EV Charging Cost Calculator — cost to drive on electricity

How it works

Charging an electric vehicle works out much like fuelling a petrol one, with kilowatt-hours in place of gallons. First find the energy the trip needs — the distance divided by the car's efficiency — then multiply by the electricity price:

cost = (distance ÷ efficiency) × price per kWh

Here efficiency is the DOE/EPA electric metric in miles per kWh (higher is better, typically 3–4 mi/kWh), and the price is what you pay per kilowatt-hour. Home charging is usually cheapest (often around $0.13–0.17/kWh in the US); public fast chargers cost more.

Enter miles, miles per kWh and dollars per kWh to get dollars. The same structure works for kilometres and km/kWh in any currency, as long as the units match.

Worked example

Driving 100 miles at 4 mi/kWh with electricity at $0.16/kWh uses 100 ÷ 4 = 25 kWh, costing 25 × 0.16 = $4.00. A 40-mile commute the same way is about $1.60. A 300-mile trip on a pricier $0.30/kWh fast charger at 3.5 mi/kWh costs about $25.71, while 250 miles charged cheaply at home ($0.13/kWh, 4 mi/kWh) is only $8.13 — a fraction of what the same miles would cost in petrol.

Frequently asked questions

How do I calculate EV charging cost?

Divide the trip distance by the car's efficiency (miles per kWh) to get the energy in kWh, then multiply by the price per kWh: cost = (distance ÷ mi-per-kWh) × price. It is the electric version of a fuel-cost calculation.

What is a typical EV efficiency in miles per kWh?

Most electric cars manage about 3 to 4 miles per kWh, though efficient models exceed 4 and larger trucks and SUVs get less. The EPA lists each model's efficiency (and the related MPGe figure) on its fuel-economy label. Higher miles per kWh means lower cost per mile.

Why is public fast charging more expensive than home charging?

Home electricity is billed at residential rates, often around $0.13–0.17 per kWh. Public DC fast chargers charge a premium for the convenience and the high-power hardware, sometimes $0.30–0.50 per kWh or more, so the same trip costs several times as much when fast-charged on the road.

How does charging cost compare to petrol?

Usually much cheaper per mile. At $0.16/kWh and 4 mi/kWh, electricity costs about 4 cents per mile; a 30 MPG petrol car at $3.70/gallon costs about 12 cents per mile — roughly three times more. Fast charging narrows the gap but rarely eliminates it.

Does charging efficiency account for charging losses?

Not directly. Some energy is lost as heat during charging, so the electricity drawn from the wall is a few percent more than what reaches the battery. This calculator uses the car's rated driving efficiency; for a worst-case cost, reduce the mi/kWh slightly or raise the price a little.

Can I use this for cost to fully charge the battery?

This calculator is trip-based. To find the cost of a full charge instead, multiply your battery capacity in kWh by the price per kWh — for example a 60 kWh battery at $0.16/kWh costs about $9.60 to fill from empty.