Free cost tool
Charging cost calculator
See what a charge really costs. Pick your car, choose how much you are topping up, and set your electricity rate to get the cost of a charge, per mile and across a year.
Home charging on an off-peak tariff is the cheapest way to run an EV. Figures are estimates; your bill shows your exact unit rate.
How the cost is worked out
The maths is simple and we show every step. First, the energy added to the battery is the battery size times the charge window. A 60kWh car from 10% to 80% adds 70% of 60kWh, which is 42kWh. Next we add charging losses, because the energy your meter records is a little higher than the energy stored. Finally we multiply the grid energy by your unit rate to get the cost.
That is: energy added = battery x (to minus from), then grid energy = energy added divided by (1 minus losses), then cost = grid energy x your rate. Every input is editable, so the figure moves with your real car and tariff.
Home vs off-peak vs public
The rate you pay makes a far bigger difference than anything about the car. On the standard price cap, electricity is around 26p/kWh. A dedicated off-peak EV tariff can drop the overnight rate to roughly 7p/kWh, which is where most EV drivers do the bulk of their charging. Public rapid chargers sit at the other end, often 70 to 85p/kWh, because you are paying for speed and convenience away from home.
If you can charge overnight on an off-peak tariff, the running cost of an EV is a fraction of the equivalent petrol car. The EV vs petrol calculator puts the two side by side.
Cost per mile and yearly cost
Open the mileage and losses section to turn the charge cost into a cost per mile and an estimated yearly home-charging bill. Cost per mile is your rate divided by how far the car goes on a kWh (its efficiency), adjusted for losses. We default efficiency to about 3.7 miles per kWh, a sensible middle figure, but a small efficient hatchback will beat that and a large performance SUV will fall short, so edit it to your car.
What this does not include
This is the cost of electricity only. It does not include standing charges, the one-off cost of a home charger, or any charging you do away from home. Real-world efficiency also varies with weather, speed and how you drive, so treat the result as a close estimate rather than an exact bill.
Common questions
- How much does it cost to charge an EV at home?
- It depends on your battery size and your electricity rate. As a guide, a 60kWh car charged from 10% to 80% adds about 42kWh. On a standard price-cap rate near 26p/kWh that is roughly £12; on an off-peak EV tariff near 7p/kWh it is around £3. Set your own numbers above for an exact figure.
- Is it cheaper to charge on an off-peak tariff?
- Much cheaper. Dedicated EV tariffs give a low overnight rate, often under a third of the day rate. If you can charge while the car is parked overnight, an off-peak tariff is the single biggest saving on running an EV at home.
- What are charging losses?
- Some of the energy your meter records does not make it into the battery. It is lost as heat in the cable, the charger and the car's onboard converter. On home AC charging this is usually around 8 to 10 percent, so we add it on top of the energy going into the battery to estimate what you actually pay for.
- Should I use my usable or nominal battery size?
- Either works for a charge between two percentages, because the percentage already refers to the usable range. Manufacturers quote a nominal (total) figure and a usable figure that is roughly 90 percent of it. If you want the cost of a specific number of kWh, use the usable figure.
- Why is public charging so much more expensive?
- Public rapid and ultra-rapid chargers cost far more per kWh than home electricity, often around 70 to 85p/kWh. They are built for speed and convenience on longer trips, not everyday top-ups. Charging at home overnight is where the savings are.
- Does the cable or charger affect the cost?
- No. The cost is set by how much energy you put in and your unit rate. A bigger cable or faster charger changes how long it takes, not what a given charge costs. For speed, see the charging time calculator.
Keep reading
Default rates and assumptions as of October 2026. These are typical figures to get you started, not quotes. Every value is editable, so change them to your own tariff, car and driving for a result that fits you.