How Much Does It Cost to Run a Level 1 EV Charger?
Short answer: about $1.94 a day and $58.13 a month, or $0.24 for each hour it runs at full power, at the 2025 US average electricity rate. That is for a 1,400 W level 1 ev charger running 8 hours a day with a 100% duty cycle. Change the state and hours below for your own number.
Updated Nov 8, 2026
Quick answer
Quick answer, US average (17.3 c/kWh)
About $58.13 a month
The same use costs $39.68 a month in North Dakota and $136.38 in Hawaii.
- Per hour
- $0.24
- at 1,400 W
- Per day
- $1.94
- 8 h, 11.20 kWh
- Per month
- $58.13
- 30 days
- Per year
- $707.22
- 365 days at the same use
Your state, your hours
Per hour
$0.24
Per day
$1.94
Per month
$58.13
Per year
$707.22
Level 1 EV Charger at 1,400 W, 8 h a day, 30 days a month, 100% duty cycle: 336.0 kWh a month. Using the 2025 US average of 17.3 cents/kWh.
Want to change the watts or duty cycle too? Open the full calculator.
What decides the cost of running a level 1 ev charger
Level 1 charging uses the cord that comes with most EVs, plugged into an ordinary 120 V outlet. It typically draws 12 A, about 1,400 W, which is 80 percent of a 15 A circuit, the limit for a load that runs for hours. The default here is 8 hours a night, 11.2 kWh, about $1.94 at the national average rate. After charging losses that adds about 33 miles for a car doing 3.5 miles per kWh, roughly 4 miles per hour plugged in. A car allowed to draw 16 A on a 20 A circuit charges about a third faster.
Per kWh, Level 1 costs the same as Level 2. Your utility charges for energy, not speed. The difference is in losses. The car's onboard charger, cooling pumps and computers stay awake for the whole session, and at Level 1 a session lasts several times as long, so a few more percent of the energy goes to keeping the car awake instead of into the battery. Expect Level 1 to use roughly 5 percent more electricity than Level 2 for the same miles, worth a few dollars a month for a typical commuter. In cold weather the gap widens, since the car may spend part of the slow trickle warming the battery.
Whether Level 1 is enough comes down to miles. If you drive under about 40 miles a day and the car sits plugged in overnight, it covers the commute with no installation cost. A long weekend trip, or a car that comes home nearly empty, can take days to refill: a 60 kWh battery takes about 50 hours from empty at 1,400 W.
Rate plans matter just as much at 120 V. On a time-of-use plan the 8 hour overnight window often lines up with off-peak hours, which can cut the cost per mile substantially. Most EVs can schedule charging to start at a set time.
How to cut it
- Schedule charging in the car's app to start when off-peak rates begin.
- Plug straight into a wall outlet on a circuit with nothing else heavy on it. Never use an extension cord.
- Charge to 80 percent for daily driving unless you need the range.
- If you regularly drive more than about 40 miles a day, a Level 2 charger saves time and a few percent in losses.
Level 1 EV Charger cost by state
Monthly cost for 1,400 W, 8 h a day, 100% duty cycle, 30 days, sorted cheapest to most expensive. Pick your state above to highlight it.
| Rank | State | Cents/kWh | Per month |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | North Dakota | 11.81 | $39.68 |
| 2 | Idaho | 11.82 | $39.72 |
| 3 | Nebraska | 12.34 | $41.46 |
| 4 | Louisiana | 12.57 | $42.24 |
| 5 | Arkansas | 12.84 | $43.14 |
| 6 | Montana | 12.98 | $43.61 |
| 7 | Utah | 13.07 | $43.92 |
| 8 | Washington | 13.11 | $44.05 |
| 9 | Oklahoma | 13.12 | $44.08 |
| 10 | Nevada | 13.15 | $44.18 |
| 11 | Tennessee | 13.18 | $44.28 |
| 12 | Kentucky | 13.24 | $44.49 |
| 13 | South Dakota | 13.38 | $44.96 |
| 14 | Wyoming | 13.38 | $44.96 |
| 15 | Missouri | 13.49 | $45.33 |
| 16 | Iowa | 13.72 | $46.10 |
| 17 | North Carolina | 14.02 | $47.11 |
| 18 | Mississippi | 14.03 | $47.14 |
| 19 | Kansas | 14.56 | $48.92 |
| 20 | Georgia | 14.73 | $49.49 |
| 21 | South Carolina | 14.96 | $50.27 |
| 22 | New Mexico | 15.08 | $50.67 |
| 23 | Florida | 15.24 | $51.21 |
| 24 | Virginia | 15.28 | $51.34 |
| 25 | Arizona | 15.32 | $51.48 |
| 26 | Oregon | 15.37 | $51.64 |
| 27 | West Virginia | 15.41 | $51.78 |
| 28 | Texas | 15.47 | $51.98 |
| 29 | Minnesota | 15.82 | $53.16 |
| 30 | Colorado | 15.85 | $53.26 |
| 31 | Alabama | 16.10 | $54.10 |
| 32 | Indiana | 16.23 | $54.53 |
| 33 | Ohio | 16.96 | $56.99 |
| 34 | Delaware | 17.13 | $57.56 |
| 35 | Illinois | 17.69 | $59.44 |
| 36 | Wisconsin | 18.16 | $61.02 |
| 37 | Pennsylvania | 19.30 | $64.85 |
| 38 | Maryland | 19.48 | $65.45 |
| 39 | Michigan | 20.01 | $67.23 |
| 40 | District of Columbia | 21.94 | $73.72 |
| 41 | New Jersey | 22.63 | $76.04 |
| 42 | Vermont | 22.92 | $77.01 |
| 43 | New Hampshire | 24.56 | $82.52 |
| 44 | Alaska | 26.09 | $87.66 |
| 45 | New York | 26.39 | $88.67 |
| 46 | Maine | 27.78 | $93.34 |
| 47 | Connecticut | 29.38 | $98.72 |
| 48 | Rhode Island | 29.46 | $98.99 |
| 49 | Massachusetts | 30.48 | $102.41 |
| 50 | California | 32.54 | $109.33 |
| 51 | Hawaii | 40.59 | $136.38 |
Rates: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Form EIA-861, annual average residential price, 2025 (eia.gov). Full list on the electricity rates by state page.
