Do I Have to Pay to Charge My Electric Car?

Quick Facts About Paying to Charge Electric Cars

• You have to pay to charge your electric car at most charging stations.
• Owners typically charge electric vehicles at home, where energy costs less than “filling up” at commercial charging stations.
• Free charging stations are available at some shopping centers, providing slower Level 2 chargers to customers.

If you have ever asked whether you need to pay to charge your electric vehicle, the answer is: It depends.

Many drivers truly love their electric vehicles for their ability to drive greener. But, if prodded, they’d probably name the other reason for their adoration: They don’t need to pay for gas when it’s a fully electric vehicle (read more on that in a bit).

That benefit sounds like a solid reason to forever ditch conventional cars with internal combustion engines (ICE). But driving green doesn’t necessarily mean driving for free. Read on to find out why.

This article will stick to battery-powered electric vehicles (BEVs) and not hybrids (HEVs), plug-in hybrids (PHEVs), or hydrogen fuel-cell electric vehicles (FCEVs).

• What You Need for Charging an Electric Car Battery
• Cost to Charge Battery vs. Filling Up With Gas
• How Much Does Electricity Cost Where I Live?
• How Powerful Is My Car’s Battery?
• How Much Power Does My Charging Station Have?
• Do You Have to Pay to Charge Your Electric Car?

RELATED: Electric Car vs. Hybrid vs. Plug-in Hybrid Car: Which is Best for You?

What You Need for Charging an Electric Car Battery

Paying for the relatively low and stable cost of electricity to power a car instead of standard gasoline seems wise because gas prices fluctuate. Higher gas prices are pushing Americans to consider and purchase EVs more than ever.

So the question becomes: Is the cost of charging an electric car battery cheaper than buying gasoline? Well, it depends. Before you can nail down how much you need to pay to fully charge your electric vehicle’s battery, consider a few factors.

For example: What is your power source? Different charging types charge at different rates (see more on chargers for electric cars in the next section). And, if you install a charger at home, where most people charge, there’s an upfront expense for an electrician to install the proper power outlet. That is unless you prefer to use a standard 3-pronged outlet and have one near where you park the electric vehicle.

The Different Chargers Available for Electric Cars

• A Level 1 charger works with the standard 3-prong plugs in your home. It charges your vehicle using a standard outlet at 120 volts.
• Level 2 chargers require installation and outlets that look like what you would use for an electric clothes dryer and give a 240-volt power boost. If you take this route, it requires hiring an electrician to install a 40-amp circuit. If you need to calculate the power you can generate, multiply your voltage and the number of amps you plan to use. But you can also buy splitters that let you use 240-volt outlets without fancy setups.
• The fastest Level 3 chargers, including Tesla Superchargers, are typically found commercially in public charging stations. Known as “DC fast chargers,” Level 3 chargers use high-voltage direct current, not the lower-level chargers’ alternating current, or AC setup, in most homes. Because of the high voltage and cost of installing direct current, installing a Level 3 charger in your home doesn’t make sense. Also, not all electrified vehicles are configured for DC fast charging, though most newer fully electric models offer the software and socket that will work with a DC plug.

Cost to Charge Battery vs. Filling Up With Gas

Fortunately for electric car buyers, you probably won’t have to pay as much for electricity as you would to fill your gas tank. According to AAA, the average price for regular gas is $3.68 per gallon nationwide as of this writing. The highest average gas price in the United States was $5.01 per gallon in June 2022.

To calculate estimated annual costs, let’s use a simplified example.

• Cost for gas cars: If your gas tank holds 15 gallons, it now costs about $55.20 to fill up your car. If the car gets an average of 25 mpg, you can typically drive about 375 miles on a tank of gas. If you drive an average of 1,100 miles a month, you must fill up about three times per month. You’ll wind up paying a total of $165.60 for those three monthly fill-ups and $1,987.20 per year on gasoline at the current average price.
• Electricity costs for pure EVs: Residential electricity costs an average of less than 16 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh) nationwide. Experts say electric cars run about three to four miles per kWh. So, if you drive 1,100 miles per month and divide by three (conservative miles per kWh), you’ll use 367 kWh monthly. A residential rate of 16 cents per kWh comes to $58.72 a month, or around $705 annually, for your car’s electricity.

How Much Does Electricity Cost Where I Live?

Since electricity costs vary widely throughout the country, estimating costs can get tricky. People pay an average of 15.45 cents per kWh in the U.S. for residential power.

California residents pay an average of almost 30 cents per kWh, while residents of Idaho, Louisiana, Nebraska, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming are among states with residents paying less than 12 cents per kWh. Check out your state’s average rate. Also, some power companies offer discounts for using electricity during off-peak hours, substantially lowering the rate per kWh to charge your vehicle during those times.

