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EV Charging Cost Calculator
Work out what a charging session costs. Enter the battery size, the charge level you start and finish at, your electricity price and the share of energy lost in charging, and see the cost, the energy drawn from the wall and the cost per mile.
- Energy added to the battery
- 45 kWh
- Energy drawn from the wall
- 50 kWh
- Range added
- 158 mi
- Cost per mile
- $0.051
- Cost per 100 miles
- $5.08
Saved setups
Save a set of inputs you reuse — your usual rate, your loan, your room sizes — and load it back in one tap.
Your recent calculations
Results you calculate here are kept on this device so you can come back to them.
Formula
How to use it
- Enter the usable battery capacity in kWh.
- Enter the starting and target charge levels.
- Enter your electricity price per kWh, from your bill or the charging station.
- Adjust losses and efficiency to match your car if you know them.
Worked examples
A 75 kWh battery charged from 20% to 80% at $0.16 per kWh with 10% losses
- Energy added to the battery
- 45 kWh
- Energy drawn from the wall
- 50 kWh
- Charging cost
- $8.00
- Range added
- 158 mi
- Cost per mile
- $0.051
- Cost per 100 miles
- $5.08
A 60 kWh battery charged from 10% to 100% at $0.40 per kWh with 12% losses
- Energy added to the battery
- 54 kWh
- Energy drawn from the wall
- 61.36 kWh
- Charging cost
- $24.55
- Range added
- 216 mi
- Cost per 100 miles
- $11.36
Why you pay for more than the battery receives
Some energy is lost as heat in the charger, the cable and the battery, and some runs the car’s cooling and electronics during the session. On home AC charging 10–15% is typical, and it can be more on a slow 120 V outlet or in very cold weather. Your meter records the energy drawn from the wall, so that is what you are billed for.
Public DC fast chargers usually bill for energy delivered to the car, sometimes with per-minute or idle fees on top.
Home versus public charging
Home electricity in the US averages roughly 16–17 cents per kWh, with wide variation by state, and many utilities offer cheaper overnight rates. DC fast charging commonly costs 35–60 cents per kWh. At 3.5 miles per kWh, 16 cents a kWh works out to about 5 cents a mile, compared with 12.5 cents a mile for a 28 mpg car on $3.50 gas.
Questions people ask
How much does it cost to charge an electric car at home?
Charging a 75 kWh battery from 20% to 80% adds 45 kWh. With 10% losses that draws 50 kWh from the wall, which costs $8.00 at 16 cents per kWh.
How much does it cost to fully charge a 60 kWh battery?
From empty to full with 10% losses takes about 66.7 kWh from the wall: $10.67 at 16 cents per kWh, or about $30 at a 45 cent fast charger.
What does it cost per mile to drive an EV?
Divide the electricity price by your miles per kWh, then allow for losses. At 16 cents per kWh, 3.5 miles per kWh and 10% losses, it is about 5.1 cents a mile.