Home vs public charging: the real cost gap
Home charging is priced by your tariff — 26.11p/kWh at the July 2026 Ofgem cap, or as little as 8.0p/kWh off-peak. Public rapid charging is priced by the network, and headline rates run well above home rates. Because networks reprice frequently, we show public charging as a range you can match to the screen in front of you, rather than pretending one “current” number.
Prices based on the Ofgem price cap of 26.11 p/kWh, effective 1 July 2026.Source: Ofgem
Pence per mile and a full charge, side by side
| Where you charge | Pence per mile (average EV) | Full charge (62 kWh average battery) |
|---|---|---|
| Home, Ofgem price cap (26.11p/kWh) | 6.4p | £18.54 |
| Home, cheapest off-peak we track (8.00p/kWh) | 2.0p | £5.68 |
| Public rapid at 50p/kWh (assumption) | 10.9p | £31.24 |
| Public rapid at 65p/kWh (assumption) | 14.1p | £40.62 |
| Public rapid at 80p/kWh (assumption) | 17.4p | £49.99 |
Home rows include ~12% AC charging losses; public rapid (DC) rows apply no loss factor, which slightly flatters them. Off-peak rate fetched live from the Octopus API. Match the public assumption to the price on the charger screen — they vary by network, speed and time of day.
Using the gap intelligently
Public rapid can cost more than petrol
At the top of the public range, pence per mile overtakes a 45 mpg petrol car — see the EV vs petrol maths. The EV cost advantage is a home charging advantage; the more miles start from your own socket, the more you keep it.
Rapid is a road-trip tool
Treating rapid chargers as your daily fuel source is the most expensive way to run an EV. Treating them as the motorway exception — 5–10% of annual miles — barely dents the average cost per mile.
Slower public AC is often mid-priced
Lamp-post and car-park AC chargers usually price between home and rapid rates — useful if you cannot charge at home, though the gap to a home off-peak rate remains large.
No driveway? The maths still matters
Without home charging, an efficient model matters more, because every mile is bought at public rates. The efficiency spread across our league table is the same percentage saving wherever you plug in.