The Short Answer
Home charging is 3-5x cheaper than public charging. On a smart tariff like Octopus Go (8p/kWh off-peak), you'll pay £4-6 for a full charge at home. The same charge at a public rapid charger costs £20-30.
Cost Comparison
| Method | £/kWh | Full Charge (60kWh) | Monthly (1000 mi) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home, Standard tariff | 26p | £17.30 | £83 |
| Home, EV tariff off-peak (Octopus Go / Intelligent Octopus Go) | 8p | £5.35 | £25.40 |
| Public, Fast (7-22kW) | 35-50p | £23–33 | £111–159 |
| Public, Rapid (50kW+) | 50-85p | £33–57 | £159–270 |
Every figure assumes 3.5 miles per kWh and a 10% charging loss, so a 60kWh battery draws about 67kWh from the meter and 1,000 miles about 318kWh. Rates checked 8 September 2026.
The Bottom Line
If you have a driveway, charging overnight at home costs about £25 per 1,000 miles, against roughly £160 of petrol for the same distance in a 40mpg car, and £159 to £270 at public rapid chargers. The wallbox itself earns its money back against the alternatives you would otherwise use: at 1,000 miles a month, the £58 a month you save against standard-rate home charging pays off a £999 installed charger in about a year and a half, and the gap against public rapid charging closes it far faster.
For a worked example on one car rather than a per-1,000-mile rate, see our Tesla Model 3 home charging guide. If the overnight rates above are the part that interests you, the supplier reviews are worth a look too — ScottishPower's EV charger and tariff package is one of the alternatives to the Octopus rates used here.
Why Home Charging Is So Much Cheaper
The price gap comes down to three factors: wholesale electricity, infrastructure cost, and tariff structure. Home smart tariffs like Octopus Go and Intelligent Octopus are priced at the off-peak wholesale rate (typically 6–9p/kWh between 00:30 and 05:30) with minimal margin because demand at that hour is low. Public rapid chargers charge a premium because the charge-point operator has to cover the cost of the hardware (£30,000+ per unit), the DNO connection, maintenance, card processing, and land lease, none of which apply to your garage.
The second factor is tax and VAT. Domestic electricity carries 5% VAT; public charging is charged at 20%. For a 60kWh charge at 60p/kWh, the VAT alone is around £6. More than the entire cost of charging the same car at home on a smart tariff.
When Public Charging Still Makes Sense
Home charging wins on cost, but it is not always practical. The scenarios where public charging is worth it:
- Long-distance trips: Rapid chargers (150–350kW) can add 200+ miles of range in 15–20 minutes, essential for journeys beyond your car's real-world range.
- No off-street parking: If you live in a flat or terraced house without a driveway, you likely cannot install a home charger. Lamp-post chargers (15–25p/kWh) and workplace chargers fill the gap at a reasonable cost.
- Emergency top-ups: If you arrive home with 2% battery and need to leave early, a 15-minute rapid charge is sometimes the only option.
- Destination charging: Supermarkets, hotels and gyms increasingly offer free or very cheap charging while you shop, eat or exercise. These can effectively be free miles if you plan around them.
Calculating Your Real-World Saving
The table above uses a 60kWh battery as the reference, but your saving depends on three things: annual mileage, your car's real-world efficiency (miles per kWh), and what your mix of home vs public charging would otherwise look like.
A realistic example: a driver covering 10,000 miles a year in a car doing 3.5 mi/kWh puts 2,857kWh into the battery, about 3,175kWh off the meter. On a standard domestic tariff at 26p that costs £826. On Octopus Go, charging 80% of it in the off-peak window, the blended rate is 11.6p and the year costs about £368. At public rapid chargers around 60p it is roughly £1,905. So the gap between home smart charging and charging entirely in public is about £1,540 a year, before any grant you may be eligible for.
Making the Switch Pay Off Faster
Measured against standard-rate home charging, a £999 install pays back in a little over two years at 8,000 miles a year, and faster the more you drive. Three tactics shorten it:
- Schedule all charging to off-peak hours. Intelligent Octopus Go automates this, plug in, and the system only draws power when the rate is lowest, even overriding your charger schedule if needed.
- Avoid topping up at public chargers near home. Every 10kWh you pull from a 75p/kWh rapid when you could have pulled it at 8p/kWh costs you £6.70 you did not need to spend.
- Use solar if you have it. Chargers like the Zappi or Ohme Home Pro can divert surplus solar export to your car, making daytime charging effectively free from around May to September.
Want one fitted? Pod Point’s installed price
We don’t arrange installer quotes. Pod Point fits its Solo 3S with its own engineers: £999 with standard installation, or £34 a month for 36 months with nothing upfront until 1 November (checked 1 Oct 2026).