Cheaper to run
The swap that cuts this bill the most, from the products we track. Specs come from the listing or the maker.
Autel MaxiCharger 40A NEMA 14-50
- Wi-Fi
- 40 A
- NEMA 14-50 plug
- 25 ft cable
+3 moreFewer
- Wi-Fi app
- NEMA 4X
- RFID
A 40 A Level 2 charger that plugs into a NEMA 14-50 outlet. Shorter sessions mean fewer hours of the car's electronics running, and the Wi-Fi app schedules charging for your off-peak window.
- Plug-in NEMA 14-50, about a 5-minute setup
- App scheduling, adjustable 16 to 40 A, RFID access
- NEMA 4X weatherproof, 25 ft cable, 3-year warranty
- 40 A max on the plug-in version
$250 to $500, live price on Amazon
Check price on AmazonPaid link. We earn a commission at no cost to you.
Some links pay us a commission; that does not decide what we show. Not lab tested. See our disclosure.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to charge an EV with Level 1 per night?+
About $1.94 for an 8 hour night. 1,400 W x 8 hours = 11.2 kWh, and 11.2 x $0.173 is $1.94. That adds about 33 miles for a car doing 3.5 miles per kWh, after charging losses.
How much does Level 1 EV charging cost per hour?+
About 24 cents an hour. A 1,400 W charge uses 1.4 kWh an hour, and 1.4 x $0.173 is $0.24. Each hour adds about 4 miles of range.
How much does Level 1 charging cost per month?+
About $58 a month if you charge 8 hours every night. That is 336 kWh, enough for about 1,000 miles at 3.5 miles per kWh, and 336 x $0.173 is about $58.13.
How much does Level 1 charging cost per year?+
About $707 a year at 8 hours every night. 11.2 kWh x 365 days is 4,088 kWh, and 4,088 x $0.173 is about $707. Driving fewer miles, or charging only on weeknights, lowers it in proportion.
How many watts does a Level 1 EV charger use?+
About 1,400 W, which is 12 A at 120 V. Some cars can be set to 16 A on a dedicated 20 A circuit, about 1,900 W. That makes it one of the largest loads you can run from a standard outlet, comparable to a space heater on high.
Is Level 1 or Level 2 charging cheaper?+
Level 2 by a few percent. The price per kWh is the same, but Level 1 keeps the car's electronics awake for many more hours, so it uses roughly 5 percent more electricity for the same miles. For a 1,000 mile month that is a few dollars.
How much does it cost to fully charge an EV on Level 1?+
About $12 for a 60 kWh battery from empty, taking about 50 hours. With charging losses it needs about 70 kWh from the wall, and 70 x $0.173 is about $12.11.
How much does it cost per mile to charge an EV on Level 1?+
About 6 cents a mile. $1.94 a night for about 33 miles is 5.8 cents a mile at the national average rate. A 30 mpg gas car at $3.50 a gallon costs about 11.7 cents a mile.
Does Level 1 EV charging use a lot of electricity?+
Yes. 11.2 kWh a night is close to what a 1,500 W space heater on high uses in a full 8 hour night, and a month of nightly charging is about 336 kWh, roughly a third of an average US home's use.
Can a power station or generator charge an EV on Level 1?+
Only a little. A 1,000 Wh power station gives about 36 minutes at 1,400 W, roughly 2.5 miles. A generator can supply it, but some cars refuse to charge from a generator with a floating neutral, so check both manuals first.
Marcus Reed
Founder and Editor, CrunchYourDollars
Marcus Reed builds the sizing tools on CrunchYourDollars. He is a software engineer with a long-running PC hardware and power supply habit, which is where the watts, watt-hours and surge math on this site comes from. Product specs are pulled from manufacturer data sheets, electricity rates from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, and water chemistry rules from the Water Quality Association. He is not a licensed electrician or plumber: the tools show the math and the matching models so you can make the call, and anything involving your electrical panel should be checked by a licensed pro.
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