How much does it cost to charge an EV at home?

What determines the cost?

Three things determine how much you pay to charge at home:

• Your electricity rate: the pence per kWh on your tariff
• Your battery size: measured in kilowatt-hours (kWh)
• How depleted the battery is: a top-up costs less than a full charge from near-empty

The formula is straightforward: battery capacity (kWh) × electricity rate (p/kWh) = cost in pence. A 60kWh battery on a 24.5p/kWh tariff costs 60 × 24.5 = 1,470p = £14.70 for a full charge. In practice, you will rarely charge from 0%: most drivers plug in at 20–40% and charge to 80%. That reduces the typical session to £5–£10 at standard rates.

How much does it cost per mile?

To work out your cost per mile, you need to know your car's energy consumption. This is typically expressed in miles per kWh (mi/kWh) in the UK. The Department for Transport figures for 2026 put the average EV at around 3–4 miles per kWh in real-world mixed driving conditions, though efficiency varies significantly by model, speed, and weather.

For comparison, a petrol car at 40mpg and 148p/litre costs approximately 16–17p/mile in fuel alone.

What is the Ofgem price cap in 2026?

The Ofgem electricity price cap for the period October–December 2026 sets the unit rate at 24.50p/kWh for a typical household (the exact figure varies slightly by region and payment method). The cap is reviewed quarterly. Ofgem publishes the current rates at ofgem.gov.uk and the next cap period's rates are typically announced six weeks before the change.

The price cap is a cap on the per-unit rate, not on your total bill. If you charge more, you pay more: but you are protected against the rate rising above the capped level on a standard variable tariff.

Can an EV tariff reduce the cost?

Yes, significantly. Several energy suppliers offer tariffs specifically designed for EV owners that provide cheaper electricity during overnight charging windows: typically midnight to 6am or 11pm to 7am. Rates on these tariffs range from 7p to 10p/kWhduring the cheap window, compared to 24.5p/kWh on a standard tariff.

To benefit from an EV tariff, your car must support scheduled charging (all current EVs do) and your home charger must be a smart charger that can respond to tariff signals. Since June 2022, all new home EV chargers installed in the UK must be smart chargers by law, so any recently installed charger already supports this.

At 7p/kWh overnight vs 24.5p/kWh standard, charging a 60kWh battery costs £4.20 instead of £14.70. For a driver covering 10,000 miles a year at 3.5 mi/kWh, that is a saving of roughly £300 per year in electricity costs.

How does home charging compare to public charging?

Public rapid charging is significantly more expensive than home charging. In November 2026, the average rapid charger (50kW+) costs around 70–80p/kWh at a public charging point (source: Zap-Map / RAC data). Ultra-rapid charging at 150kW+ can reach £1/kWh at some networks. Even a standard AC public charger is typically 50–65p/kWh.

That makes home charging on a standard tariff roughly 3× cheaper than public rapid charging, and home overnight tariff charging around 8–10× cheaper. The economics of owning an EV work best when most charging happens at home overnight.

Does a 7kW charger cost more to run than a 3.6kW charger?

No. The total cost of a full charge is the same regardless of charger speed: it depends on the kWh drawn, not the rate at which the kWh are drawn. A 7kW charger fills a 60kWh battery in roughly 8.5 hours; a 3.6kW charger takes around 16.5 hours. Both deliver 60kWh and cost the same in electricity. The faster charger simply does it in less time.

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