The difference between an electric car that saves you money and one that does not is usually where you charge it. Home charging is cheap almost everywhere in Europe. Public rapid charging is not — and if that is your main source of electricity, the fuel savings can largely disappear.
This guide compares verified household electricity prices across the markets we cover and explains what that means for your real cost per kilometre.
Home electricity prices by market
These are average household prices including taxes and levies (Eurostat, second half of 2025, consumption band 2,500–4,999 kWh a year). They set the floor for what EV driving can cost.
| Market | Household electricity | Cost to charge a 60 kWh EV |
|---|---|---|
| Finland | €0.225 / kWh | about €13.50 |
| Netherlands | €0.256 / kWh | about €15.40 |
| France | €0.256 / kWh | about €15.40 |
| Spain | €0.267 / kWh | about €16.00 |
| Sweden | €0.271 / kWh (≈3.0 kr) | about €16.30 |
| Belgium | €0.35 / kWh | about €21.00 |
| Germany | €0.387 / kWh | about €23.20 |
| Ireland | €0.404 / kWh | about €24.20 |
EU average household electricity in the same period was about €0.220/kWh. Ireland and Germany are the expensive end; the Nordics and France are the cheap end.
Why public charging costs more
A public charger price bundles the electricity, the hardware, the site rent, the payment processing and the operator's margin — and fast DC charging adds substantial equipment costs. The result is that public charging typically costs several times the household rate per kWh, and rapid charging more still.
The practical consequence: if you cannot charge at home or at work, your EV running costs per kilometre move much closer to a petrol car's — and in some countries they can end up comparable.
What this means per kilometre
An efficient EV uses roughly 15–18 kWh per 100 km. At France's €0.256/kWh that is about €4 per 100 km of home charging. At Ireland's €0.404/kWh it is about €6–€7 per 100 km. Substituting public rapid charging at a multiple of those rates pushes the cost per 100 km up sharply.
Compare that with a petrol car at 6.5 l/100 km: at €1.733/L in Spain that is about €11 per 100 km, and at €2.236/L in Germany about €14.50. Home charging wins comfortably; public charging narrows the gap a lot.
Rule of thumb: home charging is where the EV saving lives. Public charging is a convenience cost, not a savings strategy.
How to keep charging costs down
- Charge at home overnight if you possibly can — it is typically the cheapest electricity you will ever buy for the car.
- Ask about workplace charging; it is often free or subsidised and beats public networks.
- Use a home electricity tariff with a cheap night rate if your supplier offers one.
- For long trips, plan a top-up at a low-cost charger near your destination rather than relying on motorway rapid chargers.
- Check per-kWh prices rather than per-minute prices — the cheaper headline tariff is not always cheaper once charging speed is factored in.
Do not forget the other EV costs
Charging is only part of the equation. Many European markets give EVs a break on annual road tax (Belgium exempts them in Flanders and Brussels, for example), and servicing is usually cheaper because there is no oil, clutch or exhaust to maintain. Against that, insurance can be higher on expensive EVs and depreciation is often steep — the same 15–25% first-year drop applies, sometimes more on premium electric models.
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Frequently asked questions
Is public EV charging more expensive than petrol?
Per kilometre, rapid public charging can approach or even exceed petrol costs in some countries, especially where household electricity is expensive. Home charging is almost always far cheaper than petrol. The mix of home versus public charging decides whether an EV actually saves money.
Which European country has the cheapest electricity for EV charging?
Among the markets KnowCarCost covers, Finland is cheapest at about €0.225/kWh, followed by France and the Netherlands at €0.256. Ireland is the most expensive at about €0.404/kWh, with Germany close behind at €0.387.
How much does it cost to charge a 60 kWh electric car at home?
It depends on your tariff: roughly €13.50 in Finland, about €15.40 in France and the Netherlands, about €21 in Belgium, and around €24 in Ireland. Real-world charging adds losses of several percent, so treat these as close approximations.
How much electricity does an electric car use per 100 km?
An efficient electric car uses roughly 15–18 kWh per 100 km. Multiply by your electricity price to get cost per 100 km — about €4 in France at home rates, and around €6–€7 in Ireland, before any public charging premium.