EV Charging Cost Calculator
Find out what charging an electric car at home really costs. Enter the miles you drive, your car’s efficiency and your electricity rate to see the cost per month and per mile.
- Cost per mile
- 6.2¢
- Cost per year
- $742
- Electricity from the wall
- 333 kWh per month
What you will need
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
How this calculator works
Battery energy = miles × (kWh per 100 miles) ÷ 100. Because some energy is lost as heat while charging, the energy drawn from the wall is the battery energy divided by the charging efficiency (90% by default).
The cost is the wall energy × your rate. The default rate is the U.S. average residential price of 18.56¢ per kWh from the EIA (March 2026); the state pages use each state’s average.
You can find your model’s official efficiency in kWh per 100 miles on fueleconomy.gov. Public fast charging usually costs several times more than home charging.
Example: 1,000 miles a month at 30 kWh/100 mi
- Battery energy: 1,000 × 30 ÷ 100 = 300 kWh.
- From the wall at 90% efficiency: 300 ÷ 0.9 = 333 kWh.
- Cost at 18.56¢/kWh: 333 × $0.1856 = $61.87 a month, or 6.2¢ a mile.
Tips before you buy
- Many utilities offer cheaper overnight EV rates — check your utility’s time-of-use plans.
- Cold weather can raise energy use per mile noticeably, so winter charging costs are higher.
- Use the EV charging time calculator to see how long a charge takes on Level 1 or Level 2.
Common sizes
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- District of Columbia
- Florida
- Georgia
- Hawaii
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Washington
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to charge an electric car at home?
At the U.S. average rate of 18.56¢/kWh and 30 kWh per 100 miles, home charging costs about 6¢ per mile, or around $62 for 1,000 miles including charging losses.
How many kWh does it take to charge an EV?
Roughly the battery capacity you refill plus about 10% for losses. Adding 200 miles to a car that uses 30 kWh/100 mi takes about 60 kWh in the battery, or 67 kWh from the wall.
Related calculators
Last updated October 26, 2026