Free Tool

EV Charging Cost Calculator UK

See what your miles cost at home, on an overnight EV tariff and on public chargers, how much a home charger would save you, and how quickly it pays for itself.

Rates updated 1 October 2026

Your electric vehicle

What type of electric vehicle do you have?

Annual mileage: 8,000 miles

2,000 30,000

Where do you charge most at the moment?

Which tariff would you charge on at home?

Do you have (or plan to get) solar panels?

Your charging costs

Cost now

£0

a year

With a home charger

£0

a year

Annual saving

£0

vs charging as you do now

Payback

–

on a £999 installed charger

Or pay nothing upfront

Get Pod Drive: £0 Upfront → Buy a Pod Solo 3S: £999 →

Pod Drive is £34 a month for 36 months with £0 upfront until 1 November 2026 (normally £99), including installation and a 5-year warranty. We earn a commission if you order from Pod through these links. How it compares with buying →

Annual cost comparison

Charging as you do now

£0

Home, standard tariff

£0

Home, overnight EV tariff

£0

Home + solar

£0

Petrol car, same miles

£0

OZEV grant: up to £500 off

Renters, flat owners and landlords can get 75% of the cost of a home charger paid, up to £500, until 31 March 2027. Homeowners in houses aren't eligible and pay the full cost, typically £800–£1,400 installed. Who qualifies →

Why home charging makes such a big difference

Public rapid chargers cost 55–85p/kWh. At that price an EV costs more per mile than petrol.
At home you pay 26.32p/kWh on a standard tariff, or about 8p overnight on an EV tariff.
A 7.4kW home charger refills most EVs in about 8 hours, inside the cheap overnight window.
With solar panels, some of your miles cost only the export payment you give up.
Against a petrol car, a home-charged EV on an overnight tariff saves about £1,100 a year over 8,000 miles.

Get free EV charger quotes from approved installers →

How we work it out: electricity used includes charging losses. Public charging is priced at 70p/kWh, an average rapid-charger rate. A 3-pin socket is priced at the standard rate plus 10% for its higher charging losses. The overnight EV tariff assumes 90% of charging at 8p/kWh and 10% at the standard 26.32p. Solar assumes 30% of your annual miles come from spare solar, costed at a 5p/kWh export payment you give up. Petrol assumes 40mpg at 145p a litre. Payback uses a £999 installed charger. Actual costs vary by vehicle, driving style, tariff and installer. Estimates only, not a quote.

Rates last checked: 1 October 2026 · Standard 26.32p/kWh · Overnight 8p/kWh · Public 70p/kWh

Estimates only. Get a real quote free →

How Much Does It Cost to Charge an Electric Car at Home?

It depends on the size of the battery and, above all, the price you pay per unit. Here is what a full charge and a mile cost at the three prices most UK drivers will meet: an overnight EV tariff, the standard price-cap rate and a public rapid charger.

Car	Full charge, overnight tariff (8p)	Full charge, standard rate	Full charge, public rapid (70p)	Per mile, overnight	Per mile, standard	Per mile, public rapid
Small EV (40kWh battery)	£3.20	£10.53	£28.00	2.0p	6.6p	17.5p
Mid-size EV (60kWh)	£4.80	£15.79	£42.00	2.2p	7.4p	19.6p
Large EV / SUV (77kWh)	£6.16	£20.27	£53.90	2.6p	8.7p	23.1p

For comparison, a petrol car doing 40mpg costs about 16.5p a mile at 145p a litre. So an EV on an overnight tariff costs roughly an eighth as much per mile as petrol, while an EV charged only on public rapid chargers costs slightly more than petrol. That gap is why a home charger pays for itself so quickly.

How to Cut Your Charging Costs

Switch to an EV tariff

Moving from the standard rate to an overnight tariff cuts home charging costs by about two-thirds.

Compare EV tariffs →

Fit a smart charger

A 7.4kW charger fits a full charge into the cheap window and schedules it for you.

Best EV chargers →

Spread the cost

Pod Drive is £0 upfront until 1 November, then £34 a month with installation included.

See Pod Drive →

Add solar panels

Spare solar in the car costs only the export payment you give up.

Solar panels guide →

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does it cost to charge an electric car at home in the UK?

On the standard price-cap rate of 26.32p/kWh, a full charge of a 60kWh battery costs about £15.79, or roughly 7p a mile. On an overnight EV tariff at about 8p/kWh the same charge costs about £4.80, or roughly 2p a mile.

Is it cheaper to charge an EV at home or at a public charger?

At home, by a wide margin. Public rapid chargers cost 55–85p/kWh, about three times the standard home rate and around nine times an overnight EV tariff. A mid-size EV costs roughly 20p a mile on rapid chargers and about 2p a mile at home overnight.

How much does it cost to charge an EV per mile?

For a mid-size EV: about 2p a mile on an overnight EV tariff, about 7p on a standard tariff and about 20p on public rapid chargers. A 40mpg petrol car costs about 16.5p a mile at 145p a litre.

How quickly does a home EV charger pay for itself?

If you currently rely on public chargers, usually within a year. A mid-size EV doing 8,000 miles a year saves about £1,350 a year by moving from rapid chargers to an overnight home tariff, against about £999 for an installed charger.

Do I need a special tariff to charge at home?

No, but it makes a big difference. A standard tariff charges 26.32p/kWh at any time. EV tariffs such as Intelligent Octopus Go give about 8p/kWh for off-peak charging, and you need a smart meter to join one.

Can I pay monthly for a home charger?

Yes. Pod Drive puts a Pod Solo 3S on a 36-month plan at £34 a month, with £0 upfront until 1 November 2026 (normally £99), including installation. It costs more in total than buying outright but includes a 5-year warranty.