EV home charging cost calculator

Enter your battery size, electricity rate, and charge levels to see the real dollar cost, how long it takes, and what a full charge runs. The numbers are almost always lower than people expect.

Charging level

Home wall charger. The typical home setup.

Cost for this charge

$6.55

36.0 kWh added

Time to charge

4 hr 41 min

at 7.7 kW

A full 0–100% charge

$10.91

68 kWh from the wall

Estimates assume about 12% charging loss (energy drawn from the wall is higher than energy stored). The charging level changes speed, not cost — a bigger charger fills the same kWh faster for the same money. The biggest real savings lever is charging on an off-peak time-of-use rate.

Next step

The charger you install decides your charging speed and whether you can schedule off-peak sessions. See our scored Level 2 home chargers and the home charger buying guide.

Common questions

How do you calculate the cost to charge an EV?
Multiply the kilowatt-hours you add to the battery by your electricity rate in dollars per kWh, then add roughly 10–15% because charging is not perfectly efficient — the wall delivers a bit more energy than the battery stores. For example, adding 40 kWh at 16 cents per kWh costs about $7.30 once losses are included.
Does a faster charger cost more to charge?
No. A Level 2 charger fills the battery faster than a Level 1 outlet, but the energy — and therefore the cost — is the same. You are paying for kilowatt-hours, not for speed. The only thing a bigger charger changes is how long you wait.
Is it cheaper to charge at home or at a public station?
Home is almost always far cheaper. Residential electricity typically costs a fraction of what public DC fast chargers charge per kWh, and you avoid session and idle fees. Public fast charging is for road trips; home charging is where the savings live.
What is the cheapest time to charge an EV?
If your utility offers time-of-use rates, charge overnight during the off-peak window. Off-peak rates are often a fraction of peak rates, and most home chargers and vehicles can be scheduled to start automatically. Shifting your charging to off-peak is usually the single biggest way to cut cost.
Why is the wall energy higher than the battery energy?
Some energy is lost as heat in the charger, the cable, and the battery during charging, and the car runs cooling and electronics while it charges. That overhead is typically around 10–15%, so the calculator bases cost on the energy drawn from the wall, not just what lands in the battery.