EV Charging Cost Calculator
EV charging cost calculator: cost to charge at home or in public, per mile Free, no sign-up, and it runs in your browser.
Dedicated page: /en/ev-charging-cost-calculator
Estimate only, not financial advice. Your real rate is on your utility bill, and public charger prices vary by network, time of day and membership.
Most EVs get 2.5 to 4.5 miles per kWh. Check fueleconomy.gov for your model.
State averages, July 2026, EIA Electric Power Monthly Table 5.6.A. Pick your state and the home rate fills in.
Default checked 10 Nov 2026: 18.31 cents per kWh, the US average residential rate, July 2026 (EIA). Change it to the rate on your bill. Check the current value here.
Default checked 10 Nov 2026: 42.4 cents per kWh, the AAA national average for public EV charging, August 2026. Check the current value here.
About 10% of wall energy is lost as heat in AC charging. Level 2 is about 90% efficient.
Default checked 10 Nov 2026: $4.01 per gallon, the AAA national average, 9 Nov 2026. Enter your local price if you know it. Check the current value here.
The gas comparison uses the price you enter, so it stays honest for your area.
Quick answer
An EV charging cost calculator works out what it costs to charge an electric car at home or in public. Enter the battery size, the efficiency in miles per kWh and your electricity rate, and it gives the cost per charge, per mile and per year, the charging time, and how much you save against a gas car.
About this EV Charging Cost Calculator
EV charging cost calculator: cost to charge at home or in public, per mile It is one of the Car and Travel on ToolUstad, and like every tool here it runs entirely in your browser: nothing you type, paste or open is uploaded to a server, and there is no sign-up or usage limit.
What is an EV charging cost calculator?
An EV charging cost calculator prices the electricity an electric car uses. Two numbers drive every result: how many kilowatt-hours leave the wall, and what each one costs where you plug in. The battery size tells you how much energy the car can store, the efficiency tells you how far that energy takes you, and the rate is what you pay per unit. Multiply battery size by rate for a full charge, divide rate by efficiency for the cost per mile, and multiply by yearly miles for the annual bill. This tool adds the parts most simple calculators skip: charging loss, the home and public split, solar, and a gas comparison.
How charging cost is worked out
Charging loss is the first correction. About 10% of wall energy is lost as heat when AC power becomes DC in the battery, so a 79 kWh battery needs about 87.8 kWh from the wall to fill at 90% efficiency. Charging time is wall energy divided by charger power, and cost per mile is the rate divided by efficiency: 18.31 cents divided by 3.5 miles per kWh is 5.23 cents a mile.
Home vs public vs DC fast
Where you charge is the biggest cost lever. The same 20% to 80% top-up costs $9.64 at home and about $22.34 on DC fast, where the cost per mile is about 12.1 cents, close to a gas car.
Electricity rates by state
Home electricity prices vary widely by state. In July 2026 the EIA state averages ran from 12.72 cents per kWh in Louisiana to 48.00 cents in Hawaii, with California at 33.61 cents and Texas at 15.88 cents. The national average was 18.31 cents. This calculator carries the July 2026 rate for every state, so you can pick your state and see your own number, or type the exact rate from your utility bill, which is always the most accurate figure. Rates change monthly, so the link beside the rate field goes to the EIA Electric Power Monthly, where the current table is published.
Best practices
- Charge at home overnight whenever you can: it is the cheapest rate and the car is parked anyway.
- Use your utility EV or time-of-use plan: off-peak rates can be half the standard rate.
- Count charging loss in every estimate: a battery size is not the wall energy.
Common mistakes
- Forgetting charging losses, which understates the cost by about 10%.
- Using one rate for mixed charging: home and public rates must be priced separately.
- Using the EPA efficiency as a guarantee: cold weather can cut real efficiency by 15 to 30%.
Learn: how to use the EV Charging Cost Calculator
- Pick your EV model preset, or enter your battery size and efficiency.
- Pick your state to fill in the home electricity rate, or enter your own rate from your bill.
- Set the charge window, charger power and charging efficiency.
- Read the session cost, the full charge cost, the yearly cost and the gas comparison.
Features
- EV model presets with battery size and efficiency, plus a custom mode
- Home rate by state, using July 2026 EIA state averages, with an override box
- Home, public Level 2 and DC fast charging compared side by side
- Partial charge cost between any two battery percentages, with miles added
- Charging time from charger power, and charging loss from wall energy
- Monthly and yearly cost from your miles and home charging share
- Home solar share that cuts the grid cost
- Gas car comparison with your MPG and gas price, and yearly saving
Worked example
A Tesla Model 3 Long Range with a 79 kWh battery at 3.5 miles per kWh, charging entirely at home at 18.31 cents per kWh with 90% charging efficiency: a full charge takes 87.8 kWh from the wall and costs $16.07. A 20% to 80% charge costs $9.64, takes about 7 hours 19 minutes on a 7.2 kW home charger, and adds about 166 miles. Cost per mile is 5.23 cents. Over 12,000 miles a year the EV costs $697.52, or $58.13 a month, against $1,604 for a 30 MPG gas car at $4.01 a gallon, saving $906.48 a year.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to charge an EV at home?
At the US average home rate of 18.31 cents per kWh, a 79 kWh Tesla Model 3 costs about $16.07 for a full charge, counting charging losses. That is about 5.23 cents a mile, or about $58.13 a month over 12,000 miles a year, charging entirely at home.
Is public fast charging much more expensive?
Yes. At the AAA average of 42.4 cents per kWh, the same full charge costs about $37.22, more than double the home cost. At that rate the cost per mile is about 12.1 cents, close to a gas car.
What is charging loss?
About 10% of the energy from your wall outlet is lost as heat when AC power becomes DC in the battery. A 79 kWh battery needs about 87.8 kWh from the wall to fill. This calculator includes that loss, so the cost is honest.
How long does charging take?
Divide the wall energy by the charger power. A 20% to 80% charge on a 79 kWh battery is 52.7 kWh from the wall, so about 7 hours 19 minutes on a 7.2 kW home charger, or about 21 minutes on a 250 kW DC fast charger at full power.
How much does my state change the cost?
A lot. Home electricity in July 2026 averaged 12.72 cents per kWh in Louisiana and 48.00 cents in Hawaii, against 18.31 cents nationally. Pick your state in the calculator to see your own rate.
Does home solar change the maths?
Yes. Enter the share of charging your panels cover and the grid cost falls by that share. If solar covers half your charging, your yearly bill roughly halves, before the cost of the panels themselves.
Is an EV really cheaper than a gas car?
On fuel, usually yes at home, and usually no on public fast charging alone. Over 12,000 miles a year, the example EV costs $697.52 at home against $1,400 for a 30 MPG gas car. The saving shrinks if you mostly use DC fast chargers.
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