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

The short answer

A home charge comes down to one sum:

You rarely charge a battery from empty to full at home. Most people plug in and replace the miles they used that day. So the useful question isn't "what does a full charge cost?" — it's "what does my typical top-up cost?".

Worked examples

Here's how the same amount of energy costs at an overnight EV tariff compared with a standard rate:

These are illustrations, not a quote. The 7p and 8p columns show typical overnight EV tariff rates (7p is the lower end), and 26p reflects the Ofgem price cap average of 26.11p/kWh for July 2026. Your real cost depends on your car's efficiency and how much you actually add.

What sets the cost

• Battery size and how empty it is. A 40kWh Nissan Leaf and an 80kWh Tesla have very different "full" charges.
• How far you drive. A 20-mile commute might only need 6-8kWh, not a full battery.
• Charging losses. A little electricity is lost as heat on a home AC charge. Allow roughly 10% on top of the figures above.
• Your tariff. This is the single biggest lever.

Overnight EV tariffs

Most major suppliers now sell tariffs aimed at EV owners, with much cheaper electricity through the night.

At the time of writing, typical off-peak EV rates sit around 7-8p per kilowatt hour. Octopus Intelligent Octopus Go smart-charges eligible cars from 8p/kWh overnight, and E.ON Next Drive is 8-9p/kWh between midnight and 6am. Some tariffs have been around 7p.

Getting the overnight rate usually needs:

• a smart meter that sends half-hourly readings;
• a compatible EV or charger for the smart-charging tariffs;
• signing up to that specific tariff.

The trade-off is the daytime rate, which is often higher than a standard tariff. EV tariffs pay off if you shift your charging — and ideally other heavy loads — into the cheap window. Most smart chargers and cars can be scheduled to charge overnight automatically.

Cost per mile

Comparing per mile is the fairest way to weigh an EV against petrol. Most EVs manage around 3-4 miles per kWh in the real world. At 4 miles per kWh:

• 8p/kWh works out at about 2p per mile
• 26p/kWh is about 6.5p per mile

A petrol car doing 45mpg with fuel at £1.40 a litre costs roughly 14p per mile. Home charging, especially overnight, is usually a fraction of that — but your mileage, driving style and local fuel prices will move the numbers.

Home charger vs three-pin plug

You can charge an EV from a standard three-pin socket, but it's slow — around 2.3kW, or roughly 8-10 miles of range an hour. A dedicated 7kW home charge point adds about 25-30 miles an hour, so one overnight session covers most daily driving.

A proper home charger also brings smart scheduling, which is what unlocks the cheap overnight rates above. Many suppliers only offer their best EV tariff to customers with a compatible smart charger.