How much does charging an electric car cost?

HMRC could be forced to reduce the VAT levied on public EV charging, following a new ruling. A case brought by Charge My Street, a not-for-profit charging company, challenged the fact that EV drivers using public chargers must pay VAT at the commercial rate of 20 percent, while those charging at home pay only five percent. 

The decision of the First-Tier Tribunal is likely to be appealed by HMRC. However, for the time being at least, it is much cheaper – if you can – to charge an electric car at home

While the cost of filling a conventional car with petrol or diesel is easy to calculate (all you need is the size of the fuel tank and the price of fuel per litre), things aren’t so simple when it comes to charging an electric car. To calculate the cost, you need to consider where the car is being charged and, in some cases, the make and model of vehicle in question.

Here, we’ll provide a basic overview of what you can expect to pay for charging an electric car, both at home and away.

Charging an electric car at home

It makes sense to charge your electric car at home, ideally overnight. Not only will you wake up to a fully charged car in the morning, you can also take advantage of off-peak electricity rates. Home charging is almost always the cheapest option.

You should invest in a home charge point – also known as a wallbox. There are plenty of offers out there – some wallboxes will be offered free with a new car, while some electricity companies supply them as part of your energy tariff.

Wallboxes vary in price, but you can expect to pay between £500 and £800 for a 3.6kW unit. A more powerful 7.4kW charger should cost around £1,000.

If you can afford it, we’d recommend upgrading to a 7.4kW device, as it significantly reduces the time it takes to refill an EV battery. For example, according to the Electric Vehicle Database, it takes around 17 hours 30 minutes to charge a new BMW iX3 50 xDrive from empty to full using a 7.4kW charger, but nearly 35 hours if you use a 3.6kW charger. Using a domestic plug socket? Set aside a whopping 56 hours for a full charge…

Regardless of the charger, make sure you’re on the best home energy tariff available. Many energy firms offer off-peak prices at night when demand is reduced and there’s less pressure on the grid.

EDF offers a range of tariffs designed for electric car drivers, each one backed by zero carbon electricity. Its Go Electric 12-month tariff provides seven hours of off-peak electricity during the night for 6.99p per kWh.

E.ON Next offers a Next Drive tariff, which delivers electricity at 8p per kWh between midnight and 6am, while Octopus Energy’s Intelligent Go EV tariff will schedule charging for when the energy is cheapest and greenest – at a cost of 8p per kWh. The company says customers will save hundreds of pounds per year compared to a standard tariff.

Zap-Map has a handy calculator you can use to work out the cost of charging at home. Based on a Polestar 2 (single motor 170kW), a 7kW charging unit and an energy cost of 8p per kWh, it will cost £4.27 for a full charge. Using a standard energy rate of 24.5p, the cost increases to £15.

Using an electric car with a smaller battery as another example, it will cost £2.88 to charge a Honda e. With 129 miles added, the cost per mile is 2.2p – significantly less than the cost per mile for a typical petrol or diesel car.

How to find your electricity tariff

Your electricity unit rate will be listed on your monthly statement. Look for the unit rate figure followed by ‘p/kWh’.

It should be listed prominently within the statement. For example: ‘unit rate: 14.0p/kWh’.

It is also listed in the ‘energy’ row of the bill, which shows how many kWh of electricity you have used during the past month – e.g. ‘500kWh @ 14p/kWh’.

You can use this p/kWh figure to multiply against your EV’s battery capacity and easily find out how much a full charge will cost. A 50kWh battery and a 14p/kWh tariff add up to £7 for a full charge (that’s 50 x 0.14p = £7), for instance.

Charging at a public charger

While the energy tariff is the biggest influence on the cost of charging an electric car at home, there are more variables associated with using the network of public chargers.

Some locations offer free EV charging for customers and visitors. Conversely, a rapid charger at a motorway service area will be one of the most expensive ways to charge an electric car. You’re paying for convenience and this is unlikely to be part of your daily routine.

Our advice would be to charge at home whenever possible, only using the public network to top up when required. There are a number of different charging operators, each one with a different approach to pricing. For example, some require payment of a membership fee in addition to the cost per kWh used.

Here are some of the biggest operators, along with the associated costs. The details are correct at the time of writing (April 2026).

GeniePoint

Membership fee: Free

Cost per kWh: 83p to 85p for registered users or 90p for contactless payments and guest users

Gridserve Electric Highway

Membership fee: Free

Cost per kWh: 59p (AC charging) or 82-89p (DC charging)

Instavolt

Membership fee: Free

Cost per kWh: 92p at peak times or 55p off-peak (20:00-07:00)

Ionity

Membership fee: Free (Ionity Direct), £54.99 per year (Ionity Motion 365), £104.99 per year per (Ionity Power 365)

Cost per kWh: 81p (Ionity Direct), 58p (Ionity Motion 365), 46p (Ionity Power 365)

Pod Point

Membership fee: Free

Cost per kWh: 62p to 69p (Pod Point chargers at Tesco supermarkets)

Shell Recharge

Membership fee: Free

Cost per kWh: 54p to 89p, depending on device and payment method

Visit the Zap-Map website for more charging operators and a detailed look at EV running costs.

Charging a Tesla

If you purchased a Tesla Model S or Model X before 2 November 2018 or after August 2019, you will enjoy free and unlimited access to the Supercharger network. Charges apply for all Model 3 and Model Y owners.

The cost of charging varies according to the location and time of day, but CAR magazine sourced the following fees for a Supercharger in north London in 2025.

• Tesla owner: 29p to 47p per kWh
• Other electric car owner: 32p to 63p per kWh

Check out our guide to finding your nearest electric car charging point for more information.

ALSO READ:

Driving an electric car – how is it different?

What is preconditioning and how can it boost an electric car’s range?

Best electric cars to buy in 2026