EV Charging Cost Calculator

How to use the charging cost calculator

Start with your EV's efficiency (kWh per 100 miles — found in the window sticker or manufacturer spec sheet) and your annual mileage. Then enter your charging mix: the percentage of your charging done at home, at public Level 2 stations, and at DC fast chargers (DCFC). These three percentages must add to 100%.

For each charging tier, enter the applicable rate:

• Home rate: Your home electricity rate in $/kWh, found on your utility bill. The EIA state average pre-fills as a default. If you're on a time-of-use (TOU) plan, enter the rate you actually pay for EV charging (usually the off-peak rate).
• Public Level 2 rate: Most public L2 networks charge $0.25–$0.40/kWh. ChargePoint, Blink, EVgo, and Electrify America rates vary by location and subscription status.
• DC fast charge rate: Typically $0.35–$0.55/kWh at most networks. Tesla Supercharger rates vary by location and vary for non-Tesla vehicles.

The TOU off-peak rate field is optional. If your utility offers a time-of-use plan with a lower overnight rate, enter that rate and the estimated percentage of your home charging that falls in the off-peak window. The calculator will show you the dollar value of your TOU savings versus charging at your flat rate all day.

Understanding your charging mix

Most EV owners do 80–90% of their charging at home — this is one of the key advantages of EV ownership that gas cars cannot replicate. The ability to refuel at home overnight, at residential electricity rates, is where much of the per-mile cost advantage comes from. The 80/15/5 default split (home/L2/DCFC) reflects typical US EV owner behavior based on ChargePoint and EV charging network data.

Your actual mix depends on your lifestyle:

• Apartment dwellers or condo residents without home charging access may be 100% reliant on public charging — dramatically increasing per-mile cost to $0.10–$0.18/mile versus $0.03–$0.06/mile for home-dominant chargers.
• Road-trip-heavy drivers who regularly drive 300+ miles in a day will have a higher DCFC percentage. One road trip per month adding 5% DCFC to the mix typically adds $50–$100/year.
• Commuters with workplace charging may have very low home charging percentages — and if workplace charging is free (employer-provided), their effective charging cost is well below any calculated average.

The TOU rate opportunity

Time-of-use electricity pricing is the most underused cost-reduction lever available to EV owners. Most major utilities in the US offer optional TOU residential rate plans where off-peak hours (typically 9pm–7am or midnight–6am) carry rates 30–60% below daytime flat rates.

At 12,000 miles/year and 28 kWh/100mi with 80% home charging, your annual home charging consumption is approximately 2,688 kWh. The cost difference between $0.17/kWh (typical flat rate) and $0.09/kWh (typical off-peak TOU rate) on that volume is $215/year — every year. A smart Level 2 EVSE that handles scheduled charging automatically means you simply set your departure time; the charger handles the rest.

The calculator's TOU input lets you model this directly. Enter your off-peak rate in the TOU field and set the percentage of home charging in the off-peak window — the output will show your TOU savings explicitly.

Per-mile cost versus gas equivalent

The calculator outputs a per-mile charging cost alongside a gas-equivalent annual spend for comparison. The per-mile comparison is the most portable metric: it strips out mileage differences and lets you compare directly to your current gas spending. A gas vehicle at 30 MPG with gas at $3.25/gallon costs $0.108/mile in fuel alone. An EV at 28 kWh/100mi on $0.12/kWh home charging costs $0.034/mile — a 69% per-mile fuel cost reduction.

What this calculator does not include in the per-mile cost: public charging sessions during road trips (the mix input accounts for this if you set your DCFC percentage correctly), charging losses from cable heat and onboard charger inefficiency (typically 10–15% above the stated kWh/100mi figure), and any demand charges on commercial rate schedules.

What this calculator excludes (and why)

• Home charger installation cost. That is a one-time capital expenditure, not a recurring operating cost. Use our charger installation cost guide to evaluate the capital investment separately.
• Charging loss factor. AC-to-DC conversion and cable resistance mean the car typically consumes 10–15% more kWh from the wall than its EPA rating implies. We use EPA-rated kWh/100mi as reported — consistent with the methodology used in our model comparison pages.
• Public charging subscription fees. Some networks charge monthly membership fees ($5–$30/month) for reduced per-kWh rates. If you have a subscription, use your effective per-kWh rate (monthly fee ÷ kWh used at network + per-kWh charge) rather than the listed non-member rate.

Where the data comes from

Home electricity rates: EIA Electric Power Monthly, residential average by state. Public charging rates: ChargePoint, EVgo, Electrify America, and Blink published rate schedules, representative rates as of Q1 2025. Vehicle efficiency: EPA-rated kWh/100 miles from fueleconomy.gov. Gas prices: EIA weekly retail survey.