Tool · Investor Sam Auto

EV Home Charging Cost Calculator

June 30, 2026 • By the Investor Sam Editorial Team • Reviewed by Berly Sam Varghese, Editor
Charging an EV at home is usually far cheaper than fueling a gas car, but the exact cost depends on your battery size, how much you top up, your electricity rate, and the energy lost as heat while charging. This calculator turns those into a cost per charge and rolls it up to monthly and yearly totals. Because chargers are not perfectly efficient, it accounts for the extra kilowatt-hours you draw from the wall beyond what lands in the battery.

Example: Usable battery size: 75 kWh · Charge added per session: 60 % · Electricity price: 0.16 $/kWh · Charging sessions per week: 3 per week · Charging efficiency: 88 %

Cost per charging session$8
Monthly charging cost$106
Annual charging cost$1,276
kWh drawn per session51.14

Worked example

Adding 60% to a 75-kWh battery puts 45 kWh into the pack. At 88% charging efficiency you actually pull about 51 kWh from the wall. At $0.16 per kWh that is about $8.18 per session. Charging three times a week is roughly $1,277 a year, or about $106 a month. Even at a higher-than-average electricity rate, that is a fraction of what the same driving would cost in gasoline.

Frequently asked questions

Why include charging efficiency?

Some energy is lost as heat in the charger, cables, and battery, so you draw more from the wall than ends up in the pack. Level 2 home charging is commonly around 85 to 90% efficient, so accounting for it makes the cost realistic rather than optimistic.

How do I find my electricity rate?

Check the per-kWh rate on your utility bill. If you are on a time-of-use plan, use your off-peak overnight rate, since most home charging happens at night and can be much cheaper than the peak rate.

Is home charging always cheaper than public charging?

Almost always. Public DC fast charging can cost two to three times your home rate per kWh. This tool models home charging; for public charging, substitute the network per-kWh price to compare.

How does this compare to gas?

To compare, divide your annual charging cost by miles driven and set it against a gas car fuel cost per mile. In most regions home charging comes out well ahead, which a dedicated EV-vs-gas calculator can quantify.

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Sources

Berly Sam Varghese · Editor, Investor Sam

Berly Sam Varghese is an engineer who treats money the way he treats any hard problem — something to be engineered, not gambled on. He funded years of education and built real financial stability the patient way, by living below his means and investing rather than borrowing. He writes for the person trying to make a car decision without overpaying for years. He reviews and approves every article on Investor Sam and checks the figures against primary sources before anything is published. More about our standards.