The chart above uses January 2024 average electricity rates from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The EV battery sizes are based on the useable capacity reported by the Electric Vehicle Database and rounded to the nearest whole number. Examples are the Nissan Leaf (39 kWh), Ford Mustang Mach-E (73 kWh), and Polestar 3 Long Range (107 kWh). Charging cost is estimated by multiplying the states’ average electricity cost by the EVs’ useable battery capacity.

RELATED: Can You Overcharge an Electric Car Battery?

Do I Have to Pay for a Home Charger?

In the early days of electric cars, a portable Level 1 charging cable was included with new EVs. Today, portable chargers might be an optional accessory. Many EV owners choose to install a Level 2 charger at their home. Costs vary but expect to pay about $2,000 for installation. Check with your power company for rebates and incentives.

Will Charging My Car Raise My Electricity Bill?

Your electricity will increase if you start charging your car at home. For most drivers, the higher power bill is still less than how much they would otherwise spend on gasoline. Also, many local electric companies have free or discounted rates for charging your electric car at home during specific periods.

MORE: Electric Car Maintenance: 7 Things to Know

How Powerful Is My Car’s Battery?

Knowing your car’s battery capacity (measured in kWh) and how much power your charger uses, you can figure out how long it will take to charge your vehicle, giving you a better estimate of how much it will cost to charge. To get the amount, Divide your car’s battery capacity by the power rating of your car’s onboard charger, then add 10% for the loss of power associated with charging it. Take the 2024 Hyundai Kona Electric Limited, for example, which has a 64.8-kWh battery and an 11-kW onboard charger for Level 2 charging. Dividing 64.8 by 11 will give you a charge time of 5.9 hours. Charge time bumps up to 6.5 hours, accounting for the 10% power loss.

Recharging at a DC fast charger is considerably quicker. Many EVs can recharge in 20 minutes or less. The Kona isn’t among the fastest-charging, but it can replenish from 10% battery capacity up to 80% in about 65 minutes using a 50-kW charger. The time is about 45 minutes using a 100-kW charging station.

Many new car buyers can find vehicles that include a period of free charging through Electrify America, EVgo, and ChargePoint public stations. EVs with free charging incentives include the Audi e-tron, Chevrolet Bolt, Kia EV6, Porsche Taycan, Volkswagen ID.4, and others. Discounts on home-charger installation may be available through your local electric company.

RELATED: How Long Do Electric Car Batteries Last?

How Much Power Does My Charging Station Have?

Your charging time also depends on the maximum charging rate of the station you use. Although Level 3 direct current fast chargers (DCFC) have popped up with increasing frequency, don’t plan to automatically save time and money by powering up at these stations. Level 3 ranges from 400 to 1,000 volts of direct current and can return up to 80% of an electric vehicle’s range in as little as 20 minutes, depending on the car.

When you plug into a charger, it determines the EV battery’s voltage and delivers the appropriate current. An ultra-fast charger will transfer energy at the car’s voltage limit. Similarly, EVs with the fastest charging times are limited by a charger’s maximum power. In other words, even if your car can charge more quickly, it will only charge at the maximum power delivery rate offered at the station, which can adversely affect charging time.

The cost to charge your electric car at a DC fast charger is usually based on the amount of electricity delivered to your EV. These days, a typical cost for daytime charging at a Level 3 location is 56 cents per kWh, more than three times the average residential electricity cost.

Now that you know how much you can expect to pay to charge your EV, the question remains: How do you pay for it?

If you have an at-home setup, you’ll pay to charge your electric car through your monthly electric bill. If you’re paying at a public charging station, you can use that network’s app or pay as you go by simply swiping your credit or debit card and paying the specified rate. Prices vary depending on factors such as the battery’s size, how rapidly it receives energy, its state of charge, and even the time of day in some cases.

Some drivers buy monthly subscriptions or have memberships to charging networks to save money. But remember that you don’t always have to pay to charge an EV. Companies such as PlugShare provide maps of free charging stations all over the U.S., and some workplaces and businesses offer free EV charging stations. However, studies have shown that most EV owners recharge their vehicles at home.

RELATED: Should I Charge My Electric Car Every Night?

Do You Have to Pay to Charge Your Electric Car?

Doing some research, you can spend less to power up your electric car. The best way to save money is to look for discounts for at-home charging, including those that can help lower your power bill. Some utilities reduce electricity rates for consumers who charge an electric car at night.

Otherwise, with some planning, you can try to master the labyrinth of free charging stations using websites and apps such as ChargeHub. But at some point on a road trip, you’ll probably need to pay to charge up. The fees at public charging stations can vary depending on many factors, including which charging network you use, your region, the charger’s speed, and how much energy you transfer to the car’s battery pack.

Read More Articles on Electric Vehicles:

• Types of Electric Vehicles: EV, BEV, HEV, PHEV
• Should You Buy an Electric Car or a Plug-In Hybrid?
• Used Electric Car Buying: Is Mileage Important?

Editor’s Note: This article has been updated since its initial publication. Chanel Lee contributed to the report.