EV Charging Cost Calculator

Charging an 84 kWh battery from 20% to 80% costs $9.92 at home and $29.26 on DC fast charging

The cost of charging an EV is the energy that goes into the battery, plus any energy lost while charging, times the price per kWh. An 84 kWh battery charged from 20% to 80% takes 84 × 60% = 50.4 kWh. With a 7% charging loss the charger delivers 50.4 ÷ 0.93 = 54.19 kWh. At the U.S. average residential rate of 18.31¢/kWh (EIA, July 2026) that is $9.92. At the Q3 2026 U.S. average fast-charging price of 54¢/kWh it is $29.26, which is $19.34 more for the same charge.

Those 50.4 kWh in the battery take the car about 167.8 mi, so home charging costs $0.059 per mile and DC fast charging $0.174 per mile. A 30 mpg gas car at $4.354 per gallon (EIA U.S. regular average, week of October 5, 2026) spends $0.145 per mile. Below you will find when this calculation is useful, the steps, the 2026 rates behind the defaults, charging losses, a monthly estimate, two example cars, and the mistakes that most often skew a result.

When is this calculation useful?

• Choosing between home charging and a fast charger: the same 50.4 kWh costs $9.92 at the national home average and $29.26 at the national fast-charging average. Over a month or a year that gap is what decides where to charge.
• Budgeting a road trip: distance divided by efficiency gives the energy you need, and the DC rate gives the bill. Enter the battery size as well and the result shows what share of the battery the trip uses, so you can see how many stops to expect.
• Deciding whether to buy an EV: a monthly mileage and a fast-charging share give a monthly charging bill you can set against what you spend on gas. For insurance, taxes, maintenance and the price difference, use the EV vs gas car cost comparison alongside this one.
• Checking a bill after prices move: the U.S. average residential rate rose from 17.45¢ to 18.31¢/kWh between July 2025 and July 2026 (EIA). Old per-kWh figures in a spreadsheet are probably out of date.

How the cost is calculated

The calculator follows the steps below and rounds only the final dollar amounts. The example uses an 84 kWh battery charged from 20% to 80%, an efficiency of 3.33 mi/kWh, a charging loss of 7%, 18.31¢/kWh at home and 54¢/kWh on DC fast charging.

The DC share is the part of the energy you add on fast chargers, not the number of sessions. If you top up a little at home often and fill up on a road trip now and then, split by kWh, because that is what you pay for.

2026 U.S. electricity and fast-charging prices

The home default is the EIA average residential price for July 2026, 18.31¢/kWh (Electric Power Monthly, Table 5.6.A, released September 24, 2026; preliminary). It is a national average, and your own rate can be much higher or lower depending on utility, state and time-of-use plan. For fast charging there is no official federal average, so the default comes from the Paren Q3 2026 report as published by Electrek on October 13, 2026: a national average of 54¢/kWh, Tesla non-members 56.9¢, Tesla members 39.6¢, and other networks about 53.3¢. For the same 20% to 80% charge of an 84 kWh battery:

These are quarterly or monthly averages. A charger's real price depends on the network, the state, the time of day and your plan, and it is shown in the charging app or on the charger screen. If you know the price you actually pay, enter it and the calculator uses it instead.

Do charging losses need to be added?

Power meters and charger bills count the energy that leaves the wall or the charger, and not all of it ends up in the battery: some is lost as heat in the cable, the charger and the battery. The dashboard or trip computer reports energy that leaves the battery, so the loss is not shown there, and a cost based on the battery percentage needs it added. The default is 7%. The exception is an EPA efficiency: EPA states that its MPGe values include charging losses, so the kWh/100 mi on fueleconomy.gov and the window sticker already contain the loss. In its August 6, 2026 tests, the German automobile club ADAC measured these losses:

For a charge entered by battery percentage the default of 7% fits Level 2 AC charging, and 10% to 15% fits DC fast or outlet charging. When you enter an EPA efficiency together with a distance or a monthly cost, set the loss to 0, because adding ADAC's figures on top would count the same loss twice. With a battery-percentage charge the energy is counted on the battery side, so a loss of 0 there leaves out part of what the charger bills. If you measured your own efficiency from the kWh shown by the charger, the loss is already in it and you also enter 0.

Monthly charging cost compared with a gas car

The monthly cost converts the miles you drive into kWh using your efficiency and loss, then applies the home and DC prices in the proportions you choose. The tables use 3.33 mi/kWh, a charging loss of 7%, $0.1831/kWh at home and $0.54/kWh on DC fast charging. The gas car gets 30 mpg at $4.354 per gallon (EIA U.S. regular average, week of October 5, 2026). If your efficiency is an EPA value, which already includes the loss, set the loss to 0 and the 900-mile, 20% DC figure falls from $73.96 to $68.78.

