EV Charging Cost Calculator
Calculate the cost to charge an electric vehicle at home or on the road, and compare it against gasoline.
Your details
Typical range is 2.5 to 4.5 mi/kWh
Charging session
Rates
AC charging is typically 85-92% efficient
Comparison
This calculator runs entirely on your device. Nothing you enter is uploaded, stored, or sold. How this works
Cost to charge 20% → 80%
$8.21
51.3 kWh from the grid · 157 miles added
Includes your inputs, the full breakdown, and every row of the table.
Home cost per mile
$0.052
Same charge on DC fast
$22.18
$0.141 per mile
Full charge (0-100%)
$13.69
262 miles of range
Annual charging cost
$787
15% on DC fast charging
- Energy into the battery
- 46.2 kWh
- Charging losses (10%)
- 5.1 kWh
- Energy billed
- 51.3 kWh
- Home charging cost
- $8.21
- Annual EV cost
- $787
- Annual gasoline cost at 28 mpg
- $1,564
- Annual savings with the EV
- $777
What this means
- An equivalent gasoline vehicle costs $0.130 per mile. Home charging at $0.16/kWh works out to $0.052 per mile — an "eMPG cost equivalent" of about 70 mpg.
- DC fast charging typically costs two to four times as much as charging at home. Public charging economics look far worse for drivers without home charging access.
- Time-of-use electricity plans with overnight rates can cut home charging costs by half or more.
How the ev charging cost calculation works
EV charging cost is straightforward: energy added times the price per kilowatt-hour, plus charging losses. The complication is that price varies enormously by where you plug in. Home charging on an off-peak plan can be under 10 cents per kilowatt-hour; a DC fast charger on a road trip can be five times that.
The most useful figure is cost per mile, because it compares directly against gasoline. Divide your electricity rate by your efficiency in miles per kilowatt-hour and you get a number you can put beside gas price divided by MPG.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to charge an EV at home?
At the US average of roughly 16 cents per kilowatt-hour, a 77 kWh battery costs about $13-14 for a full charge, delivering around 260 miles. That is roughly 5 cents per mile.
Why are charging losses included?
AC charging loses 8-15% of the energy drawn from the wall to heat and conversion. Your utility bills the grid-side number, not the amount that reaches the battery.
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Disclaimer. This calculator is provided for general information and educational purposes only and does not constitute financial, tax, legal, medical, or engineering advice. Results are estimates based on the inputs you provide and the assumptions described above. Confirm any figure with a qualified professional before acting on it.