Home energy · EV charging
What does the EV cost per mile?
Enter your own price per kWh and the car's efficiency in whichever unit you have. Nothing is looked up or sent anywhere.
Inputs
Starting values are illustrative, not current prices or specifications. Replace each with your own.
Result
Answer
Cost per mile is the electricity used per mile times your price per kWh. A car using 28.97 kWh per 100 miles at the supply, with power at $0.12 per kWh, costs about $0.035 per mile before charging losses.
Worked example
A car using 18 kWh per 100 km, with 10% charging losses, draws 18 ÷ 0.90 = 20 kWh per 100 km from the supply. At $0.12 per kWh that is $2.40 per 100 km, $0.024 per km and about $0.039 per mile. Driving 15,000 km a year uses 3,000 kWh and costs $360.00, or $30.00 a month. A 75 kWh battery from empty draws 83.3 kWh and costs $10.00.
Formulas and notes
- kWh per 100 km = efficiency converted to kWh/100 km (1 mile = 1.609344 km exactly; MPGe uses 33.7 kWh per gallon).
- Supply kWh per 100 km = vehicle kWh per 100 km ÷ (1 − losses).
- Cost per km = supply kWh per 100 km ÷ 100 × price per kWh.
- Cost per mile = cost per km × 1.609344.
- A flat price per kWh is assumed. Time-of-use, tiered or demand pricing is not modelled; enter the average price for the hours you charge.
Planning estimate only, not professional advice. Sources, checked 2026-10-08: Wikipedia, Miles per gallon gasoline equivalent (33.7 kWh per gallon, EPA formula)
FAQ
How much does it cost to charge an electric car?
Multiply the kWh drawn from the supply by your price per kWh. The calculator shows an empty-to-full cost if you enter the battery size, and adds charging losses on top of the battery energy.
What efficiency figure should I use?
Use the number from your trip computer, the car's window label or your own meter readings, and pick its unit. If it is already measured at the wall, set charging losses to 0 so losses are not counted twice.
How do I convert MPGe to cost per mile?
MPGe means the car travels that many miles on 33.7 kWh. Choose MPGe as the unit and the calculator converts it to kWh per mile and multiplies by your electricity price.
Why is cost per mile higher in winter?
The car uses more energy per mile in the cold, so the efficiency figure worsens. Re-run with a winter figure from your own driving; see the winter range calculator for published range losses.
Does this include public charging?
Only if you enter a blended price per kWh. For one fast-charging session compare per-kWh and per-minute pricing with the DC fast charging cost calculator.