EV Charging Cost Calculator

Level 1 charging uses a standard 120V outlet and the cable that came with the car. It adds range the slowest of the three levels, so it suits short daily drives that one overnight session can cover. This tool uses 85% charging efficiency for it, the figure ORNL's Table 5 (Charging types and features used in the scenarios) gives for Level 1, Level 2 and DC fast alike. INL's steady-state fact sheet for a 2012 Chevrolet Volt measures efficiency from the EVSE output (AC input) to the on-board charge module output (DC output), and prints 84.2% at its minimum and 86.6% at its maximum Level 1 charge rate (120 V). Part of the grid energy is lost as heat in the on-board charger. Cost: same as your home utility rate.

Level 2 charging uses 240V on a dedicated circuit, either at home with an installed wall connector or at public chargers. It adds range faster than Level 1. This tool uses the same 85% here; the same INL fact sheet, measured the same way from the EVSE output to the on-board charge module output, prints 82.2% at its minimum and 88.5% at its maximum Level 2 charge rate (INL tested Level 2 at 208 V). Cost at home: same as utility rate. Public L2 stations post their own price per kWh, and some add session or idle fees.

DC Fast Charging bypasses the on-board charger and feeds DC power directly to the battery. It adds range the fastest of the three levels. This tool uses 85% here as well; INL measured 88.7% overall charge efficiency on one DC fast session of a Nissan Leaf, from 480 V AC at the grid to DC at the battery (the energy storage system, ESS), 15.0 kWh from the grid for 13.3 kWh delivered to the battery. Station prices are set by each network: enter the price the station posts. DCFC is for road trips, not daily charging. To estimate the rate impact of any charger circuit, our electricity cost calculator handles the kWh × rate math.

For a 320-mile-range EV with a 75 kWh usable battery, a full home L2 charge costs $15.2 at the default 17.23 cents per kWh and 85% charging efficiency. That works out to 4.75 cents per mile of driving. A gasoline car's fuel cost per mile is the price per gallon you pay divided by its miles per gallon: compare that with the EV figure for your own cars. Enter your own rate for a current result.

Public DC fast prices are set by each network. The same full charge draws 88.2 kWh from the grid at any charger level in this tool, so its cost is 88.2 kWh times the price per kWh the station posts. Combined with home solar from a system sized via our solar panel and battery sizing calculator, the per-mile cost can drop near zero once panels are paid off.

For an annual figure, multiply the cost per mile by your own miles a year: at 4.75 cents a mile, 15,000 miles cost $713 a year.

Charge at home overnight on Level 2 if you have a garage or driveway. The 240V circuit installation costs less if your panel has spare capacity. Some utilities offer time-of-use rates with a cheaper off-peak window: schedule the car to charge during that window via the in-car charging timer. For one example, PG&E's EV2-A tariff, as a CPUC rate sheet reprints it (rates effective 8/1/2021), lists off-peak energy at $0.14427 and $0.14769 per kWh for its two seasons, 11:00 PM to 9:00 AM; the same sheet's PG&E Residential Whole House block, which also points to EV2-A, lists $0.18530 and $0.18531 off-peak, 12:00 AM to 3:00 PM. Enter your own tariff's off-peak rate to see your cost per mile.

If apartment-living without garage access, look for workplace L2 charging (often free or subsidized), public L2 at grocery stores and shopping centers, and only use DCFC for road trips. Level 1 from a 120V garage outlet is often enough for short daily commutes.

To plan the broader electrical impact of adding an EV charger to a home, our electricity bill estimator shows the monthly impact across all categories.