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How Much Does It Cost to Charge an EV on a Road Trip?

Planning your electric vehicle getaway

By 

Matt Ryan Webber

Full Bio

Matt Webber is an experienced personal finance writer, researcher, and editor. He has published widely on personal finance, marketing, and the impact of technology on contemporary arts and culture.

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Updated February 13, 2025

Reviewed by 

Ebony Howard

Fact checked by 

Vikki Velasquez

If you’re planning on a road trip with your electric vehicle (EV), you’ll want to prepare for the cost of charging. Calculating the cost of that can be tricky. There are multiple types of chargers and charging networks, and the costs of electricity vary from state to state.

Many EVs now can range more than 200 miles per charge. For major trips, you’ll likely have to charge your vehicle several times.

In general, it will cost between $10 and $30 to charge your EV while on the road, depending on what level of charger you are using. That makes the cost of an EV road trip comparable with that of the same journey in a gas-powered car. There are, however, plenty of factors that can complicate this apparently simple math.

Key Takeaways

• Charging your EV at a commercial charger on a road trip can cost between $10 and $30 when using a level 3 charger.
• Charging costs can vary a lot depending on a variety of factors such as your location and the kind of chargers you use.
• That can make the cost of a road trip in an EV higher than the cost of using a conventional vehicle.
• In order to limit costs, try using apps such as A Better Route Planner or PlugShare to plan a route that takes in charging stations; use supermarket and hotel chargers when possible.

How Much Does It Cost to Charge an Electric Car?

The average cost of charging an EV at a commercial charger, from almost empty to almost full, is between $10 and $30. Keep in mind that charging your EV on a road trip—that is, at a commercial charger—costs significantly more than charging it at home.

At the same time, fueling costs vary much more for EVs than for ICE (internal combustion engine) vehicles. This is due to multiple factors:

• Wide variation in electrical power costs: Commercial charger rates are often double or triple those of residential rates. Even commercial charger rates can vary more than 50% within the same network. In comparison, gas prices vary by about 10% or less.   
• Charger and battery varieties: Charging speed varies with the type of charger, level of charge in the battery, temperature, and the working status of the charger. This can make the time it takes to charge your battery vary considerably as well.
• Pricing: Pricing at commercial chargers is often not directly comparable because there are different pricing systems. These typically involve some combination of per kWh, per unit time, and per session costs. This produces charging costs that vary considerably when calculated on a per kWh basis (the amount of charge you get per $1.)

A second factor to consider is the type of charger you use. Not all EV chargers are the same. There are three different tiers:

• Level 1: The slowest type of charger. It can take a full 24 hours to fully charge your car. 
• Level 2: Delivers a charge of up to 28 miles per hour. The cost for level 2 ranges from $1 to $5 an hour. The cost per kilowatt hour is approximately 20 cents although some establishments will have cheaper (or even free) charging for their customers. Normally these types of charging stations are found at hotels or shopping centers.
• Level 3: Also known as direct current fast chargers (DCFC), level 3 chargers are the fastest. They can charge your battery to nearly full in as little as an hour and will cost between $10 to $30 per charge. The cost per kilowatt hour is approximately 30 cents to 48 cents.12

Tesla has a proprietary network of chargers that it calls “Superchargers.” The cost of using these chargers for your Tesla varies depending on location and other factors.3

The average cost is around 25 cents per kWh, so a full recharge to 250 miles of range would run approximately $22 (unless you purchased a Model S or Model X between 2012 and 2016, in which case, it’s free).3

Formula for the Cost of Charging an Electric Car

The formula to determine cost factors in a vehicle’s range (VR), the range per kWh (RPK) which can be estimated at about three to four miles, and the cost per kWh (CPK).4

Charging Cost = (VR/RPK) x CPK

As an example, let’s say you drive 1,200 miles per month. Divide that figure by the range of three miles per kWh. The result is 400 kWh used in a month.

Next, multiply that figure by your cost per kWh. If you use a level 2 charger on the road that costs 25 cents per kWh, then your cost would be $100 per month. For a road trip, the vehicle range (and thus the cost) would most likely be less.

Saving Money on Your EV Road Trip

You’ll want to factor in extra time costs associated with finding a commercial charging station. If you don’t plan your road trip around the location of EV charging stations, you could spend a significant amount of time driving out of your way and even more time waiting for your EV to charge. These extra miles add to the cost of your trip.

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