How Much Does It Cost to Charge an EV? — Rex's Toolbox

Rex says

Money math without the spreadsheet headache. Plug in your numbers and I'll show you exactly where the dollars land.

Try a scenario

Click to load — tweak from there.

Inputs

Battery capacity(kWh)

Percent charging(%)

Electricity rate($/kWh)

Charging efficiency(%)

Efficiency(mi/kWh)

Result

Charging cost

$13.64

Energy drawn from wall (kWh)

85.2

Cost per mile

$0.052

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How to use this

1Enter battery capacity (kWh).
2Enter percent charging (%).
3Enter electricity rate ($/kWh).
4Enter charging efficiency (%).
5Enter efficiency (mi/kWh).
6Read your charging cost on the right — it updates as you type.
7Hit Share to keep the scenario or send it to someone.

About this calculator

Charging cost for an electric vehicle is simply battery capacity times the percentage charged times your electricity rate, adjusted for charging losses that typically waste 10-15% of the energy drawn from the wall. This calculator also shows the cost per mile based on your car's efficiency.

FormulaEnergy Drawn (kWh) = Battery Capacity × Charge % ÷ Charging Efficiency. Cost = Energy Drawn × Rate per kWh. Cost per Mile = Cost ÷ Miles of Range Added.

Worked example

Using the values the calculator loads with:

Inputs

Battery capacity: 75 kWh
Percent charging: 100 %
Electricity rate: 0.16 $/kWh
Charging efficiency: 88 %
Efficiency: 3.5 mi/kWh

Results

Charging cost: $13.64
Energy drawn from wall (kWh): 85.2
Cost per mile: $0.052

What each field means

Inputs

Battery capacity (kWh): The battery capacity used in the calculation, measured in kWh. Starts at 75 kWh so you have a working example on load. Accepted range: 10–150 kWh.
Percent charging (%): The percent charging used in the calculation, measured in %. Starts at 100 % so you have a working example on load. Accepted range: 1–100 %.
Electricity rate ($/kWh): The electricity rate used in the calculation, measured in $/kWh. Starts at 0.16 $/kWh so you have a working example on load. Accepted range: 0.05–0.6 $/kWh.
Charging efficiency (%): The charging efficiency used in the calculation, measured in %. Starts at 88 % so you have a working example on load. Accepted range: 70–100 %.
Efficiency (mi/kWh): The efficiency used in the calculation, measured in mi/kWh. Starts at 3.5 mi/kWh so you have a working example on load. Accepted range: 1–6 mi/kWh.

Results

Charging cost: Returned as a money amount in US dollars and shown as the headline result. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
Energy drawn from wall (kWh): Returned as a decimal number. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
Cost per mile: Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.

FAQ

How much does it cost to charge an EV?

Fully charging a 75 kWh battery at 16¢/kWh with 88% charging efficiency draws about 85.2 kWh from the wall, costing around $13.64, or about 5.2 cents per mile at 3.5 mi/kWh.

Why isn't charging 100% efficient?

AC-to-DC conversion and battery heat management losses mean roughly 10-15% of the energy pulled from the outlet never makes it into usable battery capacity, which is why the 'energy drawn' number exceeds the battery capacity charged.

Is charging at home cheaper than public charging?

Usually yes, often by 2-4x — home electricity rates average 12-20 cents/kWh while public DC fast chargers can charge 30-50+ cents/kWh for the convenience and speed.

How does this compare to gas cost per mile?

At 5 cents/mile for EV charging versus roughly 10-15 cents/mile for a 30-mpg gas car at $3.50/gallon, EV charging is typically half to a third the per-mile cost.

Accuracy and limitations

Results are estimates before tax, fees, and inflation unless an input explicitly covers them.
Rates are treated as fixed for the whole period — variable-rate products will drift from this projection.
This is educational maths, not financial advice. Check anything contractual with the lender or your accountant.

Related tools

How Much Gas Will My Trip Use?

A 400-mile trip at 28 mpg and $3.50/gallon uses about 14.3 gallons and costs roughly $50.

How Much Will My Electric Bill Be?

A household using 900 kWh a month at 16¢/kWh plus a $10 base fee has a bill of about $154.

Cite this calculator

Writing about this topic? Grab a citation — every link helps keep these tools free.

APA

RevenueLab. (2026). How Much Does It Cost to Charge an EV?. Retrieved from https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/how-much-to-charge-an-ev

HTML

<p>Source: <a href="https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/how-much-to-charge-an-ev" target="_blank" rel="noopener">How Much Does It Cost to Charge an EV? — RevenueLab</a> (2026).</p>

Markdown

Source: [How Much Does It Cost to Charge an EV? — RevenueLab](https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/how-much-to-charge-an-ev) (2026).