricity rate.
Energy to battery = Battery kWh × (Target % - Start %) / 100
Energy from grid = Energy to battery / (Charging efficiency % / 100)
Cost = Energy from grid × Electricity rate ($/kWh)
Worked example: a 75 kWh battery charged from 20% to 80% at 90% efficiency. 75 × 0.60 = 45 kWh reaches the battery. 45 / 0.90 = 50 kWh is drawn from the grid. At $0.16 per kWh, the charge costs $8.00.
Start with the battery size of your EV, printed in kWh on the spec sheet (common sizes run 40 to 100 kWh). Enter your starting and target charge levels: daily charging usually sits between 20% and 80%, which is gentler on the battery. Find your electricity rate on your utility bill, entered as price per kWh. Set charging efficiency to 90% for home AC charging unless your charger or car manual states otherwise. Add your EV's efficiency in miles per kWh and your local gasoline price to unlock the per-mile and gas-comparison results.
No charger is perfect. Energy is lost as heat in the cable, the onboard charger and the battery itself. Home AC charging is typically 85 to 90% efficient, so a 10 to 15% loss is normal. DC fast charging is slightly better at 90 to 95%. This means the kWh on your electricity meter is always higher than the kWh your battery gains. Most simple calculators ignore this and quietly understate your cost. This calculator applies your efficiency figure so the result matches your bill.
A full charge price is hard to compare with a tank of gas, because the ranges differ. Cost per mile fixes that.
EV cost per mile = Electricity rate ($/kWh) / Efficiency (miles per kWh)
Gas cost per mile = Gas price ($/gallon) / Fuel economy (MPG)
Worked example: at $0.16 per kWh and 3.5 miles per kWh, the EV costs $0.046 per mile. A gas car at $3.50 per gallon and 30 MPG costs $0.117 per mile. Over 100 miles the EV costs $4.60 and the gas car $11.67, a saving of $7.07. Scale that to your annual mileage to see yearly savings.
Where you charge changes the price more than anything else. Home charging usually costs $0.12 to $0.18 per kWh in the US, while public Level 2 chargers run $0.20 to $0.40 and DC fast chargers $0.30 to $0.60 or more. On a 75 kWh battery that is roughly $9 to $14 at home versus $23 to $40 at a fast charger. Time-of-use and off-peak rates can cut home charging by 30 to 60% if your utility offers them, often making overnight charging the cheapest option of all.
kW (kilowatts) is power, the rate energy flows. kWh (kilowatt-hours) is energy, the amount delivered. Think of kW as the speed of the water hose and kWh as the size of the bucket. A 7 kW home charger running for 5 hours delivers about 35 kWh of energy. Fast chargers are rated 50 to 350 kW, which is why they fill a battery in minutes instead of hours. For cost, only kWh matters: your bill multiplies kWh by your rate.
Charge overnight on off-peak rates if your utility offers them. Keep the battery between 20% and 80% for daily use, which also preserves battery health. Use Level 2 home charging for daily needs and save DC fast charging for road trips. Check whether your utility has an EV-specific tariff. Precondition the battery while plugged in during winter, since cold weather cuts efficiency and raises cost per mile. These results are estimates: rates, efficiency and driving conditions vary.
Typically $5 to $15 to charge an EV fully, depending on battery size and your electricity rate. A 75 kWh EV at the US average rate of about $0.16 per kWh costs roughly $12 for a full charge, or around $8 for a 20% to 80% session.
A Tesla Model 3 with a 75 kWh battery charged from 20% to 80% at $0.16 per kWh costs about $7 to $8, including charging losses. Charging it fully costs about $12 to $14. Your exact cost depends on your battery size and local electricity rate.
Almost always at home. A typical EV costs 3 to 5 cents per mile in electricity versus 12 to 18 cents per mile for a gasoline car, saving most drivers $800 to $1,500 a year. Public fast charging narrows the gap and can approach gas prices per mile.
The share of electricity from the grid that actually reaches the battery. AC home charging is about 85 to 90% efficient and DC fast charging about 90 to 95%. You pay for the extra 5 to 15% lost as heat, so the meter reads more than the battery gains.
Multiply battery kWh by the fraction you charge, divide by charging efficiency, then multiply by your electricity rate. Example: 75 kWh × 0.60 / 0.90 × $0.16 = $8.00.
Yes. Cold batteries accept charge less efficiently and the car uses more energy per mile for heating, so you need more kWh to travel the same distance, raising your cost per mile in winter.
Time-of-use electricity plans that charge less at night, often 30 to 60% below daytime rates. Charging overnight on an off-peak plan is the cheapest way to run an EV for most owners.
Divide your monthly miles by miles per kWh and multiply by your rate. Driving 1,000 miles a month at 3.5 miles per kWh and $0.16 per kWh costs about $46. Enter your own numbers in the calculator above for a precise figure.
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