Charge at Home

Charge at Home / What it costs

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

At the 2026 U.S. average rate, about 6.2 cents a mile. Put in your rate and your car.

Edited by Jake Lawrence. Published 2026-10-23.

Run your numbers

Per mile
6.2 cents
Per month
$65.15
Per year
$793
Break-even gas price
$1.74/gal

If gas costs more than $1.74 a gallon where you live, home charging is cheaper per mile than a 28-mpg car. That is about 358 kWh a month on your bill.

Charging time for 35 miles on Level 2, 240 V, 40 A circuit: 1.6 hours of a 10-hour night.

Assumes 12 percent of the energy is lost between the meter and the battery. The rate starts at the 2026 U.S. average EIA projects; the other starting values are examples. Replace them with yours.

The cost of a mile is the energy the car uses for a mile, plus what is lost on the way into the battery, times your electricity rate.

At the U.S. Energy Information Administration's projected 2026 residential average of 18.2 cents per kWh, a car using 30 kWh per 100 miles costs about 6.2 cents per mile, after 12 percent charging losses. Your rate may be far from the average: rates differ by state and by utility, and a time-of-use plan can cut the overnight price.

Compared with gas

Rather than guess a gas price, the calculator shows the break-even gas price: the price per gallon at which a gas car costs the same per mile as your EV does at home. At the average rate, against a 28-mpg car, it is $1.74 a gallon. If gas costs more than that where you live, home charging is cheaper per mile for fuel. Maintenance, insurance and the price of the car are outside this number.

Where to find your numbers

  • Your rate: the total of every per-kWh line on your bill (supply and delivery), divided out, or your utility's published rate. Fixed monthly charges do not change with charging, so leave them out.
  • Your car's kWh per 100 miles: on fueleconomy.gov, or in the car's own trip screen after a few weeks.

Sources

  1. U.S. EIA Short-Term Energy Outlook, October 2026: Electricity (accessed 2026-10-23)
  2. U.S. DOE and EPA, fueleconomy.gov: compare electric vehicles (accessed 2026-10-23)

This page was drafted with a language model from the sources listed above and published under the quality gate; the editor samples pages after publication. Every number on it is computed by the site's calculator code, not typed.

General information for planning, not electrical, tax or legal advice. A licensed electrician and your local code decide what is safe in your home.

Found an error? See Corrections.

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