Showing United Kingdom · real 2026 prices
Enter your battery, charge level and tariff. We'll show the cost, the charging time and what it works out to per 100km.
Adjust to match your EV and electricity plan.
Estimate only. Assumes ~10% charging losses. Real charging slows near 100%, so time is approximate. Range and per-100 figures assume a typical EV efficiency.
Transparent maths you can trust — every figure is yours to change.
Your charge cost is the energy added to the battery — its usable size times the percentage you top up — divided by charging efficiency (about 90%), then multiplied by your electricity price. Charging time is that energy divided by your charger's power, and range added assumes a typical EV efficiency. The default rate (~25p/kWh) tracks the Ofgem price cap; a dedicated EV tariff is far cheaper overnight, so set yours. Estimates only, not financial advice.
Home charging is by far the cheapest way to run an EV in the UK — especially on an overnight EV tariff.
At the price-cap rate of about 25p/kWh, topping a typical 60 kWh battery from 20% to 80% costs only a few pounds — and on a dedicated EV tariff such as Octopus Go or Intelligent Octopus (roughly 7–9p/kWh between midnight and dawn) it's a fraction of that. Public rapid charging is far pricier, averaging around 79p/kWh across the UK networks — three to four times the home rate — so most owners charge overnight on a smart tariff and only rapid-charge on longer journeys.
Quick answers about home EV charging costs.
Divide the battery size by 0.9 (to cover charging losses) and multiply by your per-kWh rate. A 60 kWh battery at a 25c/kWh mixed tariff costs about $16–17 from empty to full; on an off-peak overnight rate it can be under $10. The calculator above does this for any battery and rate.
Around 10% of the electricity is lost as heat in the on-board charger and cabling during AC charging. That’s why the calculator divides the energy added by 0.9 — you pay for what comes out of the wall, not what ends up in the battery.
Energy added divided by charger power. Adding 36 kWh (a 20–80% top-up on a 60 kWh battery) takes about 5 hours on a 7 kW wall box, or roughly 18 hours on a portable 2 kW charger from a normal socket. Most owners simply plug in overnight.
Off-peak overnight tariffs and rooftop solar are by far the cheapest — often a third of the standard rate or less. Public DC fast charging is the most expensive option, typically several times the home rate, so it’s best kept for road trips.
Many manufacturers recommend a day-to-day limit of about 80% for battery longevity on standard lithium-ion packs, saving 100% charges for longer trips — while many LFP-battery models are happy being charged to full. Check your car’s manual; the cost maths here works the same either way.
