EV Charging Cost Calculator
See exactly what it costs to charge your electric vehicle — broken down by home vs. public charging, using your state's live electricity rate. Find out how much a TOU overnight plan is actually worth.
At the US average rate, charging an EV costs about 5.8¢/mile — vs ~13¢/mile for a 28 MPG gas car.
$689/yr
Annual charging cost — 12,000 mi/yr, 30 kWh/100mi, national avg rate, 10% public (May 2026)
5.8¢/mi
Cost per mile — vs ~13¢/mi for a 28 MPG gas car
Up to $187/yr
Saved with a TOU overnight rate on the same 12,000-mile scenario
What actually drives your EV charging cost
State rates, charging habits, and rate plans — the three levers that matter.
State electricity rate is the #1 cost driver
Charging in Hawaii (~$0.40/kWh) costs over 3× more than in Washington (~$0.11/kWh). Unlike gas prices — which are public and visible — electricity rates are buried in utility bills. Selecting your state gives you a real number, not a generic national average.
TOU overnight plans are the easiest EV money hack
Most utilities offer time-of-use or dedicated EV overnight rate plans that cut the cost of charging by 20–35%. PG&E, Xcel, SCE, and dozens of others have them. If you're not on one, you're likely paying 20–35% more than you need to on home charging — which compounds to hundreds of dollars a year.
Public fast-charging is 2–3× more expensive
DC fast-chargers average ~$0.43/kWh nationally — roughly 2–3× typical home rates. For most EV owners who charge primarily at home, this has minimal impact. But for frequent road-trippers relying on fast-charging networks, it can make a significant difference to the true cost per mile.
How the EV Charging Cost Calculator Works
Formula
// Live state electricity rate loaded from dataset
homeRateRaw = getUSStateElectricityPrice(state) // $/kWh, live
effectiveHomeRate = homeRateRaw × (1 − touDiscount) // 0 | 0.20 | 0.35
// Energy splits by charging location
homeMiles = milesPerYear × (1 − publicChargingPct / 100)
publicMiles = milesPerYear × (publicChargingPct / 100)
// Annual costs
homeAnnualCost = homeMiles × kwhPer100mi / 100 × effectiveHomeRate
publicAnnualCost = publicMiles × kwhPer100mi / 100 × 0.43 // DCFC blended
annualTotalCost = homeAnnualCost + publicAnnualCost
// Example: National avg $0.17/kWh, 12,000 mi/yr, 30 kWh/100mi, 10% public, no TOU
// homeMiles = 10,800; publicMiles = 1,200
// homeAnnualCost = 10,800 × 0.30 × 0.165 = $534.60
// publicAnnualCost = 1,200 × 0.30 × 0.43 = $154.80
// annualTotalCost = $689.40 → ~$57/month → 5.8¢/mileSelect your state
Loads your state's live all-in residential electricity rate. This single number drives most of your charging cost — rates range from ~$0.11/kWh (WA, ID) to ~$0.36/kWh (HI).
Enter miles per year
Your total annual driving distance. The US average is ~13,500 miles/year. The calculator splits this into home-charged vs. publicly-charged miles based on your public charging percentage.
Enter EV efficiency (kWh/100mi)
From your window sticker or EPA's fueleconomy.gov. Common range: 24–44 kWh/100mi. Tesla Model 3 ≈ 26, Chevy Bolt ≈ 28, Rivian R1T ≈ 44.
Set public fast-charging %
What percentage of your miles do you charge at public DC fast-chargers? Most daily drivers are 0–15%. Road-trippers relying on charging networks may be 25–50%+.
Select your home rate plan
Standard residential rate, basic TOU off-peak (~20% off), or dedicated EV overnight rider (~35% off). The discount applies only to the home-charging portion.
The calculator uses all-in residential electricity rates — including transmission and delivery charges — rather than energy-only supply rates. This matters in deregulated states like Texas and Ohio where supply-only rates understate true cost by 30–40%.
Public DC fast-charging is priced at $0.43/kWh as a blended national average across ChargePoint, EVgo, and Electrify America networks (ICCT/BloombergNEF, 2025). Individual network and membership prices vary; some destination chargers are free.
Time-of-use (TOU) plan discounts are sourced from EPRI/ACEEE utility survey data (2024): basic off-peak plans typically offer 15–25% off (median 20%); dedicated EV overnight rider plans offer 30–40% off (median 35%). Contact your utility to check availability — not all states/utilities offer them.
Frequently Asked Questions
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