How Much Does it Cost to Charge an Electric Car? (UK)
Find out how much it costs to charge an electric car at home and at a public charging station
The cost of charging your electric car will vary.
UK electricity prices fluctuate with demand, most notably during ‘peak/off-peak’ hours.
What's more, the cost to charge your electric car varies depending on the charge point used - whether you charge your car at home, or at a public charger.
How Much Does it Cost to Charge an Electric Car at Home?
There are electricity tariffs designed for electric car drivers. These make it even cheaper for you to charge your vehicle during ‘off-peak’ hours (overnight).
For example, EDF’s GoElectric Overnight tariff is a low-rate fixed EV tariff which could see you charge your car for less than £10 overnight if that’s when you usually charge your vehicle.
With the GoElectric tariff, you could drive 20 miles for just 51p. You get 5 hours of ultra-low off-peak electricity each night at just 9p/kWh from 12am to 5am with this fixed tariff.
You can save up to £280 compared to EDF’s Standard Variable tariff when you opt for GoElectric.
If you tend not to charge your car overnight or are a low or medium mileage driver, EDF's Evolve tariff can give you greater flexibility.
This tracker tariff follows the Ofgem price cap SVT rate and could lead to savings of up to £195 a year.
EDF sometimes reprices its tariffs in alignment with changes like Ofgem’s price cap in August 2025.
This price cap applies if you’re on one of EDF’s variable or tracker tariffs, meaning your prices will change up or down every three months in line with Ofgem’s cap.
Ofgem is the UK’s energy regulator and puts a maximum on unit rates and standing charges.
The cap is reviewed every three months in January, April July and October.
EDF allows you to move between tariff structures so that you can choose the best tariff for you.
Besides EDF, there are other energy companies which offer tariffs for EV drivers.
How Much Does it Cost to Charge an Electric Car at a Public Charging Station?
Public charging points are found at workplaces (such as office blocks) and in public car parks. Some are even free to use. You should always check whether it will cost you to charge your electric car before plugging it in.
Public charging points may be free for an initial period and then charge you for continued use. This is usually the case at office blocks. It encourages employees to share charge points and gives every EV driver the opportunity to top up at work.
Each employer sets their own rate (if they don’t offer free charging), but you can expect them to be similar to the prices mentioned below.
You can take a look at this data taken from Which? to get an idea of how much it costs to charge your car at home vs with a public charger – it could cost you anywhere from 7p/kWh to 79p/kWh depending on how you charge your car.
How Much Does it Cost to Charge an Electric Car at a Rapid Charging Point?
Rapid charging points may seem like one of the more expensive ways to charge an electric car, but they can actually work out cheaper than home charging.
While the Tesla Supercharger Network is often free to use for Tesla owners, other rapid charging points can cost more per kWh than other charging options. The positive is that you don't have to plug your car in for very long to get a full charge - which can save you a few pounds.
Most network rapid chargers cost between 55p to 89p per kWh as of September 2025. Even though it may be inconvenient to wait around for half an hour, it is much more affordable than refuelling a petrol or diesel car.
The other main difference with public charging is how you pay. While it may not cost as much as refuelling, you can't always pay at the machine itself...
How Do You Pay for Electric Car Charging?
There are several ways to pay for electric car charging. Installing a home charge point means that you pay for electricity used in your car as part of your normal electricity bill.
If you plan on using a public charging point, make sure you're able to pay before arriving. You might need an RFID card (similar to a contactless debit card) to use some older public charge points. This can be ordered online.
Otherwise, you can use a free-to-download mobile app to pay for your charge time. There are plenty of options available, both for Android and IOS, and many also tell you where your nearest public charging point is.
Downloading Zap-Map will help you find your closest charging point across the entire network, while subscribing to a service like bp pulse just gives you access to their charger network.
How Has the Cost Per kWh Changed Throughout the Years?
Over time, the cost per unit of electricity has increased. It reached its peak in the second quarter of 2023, where it reached 33.6pence per kWh.
The cost per kWh has doubled since 2010, rising from 12.7pence per kWh, to 24.5pence per kWh in quarter two of 2024.
Data courtesy of NimbleFins, in partnership with gov.uk.
Please find the original article here.
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