How Much Does It Cost to Charge an EV?

The short answer

At a typical New Zealand home electricity rate of $0.39 per kWh, charging a 100 kWh EV battery from empty to full costs around $30.00. In practice, most owners charge from about 10% to 80%, which uses roughly 70 kWh and costs around $21.00.

The cost per 100 km of driving at that rate is about $4.80, based on a typical EV efficiency of 16 kWh per 100 km. Over a year of average driving (15,000 km), that works out to around $720 in electricity.

Those figures change significantly depending on where you charge and what rate you pay. Home off peak rates, dedicated EV tariffs and public charger prices all produce very different results.

Cost of a full charge

The cost of a full charge depends on the battery size and the electricity price. Multiply the battery capacity by the price per kWh to get the total.

Battery size (kWh) × Electricity price ($ per kWh) = Full charge cost

Electricity price	Full charge cost (100 kWh)	10% to 80% charge (70 kWh)
$0.12 per kWh (EV off peak)	$12.00	$8.40
$0.13 per kWh (Home solar)	$13.00	$9.10
$0.25 per kWh (Home off peak)	$25.00	$17.50
$0.39 per kWh (Home standard rate)	$39.00	$27.30
$0.45 per kWh (Public AC)	$45.00	$31.50
$0.68 per kWh (DC fast)	$68.00	$47.60
$0.95 per kWh (Ultra rapid DC)	$95.00	$66.50

Uses a typical EV (100 kWh battery). Cost scales directly with capacity, so a smaller battery costs proportionally less to fill.

Cost per 100 km

The cost per 100 km is usually more useful than the cost per full charge because it accounts for how efficiently the vehicle uses energy. Multiply the vehicle's efficiency by the electricity price.

EV efficiency (kWh per 100 km) × Electricity price ($ per kWh) = Cost per 100 km

Electricity price	Cost per 100 km	Cost per km
$0.12 per kWh (EV off peak)	$1.92	1.9 cents
$0.13 per kWh (Home solar)	$2.08	2.1 cents
$0.25 per kWh (Home off peak)	$4.00	4.0 cents
$0.39 per kWh (Home standard rate)	$6.24	6.2 cents
$0.45 per kWh (Public AC)	$7.20	7.2 cents
$0.68 per kWh (DC fast)	$10.88	10.9 cents
$0.95 per kWh (Ultra rapid DC)	$15.20	15.2 cents

Based on a typical EV (16 kWh per 100 km). More efficient vehicles will cost less, and larger or less efficient vehicles will cost more. Efficiency matters here as much as price: a heavy SUV and a small hatch on the same tariff do not cost the same to run.

Monthly and annual charging cost

To estimate your monthly or annual charging cost, multiply the cost per 100 km by your driving distance. The formula is straightforward.

EV efficiency × Annual distance ÷ 100 × Electricity price = Annual cost

Divide the annual cost by 12 to get the monthly figure. You can skip the manual maths by selecting your vehicle and electricity rate in the My EV panel — the table below and every calculator on the site will update to reflect your specific vehicle and the rate you pay.

Electricity price	Monthly cost	Annual cost
$0.12 per kWh (EV off peak)	$22	$269
$0.13 per kWh (Home solar)	$24	$291
$0.25 per kWh (Home off peak)	$47	$560
$0.39 per kWh (Home standard rate)	$73	$874
$0.45 per kWh (Public AC)	$84	$1,008
$0.68 per kWh (DC fast)	$127	$1,523
$0.95 per kWh (Ultra rapid DC)	$177	$2,128

Based on 14,000 km per year and a typical EV (16 kWh per 100 km). Monthly figures tend to land closer to how people actually budget than a cost per kilowatt-hour does.

What affects your charging cost

Electricity price

The price you pay per kWh is the single biggest factor in your charging cost. Charging at an EV off peak rate of $0.12 per kWh instead of a standard rate of $0.39 per kWh reduces the cost of 100 km from $4.80 to $1.28 — a difference of around 70 percent.

Vehicle efficiency

How much energy your EV uses per 100 km determines how many kWh you need to buy. A smaller, more efficient vehicle using 12 kWh per 100 km costs less to charge per kilometre than a large SUV using 22 kWh per 100 km, even at the same electricity price.

Where you charge

Home charging is cheapest. Public AC chargers cost more, and DC fast chargers cost the most. Most EV owners keep their costs low by doing the majority of their charging at home and using public chargers mainly for longer trips or when home charging is not available.

When you charge

If your electricity plan has time-of-use pricing, charging during off peak hours — typically overnight — is significantly cheaper than charging during peak periods. Some retailers also offer dedicated EV tariffs with very low overnight rates.

How much you charge

For everyday driving, many EV owners charge to around 80% rather than 100%. This is common practice because charging slows down significantly above 80%, and it helps maintain long-term battery health. The last 20% of a charge takes disproportionately longer, which matters mainly for DC fast charging where you pay for time or kWh.

