Car & driving
How much does it cost to charge an electric car?
Cost per 100 km at home vs public charging, full charge cost and real range from consumption and battery size.
Quick answer
Electric car economics live and die by where you plug in. The same 100 km that costs about €4 charging at home overnight can cost €10-12 at a public fast charger — a 3× spread that petrol drivers never experience. That’s why the calculator shows both numbers side by side: an EV charged mostly at home crushes any combustion car on running costs, while one that lives on motorway fast chargers merely matches an efficient diesel.
Cost per 100 km at home
$2.72
- Cost per 100 km at fast chargers
- $7.65
- Real range
- 353 km
- Full charge at home
- 0.56
Real consumption for most EVs runs 14-16 kWh/100 km in the city, 18-22 on the motorway, and rises 20-30% in freezing weather. Charging losses (already reflected at public chargers, add ~10% at home) and the 20-80% charging habit mean usable range is below the WLTP figure. Home charging is where an EV wins on cost — at fast-charger prices it can cost as much per km as an efficient diesel.
How it works
The other number worth understanding is real consumption, because the brochure figure is measured in conditions you will rarely drive in.
| Condition | Consumption |
|---|---|
| Brochure (WLTP) | 14–16 kWh/100 km |
| Town | roughly the brochure figure |
| Motorway speeds | 18–22 kWh/100 km |
| Freezing weather | +20–30% on top |
Range follows directly — battery capacity ÷ consumption × 100 — but remember the daily convention of charging to 80% to preserve the battery, which takes a fifth off the usable figure before you have driven anywhere. The winter penalty is the one that surprises people: it is the cabin and the pack heating themselves, so it hits hardest on the short trips where the car never warms up.
If home charging is your plan, a level 2 ev charger (wallbox) cuts overnight time vs a Schuko socket; a portable ev charger covers rented parking or trips. Keep a proper ev charging cable and ev cable bag in the boot — public posts often assume you bring Type 2. Compare home vs fast-charger totals above before you decide the wallbox is "optional".
Charging speed is not constant, and planning a trip as though it were is what makes journeys long. A fast charger slows dramatically as the battery fills: the stretch from eighty to a hundred per cent can take as long as the whole way from ten to eighty — so two shorter stops to around seventy per cent almost always beat one long stop to full. The exception is the last charger before a long empty stretch. On the cost side, remember that public charging is often priced per minute as well as per kilowatt-hour, which means a slow-charging car pays twice for the same energy.
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Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to fully charge an electric car at home?+
Battery size × your electricity price × ~1.1 for charging losses: a 60 kWh battery at €0.25/kWh costs about €16.50 from empty to full. With a night tariff at €0.15 that drops to €10. Compare with a fast charger at €0.60/kWh: €40 for the same energy. If you charge at home regularly, a dedicated night or EV tariff is usually the single biggest saving available.
Is an electric car actually cheaper to run than petrol?+
Charging at home, dramatically: 17 kWh/100 km at €0.25 is €4.25 per 100 km, versus €12 for a 6.5 L/100 km petrol car at €1.85 — a 65% saving, before the lower maintenance (no oil, belts, clutch; brakes last far longer thanks to regeneration). Charging only at fast chargers, the gap nearly closes. The realistic mixed picture — mostly home, occasional fast charging on trips — lands around 50-60% cheaper per km.
Do I need a wallbox or is a normal socket enough?+
A domestic socket delivers 2-2.3 kW — about 10-12 hours for 100 km of range — and standard sockets aren’t designed for that load for many hours every night. A 7.4 kW wallbox charges 3× faster (a 60 kWh battery overnight with ease), manages the load safely, and can modulate around your home’s other consumption. If you drive under 50 km a day, the socket honestly suffices; beyond that, the wallbox quickly stops feeling optional.
How much range does an EV lose in winter?+
Typically 20-30% around freezing, and up to 40% in severe cold with short trips — the battery must heat itself and the cabin heater draws from the same pack. Cars with heat pumps lose noticeably less than those with resistive heaters. Practical mitigations: precondition the car while it’s still plugged in, use seat and steering wheel heating instead of blasting cabin air, and expect fast charging to be slower on a cold battery.
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