Home EV charging costs in Australia

What determines your cost per charge

Cost per kilometre comes down to two numbers: your electricity price (c/kWh) and your car's efficiency (kWh per 100km). Multiply them together and divide by 100.

• Your retail electricity rate — flat, time-of-use or an EV-specific tariff
• Whether charging happens off-peak, on solar, or at peak rates
• Your vehicle's real-world efficiency, which varies with driving style, climate control and terrain
• Charging losses, typically a small percentage on top of energy delivered to the battery

Off-peak and EV tariffs

Many Queensland retailers offer time-of-use or EV-specific tariffs with cheaper overnight rates. Whether one is worth switching to depends on your total household usage, not just EV charging — compare your whole bill, not just the EV component.

Solar charging

Charging from self-consumed solar avoids the retail import rate entirely and is worth far more than a feed-in tariff. Solar-aware chargers (see Solar EV Charging Explained) can automatically use surplus generation rather than sending it to the grid for a few cents.

Comparing to a petrol or diesel car

EV charging is consistently cheaper per kilometre than fuel for most Australian households, particularly with off-peak or solar charging — but the exact saving depends on your specific tariff, vehicle efficiency and fuel comparison, so we avoid quoting a single national number.

How to estimate your own cost

A simple way to work out your running cost:

• Find your electricity rate in c/kWh from a recent bill
• Find your vehicle's real-world efficiency in kWh/100km (check your car's app or trip computer)
• Cost per 100km = rate × efficiency ÷ 100
• Repeat for off-peak and solar rates to see the range