So now we’ve established the basic formulas for determining how much it costs to charge an electric car, but where and how quickly you charge can have a major impact on the overall costs. Let’s take a closer look.
Home charging (Level 1 or 2)
In most cases, EV charging will be less expensive at home, whether you use a 120-volt (Level 1) or 240-volt (Level 2) setup. That’s because home electricity rates are less than those at third-party chargers, where the company that operates the machines needs to make a profit.
The price per kWh at home varies by location and the utility company. As of this writing, the cost of electricity ranges from $0.13 per kWh in Phoenix to $0.45 per kWh in Hawaii. Let’s take the 2023 Chevrolet Bolt EV as an example, which has a 65-kWh battery. Assuming you’re in Los Angeles, with an average electricity cost of $0.21 per kWh and a completely depleted battery, it would cost about $13.65 to charge the battery back to full.
Public chargers (Level 3)
The cost of a public Level 2 charger will vary greatly based on your location, the company operating the charger, and the station’s pricing structure — per minute or per kWh. It’s tough to pin down average costs for these stations due to these variables and the fact that most companies don’t advertise their pricing until you’re at the actual EV charging station.
Electrify America, a major EV charge station provider that does list some of its prices, currently charges $0.43 per kWh in a number of states such as Arizona, California, Florida, New York, Oregon and more. For time-based stations, Electrify America charges $0.03 per minute.
In other states, such as Georgia, Massachusetts and Texas, Electrify America determines its pricing by the speed of the EV charging station and the maximum power level your vehicle can accept. For stations operating at up to 90 kW, it costs $0.16 per minute. For faster stations that can push to 350 kW, it costs $0.32 per minute.
For example, if you owned a base-model Hyundai Ioniq 5 with its 58-kWh battery, it would cost $24.94 for a full charge at the $0.43-per-kWh rate. But at the per-minute pricing, the same Ioniq 5, which takes about six hours to charge fully, would run up a tab of about $58 using the $0.16 per minute station. If the price seems high, keep in mind that these locations aren’t meant to be your main source of charging. Instead, they’re meant for you to top off your car for a few hours while you run errands or grab a meal.
If you’re going to be a heavy user of Level 2 public charging stations that charge by the minute, pay attention to the speed of the onboard charger for any EV you’re considering. A car with a slow onboard charger will cost more to fill than one with a fast one. The differences can be huge: A base 2017 Nissan Leaf with the then-standard 3.3-kW onboard charger takes twice as long to charge as a 2018 or later Nissan Leaf with the 6.6-kW onboard charger. Thankfully, many EVs now come standard with a 6.6-kW or a 7.2-kW charger.
DC fast chargers (Level 3)
You’ll find these stations in business parks and near shopping centers. As the name implies, these fast-charging stations can sometimes be the priciest since they cost significantly more to install and require more power to operate. In these cases, what you’re paying extra for is the time you save. After 30 or 40 minutes, most EVs will have enough charge to drive a couple hundred more miles.
Electrify America often charges the same for Level 2 charging as for Level 3. The differentiating factor is the speed of the charging station. DC fast-charging stations with speeds greater than 90 kWh are the ones where the pricing enters a higher tier in locales subject to per-minute states.
Let’s assume the same Ioniq 5 referenced above went to a 150-kW Electrify America station for 30 minutes. At $0.32 per minute, it would cost about $9.60. This may seem less expensive at first glance, but keep in mind that you’re not on the charger for that long.
EVgo, another provider of fast-charging stations, uses per-kWh pricing that varies depending on the time of day. In California, prices range from $0.32 per kWh from midnight to 8 a.m. to $0.66 per kWh during the peak hours of 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. If you showed up with the Ioniq 5 at an EVgo station during peak times, it could cost about $38 for a full charge.
Tesla Superchargers
The Tesla Supercharger network is a series of charging stations specifically designed for Tesla vehicles, although the company plans to broaden access to other vehicle makes. Superchargers vary in speed but are mostly considered Level 3 or DC fast chargers.
According to Tesla’s website, owners are billed per kWh when possible; otherwise, they are billed per minute. Each station has its own pricing, and Tesla owners can look up the price of the nearest Supercharger on their navigation screen. The pricing can also vary based on peak and off-peak hours. A ballpark figure of a Supercharger price in California is about $0.50 per kWh, according to Electrek. In a Tesla Model 3 Long Range with an 82-kWh battery, it would cost about $41 for a full charge.
For Supercharger stations that bill per minute, Tesla determines its price with a four-tier system, based on the charging speed:
- Tier 1: Charging at or below 60 kW, lowest price per minute
- Tier 2: Charging above 60 kW but at or below 100 kW, second-lowest price per minute
- Tier 3: Charging above 100 kW but at or below 180 kW, second-highest price per minute
- Tier 4: Charging above 180 kW, highest price per minute
Note that Tesla’s website provides only the hierarchy above, as opposed to specific pricing.