🔌 EV Charging Cost Calculator
Enter your battery size, start and target charge, electricity rate, and efficiency to estimate the energy drawn from the grid, the dollar cost, the range added, and your cost per 100 miles.
🔌 Estimate a Charging Session
What is an EV Charging Cost Calculator?
An EV charging cost calculator estimates what a home charging session actually costs — not just the energy stored in the battery, but the energy pulled from the grid once charging losses are included, valued at your electricity rate.
Enter your battery capacity, the charge window, your rate, and charging efficiency to see grid energy, cost, range added, and cost per 100 miles. These are estimates for planning, not a guaranteed utility bill.
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
How do you calculate the cost to charge an EV?
First work out the energy added to the battery — battery size times the percentage you add. Divide by charging efficiency to get the energy actually drawn from the grid (charging is never 100% efficient), then multiply by your electricity rate. Charging a 60 kWh car from 20% to 80% at $0.15/kWh works out to about $6.
Why is grid energy higher than the energy added to the battery?
Some power is lost as heat in the charger, cabling, and the battery itself, so you always pull more from the wall than ends up stored. A 90% efficient setup means you draw about 11% more energy than the battery gains — this calculator accounts for that with the charging-efficiency input.
What is cost per 100 miles and why is it useful?
Cost per 100 miles normalises charging cost against range, making it easy to compare an EV against a gas car's fuel cost over the same distance. It uses your vehicle's miles-per-kWh efficiency, so a more efficient car or a cheaper electricity rate both push the figure down.
Are these charging cost estimates exact?
They are estimates for planning, not a guaranteed bill. Real cost depends on charger losses, battery temperature, driving style, and time-of-use rates. Charging overnight on an off-peak tariff can be far cheaper than the flat rate shown here.