Electric Car Charging Costs

If you're thinking about leasing an electric car, one of the first questions you'll have is what it actually costs to charge. 

The honest answer is that it depends entirely on where you plug in. Charge overnight at home on the right tariff and a full charge can cost less than a takeaway, but rely on motorway rapid chargers and the same charge can cost a whole lot more.

In this guide, we'll focus on what charging an EV genuinely costs at home, at work and in public, using real, current UK figures. 

Just like fuel prices vary between fuel type and petrol stations, the cost to charge an EV depends on several factors, including where you charge and battery size.

To help you visualise charging costs, here's a breakdown of what a full charge costs for four popular EVs across body types and battery size: 

NOTE: Home standard rate is the Ofgem price cap of 26.11p/kWh (1 July–30 September 2026). Off-peak reflects typical EV tariffs at around 7p/kWh. Public rates are Zapmap weighted-average pay-as-you-go prices for May 2026 (54p fast, 79p rapid). Figures are for a full 0–100% charge. 

The pattern is pretty obvious. The same car can cost three to four times as much to charge using a public charger as it does at home, and even more when using a motorway rapid charger. 

This is why we recommend that EV drivers do the bulk of their charging at home and use public chargers only when necessary. 

Charging at home overnight is the easiest and cheapest way to keep an EV topped up. 

You can charge either from a standard three-pin domestic plug or from a dedicated wallbox. The latter makes the most sense as they offer a better charging speed compared to a three-pin plug, which is limited to 3kW. 

The exact amount you pay at home depends on your electricity tariff and the rate you pay per unit. 

On the standard Ofgem price cap rate of 26.11p per kWh, filling a 60kWh battery to full costs around £16. Move to a dedicated EV or off-peak tariff, and that drops even more. 

Quick maths: Battery size (kWh) X your electricity rate (£/kWh) = cost of a full charge.

The single biggest lever on your home charging cost is the tariff you're on. On the standard price cap rate of 26.11p per kWh, the cars in the table above cost £13.58 to £21.25 for a full charge. 

Switch to a dedicated EV tariff, which are currently around 7 to 9p per kWh during an overnight window, and the same charges fall to around £4. That's roughly a third of the price for identical energy, and a huge saving! 

It's also worth considering the difference between using a standard three-pin plug or a wallbox. A three-pin plug costs nothing to set up but draws power slowly and is very unlikely to fill up your car overnight. 

A wallbox costs more upfront, but can charge at at a faster rate, meaning you'll wake up in the morning with a full battery and the weight of the world off your shoulders. 

A typical 7kW home wallbox costs somewhere between £800 and £1,200 including installation, depending on the unit and how complex the install is.

Prices vary, so it's worth shopping around if you can. 

There's been a lot of change in terms of grants in recent years, so we understand it's easy to get confused. 

The original OLEV scheme is no longer available. What still exists is a more targeted grant, run by the Office for Zero Emission Vehicles (OZEV) and called the EV Chargepoint Grant. 

From 1 April 2026, it covers up to £500 per socket (raised from the previous £350), meeting 75% of the supply and installation cost. You can claim if you:

• Rent your home or own and live in a flat 
• Have access to private off-street or allocated parking 
• Own, lease or have ordered an eligible EV
• Use an OZEV-approved installer and an approved charger 

Funding for the renters and flat-owners grant is confirmed until 31 March 2027.

Before getting an EV, it's worth thinking about how charging will affect your electricity bill.

The cost depends on when you charge, which tariff you're on, the size of your battery and how long you're going to spend charging. 

Many energy companies now offer dedicated EV tariffs that cut the cost of electricity overnight, when demand on the grid is lowest.

Some smart tariffs handle the scheduling for you, charging your car automatically during the cheapest half-hourly windows. 

Away from home, you're at the mercy of the public charging network. Some chargers are free to use (very few), but most charge a fee that varies by network, location, and charger speed. 

Since 2024, all new public chargers of 8kW and above, and all existing rapid chargers of 50kW and above, must accept contactless card payment, so you no longer need an app or membership card. 

You'll typically find slow and fast chargers on the street, in car parks, and at supermarkets. 

As of May 2026, you'll be looking at around 54p per kWh, which is roughly 16p per mile. For reference, a full Tesla Model Y battery costs around £32 this way. 

Rapid and ultra-rapid chargers, most common at motorway services, are the quickest way to add range, but the trade-off is they're the most expensive. 

The average fee is around 79p per kWh (May 2026), and a full charge for a 60kWh battery works out at roughly £47, or about 17 to 21p per mile. 

It's worth noting that prices vary massively between networks. Some are more affordable at around 60p per kWh, while others have an extortionate rate of up to 90p per kWh. 

Tesla's Supercharger network is one of the larger rapid networks in the UK and is now open to non-Tesla drivers as well as Tesla owners.

It's also among the more competitively priced: as of mid-2026, Tesla daytime rates at many open locations sit around 63p per kWh, with Tesla owners often paying less than non-members.

Exact pricing depends on the location, time of day and whether you have a membership, so check the Tesla app before you plug in.

Less than you used to. Thanks to the contactless payment rules introduced in 2024, you can now tap a bank card, Apple Pay or Google Pay at most newer and rapid chargers without registering anything.

That said, an app or RFID card can still be useful and network memberships often unlock cheaper rates and loyalty rewards. 

Workplace charging is now pretty common, either as a staff perk or to support sustainability goals. 

Again, costs vary depending on your workplace charging scheme. Some employers will offer free charging, while others set a tariff and you'll have to pay. 

Businesses can claim support for installing chargers through the government's Workplace Charging Scheme, which from April 2026 provides up to £500 per socket, for a maximum of 40 sockets. 

In most cases, yes. An EV is cheaper to charge than refuelling a petrol car. 

Thanks to rising fuel prices across the globe, a comparable 45mpg petrol car costs roughly 16p per mile to fuel. Charge an efficient EV at home and on an off-peak tariff, and you're looking at much less then that. 

The cars cheapest to charge are the most efficient ones, those that travel the most miles per kWh. A small, efficient EV like the Renault 5 (around 4.8 miles per kWh) costs less to run than a large performance SUV with a 100kWh battery, both because the battery is smaller and because it sips less energy per mile.

If keeping charging costs low is a priority, check out our guide to understanding miles per kWh and our cheapest electric cars guide highlights affordable options to lease. 

Charging an EV can be tricky if you don't have a driveway. You can't install a home wallbox, so you'll rely on public charging at higher rates. But don't worry, it rarely costs as much as people fear! 

• You're not stuck with the priciest rapids. On-street and lamp-post chargers, supermarket and car-park points, and slower destination chargers average around 54p per kWh, far less than motorway rapid chargers. It might take you more time to plug in, but it will be worth it. 

As a rough cost picture: an efficient EV driven 8,000 miles a year, charged mostly on public fast chargers at 54p, works out around £960 a year. Mix in some cheaper destination or workplace charging and that falls further.

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