Driving 900 miles a month with 20% of the energy from DC fast chargers costs $73.96, against $130.62 for the gas car, $56.66 less per month. Charging only on DC fast chargers costs $156.93, which is $26.31 more than the gas car. The 900-mile example is an illustration chosen to match the national average of about 10,787 miles per light-duty vehicle in 2024 (FHWA Table VM-1), which is roughly 899 miles a month. Fuel is only part of the picture, so for insurance, taxes, maintenance and purchase price use the EV vs gas car cost comparison, and to compare gas trips on their own use the gas cost calculator.

Cost per charge for two popular EVs

A bigger battery costs more per charge, but the cost per mile depends on efficiency. The table uses the EPA combined rating from fueleconomy.gov, converted to miles per kWh (100 ÷ kWh/100 mi), and the battery size published by the manufacturer. The costs are for a battery-percentage charge, so they include a 7% charging loss. Prices are $0.1831/kWh at home and $0.54/kWh on DC fast charging.

The EPA rating is measured under standard test conditions, so highway speed, cold weather and cabin heating usually lower real-world efficiency. Treat the example buttons as a starting point and replace the efficiency with the average shown on your own dashboard if you have one. A dashboard average leaves out charging losses, which is why the 7% default applies. The Tesla Model Y and Model 3 are not listed because Tesla does not publish battery capacity, and this page only uses values taken from a manufacturer or the EPA.

Common mistakes

• Multiplying battery size by the price: 84 kWh × $0.1831 = $15.38 is the cost of filling an empty battery from 0% to 100% with no loss. A 20% to 80% charge uses only 60% of the battery and, with a 7% loss, costs $9.92; a 10% to 100% charge costs $14.88.
• Counting the loss twice with an EPA efficiency: EPA values (MPGe and kWh/100 mi) already include charging losses. For a distance or monthly cost, leaving the 7% default on top of an EPA efficiency turns $68.78 into $73.96 for 900 miles at 20% DC, a cost that does not exist.
• Entering the number of sessions as the DC share: eight home sessions of 10 kWh and two DC sessions of 40 kWh do not make a 20% DC share. The DC energy is 80 kWh out of 160 kWh, so the share is 50%.
• Assuming the EPA number holds in every condition: if efficiency drops from 3.33 to 2.9 mi/kWh on cold highway days, the monthly cost at 900 miles and 20% DC rises from $73.96 to $84.92.
• Using a member price without a membership: the same 20% to 80% charge costs $21.46 at the Tesla member average (39.6¢) and $30.84 at the non-member average (56.9¢). Check which price applies to you.

Limits and notes

• Many networks add session fees, idle fees or time-of-use pricing, and prices differ by state and site. The defaults are national averages, so use the price shown for the charger you will actually use.
• Home charging can change your utility's rate if you are on a tiered or time-of-use plan, so the price per kWh is not always constant. Use your own marginal rate when you know it.
• The calculator does not include charging time, idle fees, queueing or a charger being out of order.
• Charging loss varies with the car, temperature and charging power, so a single percentage is an approximation.

Sources

• 01U.S. Energy Information Administration: Electric Power Monthly, Table 5.6.AU.S. total, residential average retail price: 18.31 cents/kWh in July 2026 (17.45 in July 2025); preliminary; released September 24, 2026
• 02Electrek: Tesla still leads US fast-charger growth, but it's raised prices (October 13, 2026, citing Paren's Q3 2026 report)National average fast-charging price 54 cents/kWh in Q3 2026 (+2.7% year over year); Tesla non-member 56.9, Tesla member 39.6, non-Tesla networks about 53.3 cents/kWh
• 03EPA: Fuel Economy and EV Range Testing"Note: MPGe values provided by EPA include charging losses."
• 04FuelEconomy.gov: 2026 Hyundai Ioniq 5 RWDCombined 30.0 kWh/100 mi (2027 model year listing shows the same value); 318 miles range
• 05FuelEconomy.gov: 2026 Chevrolet Equinox EV FWDCombined 31.1 kWh/100 mi (31.0762 in the EPA data; 2027 model year the same); 319 miles range
• 06Hyundai USA: 2027 IONIQ 5SE RWD with 84 kWh battery; 318-mile EPA-estimated range
• 07Chevrolet: 2026 Equinox EV"equipped with an 85 kWh battery pack capable of 150 kW public DC Fast" charging
• 08ADAC: Ladeverluste beim Elektroauto (August 6, 2026)Wallbox AC 5.1–7.0%, household outlet 12.7–15.3% (24.2% for one car), DC fast charging 5–15%. Charging losses are not shown on the dashboard
• 09U.S. Energy Information Administration: Gasoline and Diesel Fuel UpdateWeek of October 5, 2026, U.S. average regular gasoline $4.354 per gallon, all taxes included
• 10FHWA: Highway Statistics 2024, Table VM-1All light-duty vehicles averaged 10,787 miles per vehicle in 2024 (updated February 2026)

As of electricity and fast-charging prices were checked on October 17, 2026 against the EIA table and the Electrek report. Fuel economy and battery figures were checked the same day on fueleconomy.gov and the manufacturers' pages, and the gasoline price is the EIA average for the week of October 5, 2026. Network prices change often.

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