EV cost per mile
Work out your EV's running cost per mile from its real-world efficiency and your electricity price — useful for comparing to petrol/diesel or to another EV.
Result
Cost per mile
How to use this calculator
- Enter your car's efficiency in miles per kWh (check your dashboard's trip computer for a real-world figure).
- Enter your electricity price per kWh.
- Read the cost per mile.
Assumptions
- Real-world efficiency varies with driving style, weather, speed and terrain — use your car's actual trip-computer average rather than the official spec figure for an accurate result.
Technical details: what the fields mean
- Efficiency
efficiencyMiPerKwh - Miles travelled per kWh of energy used — use your car's real-world trip computer average, not just the manufacturer's official figure.
- Electricity price
pricePerKwh - Your electricity price per kWh.
Methodology
Cost per mile (pence) = (price per kWh ÷ efficiency) × 100.
Worked example
4 mi/kWh efficiency, 30p/kWh
Inputs: efficiencyMiPerKwh=4, pricePerKwh=0.30
Result: 7.5p per mile
Practical guidance
- Motorway driving and cold weather typically reduce EV efficiency noticeably — check your winter vs. summer trip-computer average separately if you want a realistic year-round figure.
- Compare this to the diesel/petrol journey cost calculators using your annual mileage for a like-for-like running-cost comparison.
Common mistakes
- Using the manufacturer's official WLTP efficiency figure instead of your own real-world average, which is often lower.
- Mixing up miles per kWh with kWh per 100 miles — this calculator expects miles per kWh.
FAQs
How much does it cost to drive an EV per mile?
At 4 miles/kWh and 30p/kWh, about 7.5p per mile. Use your own car's efficiency and tariff for an accurate figure.