Home charging vs public charging cost

The cost difference between home and public charging is significant enough to change the economics of EV ownership. Here is a direct comparison using the same vehicle and distance.

Charging type	Price per kWh	Cost per 100 km	Annual cost (14,000 km)
EV off peak	$0.12	$1.92	$269
Home solar	$0.13	$2.08	$291
Home off peak	$0.25	$4.00	$560
Home standard rate	$0.39	$6.24	$874
Public AC	$0.45	$7.20	$1,008
DC fast	$0.68	$10.88	$1,523
Ultra rapid DC	$0.95	$15.20	$2,128

Calculated over 14,000 km a year at a typical EV (16 kWh per 100 km). Scale the totals directly if your own distance is higher or lower.

Someone charging exclusively at home on a standard rate pays significantly less per year than a driver relying entirely on public fast charging. In practice, most owners use a mix of home and occasional public charging, so their actual cost falls somewhere in between.

How EV charging cost compares to petrol

Regardless of which charging option you use, an EV is almost always cheaper to run per kilometre than a comparable petrol vehicle. The gap is largest when charging at home.

Vehicle type	Fuel cost per 100 km	Annual fuel cost (14,000 km)
EV at EV off peak ($0.12/kWh)	$1.92	$269
EV at off peak ($0.25/kWh)	$4.00	$560
EV at Home standard rate ($0.39/kWh)	$6.24	$874
Petrol vehicle (8.0 L/100 km at $3.00/L)	$24.00	$3,360

EV figures based on a typical EV (16 kWh per 100 km). Petrol figures based on a medium car using 8.0 litres per 100 km at $3.00 per litre. This is the comparison most people are really asking about when they ask what charging costs.

An EV charged at home on a standard electricity rate saves significantly per year compared with a medium petrol car. On a dedicated EV tariff, the saving is even larger.

Worked example — typical New Zealand EV owner

This example uses the most common scenario: a standard EV charged at home on a regular electricity rate.

Assumptions

EV efficiency: 16 kWh per 100 km. Electricity price: $0.39 per kWh. Battery size: 100 kWh. Annual distance: 15,000 km. Everyday charge range: 10% to 80%.

Cost per 100 km

16 × $0.39 = $6.24

Cost per full charge (empty to full)

100 × $0.39 = $39.00

Cost per everyday charge (10% to 80%)

70 kWh × $0.39 = $27.30

Monthly cost

16 × 14,000 ÷ 100 × $0.39 ÷ 12 = $72.80

Annual cost

16 × 14,000 ÷ 100 × $0.39 = $873.60

Frequently asked questions

What is the single biggest factor in what charging costs me?

Where you plug in, by a wide margin. The tables on this page show the same car costing several times more on ultra-rapid DC than on an overnight home tariff. Battery size determines what a full charge costs, and efficiency determines cost per kilometre, but neither varies between vehicles nearly as much as the price per kilowatt-hour varies between charging options. If you want to reduce what your EV costs to run, the tariff you charge on is the lever with the most travel in it.

Should I be charging to 100 percent every night?

Usually not, for two separate reasons. Charging slows markedly above about 80 percent, so the last portion takes disproportionately long, and many manufacturers recommend keeping a lithium-ion battery in a middle band for daily use to reduce long-term degradation. Most owners set a daily limit somewhere around 80 percent and charge to full only before a long trip. Check your own manufacturer's guidance, since chemistry differs between models and some batteries are designed to be charged fully.

Does the figure on the charger match what lands in my battery?

Not exactly. Some energy is lost as heat in the charger, the cable and the car's own charging hardware, and more is used running the battery's thermal management. You are billed for what passes through the charger, not what reaches the cells, so real-world cost per kilowatt-hour is slightly higher than a simple calculation suggests. The losses are usually modest — a small percentage — and larger in cold weather when the car is heating the battery as well as filling it.

How do I find out what I actually pay per kilowatt-hour?

Look at your electricity bill rather than a headline advertised rate. You want the usage rate in cents per kilowatt-hour for the times you actually charge, which on a time-of-use plan means the off-peak window if you charge overnight. Daily supply charges do not change with charging, so they are not part of the marginal cost of a kilometre driven. Once you know your figure, enter it in the My EV panel and every table on this page will recalculate against it.

Is it cheaper to charge at work or at a free public charger?

If it is genuinely free to you, then yes, nothing beats it. Free destination charging at workplaces, shopping centres and some hotels is common enough to be worth seeking out, and it is often slower AC charging where a long dwell time makes the speed irrelevant. The caveat is reliability and availability: it is a useful supplement to a home charging routine rather than something to depend on, since you do not control whether the bay is free when you arrive.

Why do the numbers on this page change when I set my car?

Because they are calculated rather than written. Setting your vehicle in the My EV panel replaces the generic assumptions used above — a 100 kWh battery and 16 kWh per 100 km — with your own battery size and efficiency, and every table on this page recalculates. Setting your own electricity rate does the same for price. The intention is that you read figures about your car rather than about a hypothetical average one.