Cost to Charge an EV Battery (X% to Y%)
Enter your battery size, the charge level you start and stop at, and your electricity price.
How it works
Energy into the battery = capacity × (target % − start %) ÷ 100. Energy billed = energy into the battery ÷ charging efficiency. Cost = energy billed × price per kWh.
Worked example: 75 kWh from 20% to 80% = 45 kWh into the battery. At 90% efficiency that is 50 kWh billed; × $0.16 = $8.00.
Assumptions
- The 90% charging efficiency is an editable placeholder assumption, not an official figure. Set it to 100 to ignore losses.
- One flat price per kWh; time-of-use, demand charges and session fees are not modeled.
- Battery capacity should be usable capacity if known.
- All prices are editable estimates. The defaults are placeholders, not current market prices; use your own bill or charger's posted price.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a full charge cost?
DOE AFDC's example: at 10.7 cents per kWh, fully charging a depleted 54 kWh battery costs about $6 (54 × $0.107 = $5.78 before losses).
Why does the bill show more kWh than the battery gained?
Charging is not 100% efficient. EPA notes some energy is lost through conversion and heat in the charging cable and on-board charger.
Related calculators
- EV charging cost calculator
- EV charging time calculator
- Time-of-use EV charging cost calculator
- EV home charging cost per month
Sources
Formulas and reference values are from these sources. Page last reviewed 2026-10-19.