Quick answer
Home charging is cheaper almost everywhere in the US — the national average residential rate is 18.34¢/kWh (June 2026), while public DC fast charging averages roughly 55–64¢/kWh across major networks. That's a 3–4x gap before you even factor in time-of-use discounts. The catch: a home charger costs $1,200–$6,500+ to install depending on your panel, and the federal tax credit that used to offset that expired on June 30, 2026. Whether it's worth installing comes down to how much you'd otherwise spend on public charging — use the calculator to see your own payback period.
The core price gap
Electricity at home is billed by your utility at a regulated, blended rate that includes generation, delivery and various riders. Public charging networks price for a different business — hardware, site leases, maintenance, and a profit margin on top of their own electricity cost, which is why the same electron costs more once it's dispensed through a public plug.
Home rates: EIA Electric Power Monthly, Table 5.6.A, June 2026 data (released 26 Aug 2026) — average revenue per kWh, not a single tariff. Public rates: independent monthly network-pricing tracker, September 2026 — dated planning averages that move by site and month.
Even in Hawaii, the most expensive state for home electricity, home charging at 52.72¢/kWh is still roughly in line with — not above — typical public fast-charging rates elsewhere in the country. In every other state, home charging is meaningfully cheaper than public DC fast charging.
What public networks actually charge
Public pricing varies by network, by membership tier, and by site — there's no single "public charging price." Here's roughly where things stood in September 2026:
| Network | Pay-as-you-go | Membership | Member rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tesla Supercharger | ~$0.63/kWh avg | $12.99/mo (non-Tesla) | ~$0.44/kWh avg |
| Electrify America | ~$0.61/kWh avg | Pass+, ~$7–8/mo | often ~$0.36/kWh |
| EVgo | ~$0.64/kWh avg + $0.99/session | Plus $6.99/mo or PlusMax $12.99/mo | up to 15–30% off, no session fee |
| ChargePoint | Host-set — free (workplace L2) to ~$0.55+/kWh (DC) | None required | Host-set |
These are dated network-wide averages, not quotes — always check the network's app before you charge. Tesla's guest average jumped about 5% between August and September 2026, which shows how quickly these move.
Notice the pattern: membership tiers exist specifically because pay-as-you-go public pricing is the expensive option. If you charge in public regularly, a membership usually pays for itself — but it still won't get you close to home rates.
Time-of-use rates can widen the gap further
Some utilities offer EV-specific or off-peak time-of-use (TOU) plans that discount overnight charging beyond the standard residential rate. There's no universal number here — it depends entirely on your utility's tariff — but a few real examples show the range:
| Utility / plan | Off-peak window | What it saves |
|---|---|---|
| PG&E (CA) — EV2-A | Midnight–3pm daily | ~30–45% cheaper than the flat plan |
| Con Edison (NYC) — TOU | Midnight–8am | 5.22¢/kWh delivery vs 17–28¢ peak (delivery only — supply is separate) |
| Duke Energy Carolinas — Schedule RT | Overnight discount window | ~40–55% cheaper on the energy portion |
| SMUD (CA) — EV Time-of-Day add-on | Midnight–6am | Extra 1.5¢/kWh off an already-discounted rate |
Compare any TOU plan to your own utility's standard rate, not the US average — the savings percentage only makes sense relative to what you'd otherwise pay that utility.
Should you install a home charger?
A Level 2 home charger typically costs $1,200–$3,000 installed if your electrical panel already has capacity, or $2,500–$6,500+ if a panel upgrade is needed — hardware, electrician labor and permits all factor in, and labor cost varies a lot by metro area.
Some utilities still offer their own rebates toward equipment and installation — these are separate from the vehicle-purchase incentives you'll see elsewhere on this site, and they change often:
| Utility | What it offers |
|---|---|
| Austin Energy (TX) | 50% of cost, up to $1,200 |
| PG&E (CA) | Up to 50% standard; up to $2,000–$5,000 if income-eligible |
| Duke Energy (NC and other territories) | Charger Prep Credit, up to ~$1,100 toward wiring/permits |
| LADWP (Los Angeles) | Up to $1,000, plus $500 for qualifying low-income customers |
| Charge Up New Jersey | Up to $250 toward a qualifying charger |
Confirm current amounts and eligibility directly with your utility before counting on any of these — funding and terms change without much notice.
Whether the install pays for itself depends entirely on how much public charging it replaces. Someone who charges almost exclusively at home already has little to save by installing faster equipment; someone currently paying public DC fast charging rates regularly can often recover the install cost within one to three years. The calculator runs this payback math with your own numbers, including any utility rebate.
If you can't charge at home
Not everyone has a driveway or garage. If that's you, a few things are worth knowing:
Options if home charging isn't available
- Ask about workplace charging — often free or priced well below public network rates, even when it's just Level 2.
- Public Level 2 (retail, hotel, municipal lots) is usually cheaper than DC fast charging, even though it's slower — worth using for routine top-ups if you have the time.
- A charging network membership can meaningfully cut your per-kWh cost if you're a regular public-charging user — the break-even is usually a few sessions a month.
- Use our charging station finder to see what's actually near you, including free and Level 2 options, not just fast chargers.
Realistically, your cost floor is closer to the public averages above rather than the home rate — plan around that rather than a number you can't actually access.
Cost isn't the only factor: time and battery health
Home charging is also "free" in terms of your own time — you plug in overnight and it's done. Public DC fast charging costs you the time spent getting there, waiting for a stall, and sitting through the session, even though the charge itself is faster per minute. For routine driving, that time cost usually tips the decision toward home charging even before the price gap is considered.
There's also a battery health angle. Two credible studies have looked at whether frequent DC fast charging accelerates battery degradation compared to Level 2/home charging, and they don't fully agree:
- Geotab (Jan 2026), analyzing over 22,700 EVs across 21 models, found fleet-average degradation of 2.3%/year — but vehicles charged frequently at high power (over 100kW, more than 40% of sessions) degraded up to 3.0%/year, roughly double the 1.5%/year seen in low-DC-fast-charging vehicles.
- Recurrent's Tesla-only study (2024), covering about 13,000 US Teslas, found no statistically significant difference in range retention between heavy and light fast-chargers — though the heavy-fast-charging group in that sample was small.
The honest read: occasional road-trip fast charging isn't a major concern in either dataset. Daily or majority fast charging at high power — the situation many renters without home access are stuck with — shows up as a real, if modest, degradation factor in the larger Geotab dataset. It's one more reason home charging is the better default when you have the option, not just the cheaper one.
Sources: EIA Electric Power Monthly, Table 5.6.A (June 2026 data, released Aug 2026); independent DC fast charging network pricing tracker (September 2026 data); PG&E EV rate plans; IRS Form 8911 instructions (Section 30C, rev. Dec 2025); Geotab EV battery health study, Jan 2026; Recurrent Auto fast-charging impact study, 2024. Verify current rates, network pricing and rebate terms before relying on them — figures here are dated and change.