Best EV home charging tariffs: here are the best and cheapest we’ve found
Switching to an energy tariff designed for electric vehicle owners can help to save big on your motoring bills. We share the cheapest tariffs around...
On 1 April 2026, the UK energy price cap fell by 6.6%, lowering the average annual household bill by £117, from £1758 to £1641. It’s a rare piece of good news for householders during a cost of living crisis, and means the cost of charging your EV at home may have decreased.
While home EV charging is significantly cheaper than using a public charger, the best way to cut the cost of running an electric car is by taking advantage of the growing number of energy tariffs designed with electric car owners in mind. These tariffs typically offer a lower rate during off-peak hours, meaning you can charge the battery of an electric car from 10% to 80% for as little as a few pounds.
It’s not just electric car owners who can benefit, either. While plug-in hybrid (PHEV) models use smaller batteries which are cheaper to charge, switching to an EV tariff can still help owners save a noticeable amount in the long run.
According to the Government’s EV Driver Tracker report, 76% of electric car owners and 53% of PHEV owners have a method of home charging. Of these, 49% of electric car owners have a specific EV energy tariff which, combined with a smart charger that can schedule when power is sent to the car’s battery, can help drivers save hundreds of pounds each year.
Even so, not all electric car energy tariffs are created equal, and choosing the right one can make a significant difference to the size of your monthly bill, so it pays to do your homework.
Here, we’ve reviewed and rated the best electric vehicle tariffs currently on the market, and we’ve explained how to choose the ideal ones for your needs, as well as explaining other vital factors that could influence your decision.
Charging an EV for the first time isn't always easy, but My What Car? provides a comprehensive guide to both home and public charging, as well as a host of other services to help organise your motoring life.
The best home electric car tariffs in 2026
=1. E.On Next Drive Smart V6.5
EV charging rate 8p/kWh
EV charging times 24/7
One day charging cost £4.20
Similar to Octopus Energy Intelligent Go and Scottish Power EV Optimise, E.On’s cheapest electric car energy tariff allows drivers to benefit from a cheap rate during the day. By keeping the EV plugged in and letting E.On know when you want it to be charged by, the battery will be replenished when the grid has excess energy. You’ll need to make sure your electric car and home charger are compatible in order to be eligible for this tariff, though.
This energy tariff also offers a competitive off-peak rate of 8p/kWh, which is available to all appliances between midnight and 06:00. What’s more, its peak rate of 26.91p/kWh is cheaper than most alternative tariffs. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the 60p standing charge, which is the most expensive on this list.
Visit E.On for more information
=1. Octopus Energy Intelligent Go
EV charging rate 8p/kWh
EV charging times 24/7
One day charging cost £4.20
Octopus’s most flexible tariff is favourable because of its usefulness to EV owners. Like many of the tariffs on this list, you get six hours of off-peak energy at a reasonable 8p/kWh – a rate that’s also applied to all other appliances. However, you also get the option of keeping the car plugged in and letting Octopus know how much energy you want and when you need it charged by, and it will top up the battery at any time when there is excess energy on the grid.
To be eligible for the tariff, you’ll need to have a compatible electric car and home EV charger, although an increasing number of models have been added recently. What’s more, at 52.76p, Octopus isn’t clawing back too much in standing charge rates. The 33.54p/kWh peak energy rate is among the highest on this list, though.
Visit Octopus for more information
=1. Scottish Power EV Optimise
EV charging rate 8p/kWh
EV charging times 24/7
One day charging cost £4.20
While you’ll need to make sure your EV and home charger are compatible, Scottish Power EV Optimise is among the cheapest and most flexible tariffs around. Like E.On Next Drive Smart V6.5 and Octopus Energy Electric Go, this tariff lets you plug in your electric car and state when you want the battery to be charged by. This means you can take advantage of cheaper energy during the day when there’s too much on the grid.
Scottish Power is currently running a promotion, offering a significantly lower EV charging rate of 5p/kWh for a year to anyone who buys an Easee home charger through them. At that rate, charging a Tesla Model 3’s battery from 10-80% would cost just £2.63.
A standing charge of 54.74p is about average, although it’s important to note that other appliances around the house will be subject to the tariff’s peak charge.
Visit Scottish Power for more information
4. EDF GoElectric
EV charging rate 6.99p/kWh
EV charging times 23.00-06.00
One day charging cost £4.49
At 6.99p/kWh, EDF GoElectric offers the cheapest off-peak rate you’ll find on this list. It’s also offered for a lengthy seven hours per night; enough time to charge many electric family cars from 10-80% without running into the more expensive peak period. EDF also offers an optional Smart Charging add-on which allows you to take advantage of the off-peak rate at other points in the day.
EDF GoElectric’s peak rate of 30.53p/kWh is very reasonable, although the 57.6p standing charge is higher than most alternative energy tariffs.
Visit EDF for more information
5. Utility Warehouse EV tariff
EV changing rate 7-8.5p/kWh
EV charging times 00.00-05.00
One day charging cost £5.90-£6.53
Utility Warehouse’s EV tariff is different to most because the off-peak rate depends on how many of their services you use. Customers who only get their electricity from Utility Warehouse can charge their EV for 8.5p/kWh during off-peak hours – a figure that drops to 7p/kWh for those who use the company for their broadband, insurance and smartphone, too.
Like many of the tariffs on this list, the off-peak rate is only available for five hours overnight. However, the 28.19p/kWh peak rate and 53.4p standing charge are both very reasonable.
Visit Utility Warehouse for more information
6. E.On Next Drive Fixed V23
EV charging rate 9.0p/kWh
EV charging times 00.00-06.00
One day charging cost £6.76
While it’s not as flexible as the energy provider’s other EV tariff on this list, E.On Next Drive Fixed V23 benefits from a reasonable off-peak rate of 9p/kWh and a competitive off-peak period of six hours.
You won’t be paying over the odds to power your appliances during the day either, with a reasonable peak rate of 28.4p/kWh. A standing charge of 60p is among the highest around, though.
Visit E.On for more information
7. OVO Charge Anytime Pay As You Go
EV charging rate 14.0p/kWh
EV charging times Anytime
One day charging cost £7.35
An optional extra that can be added to any OVO energy tariff for free, Charge Anytime enables you to charge up your EV any time of the day or night at a lower rate; determining the best time to supply power to the battery based on how much energy is on the grid. E.On, Octopus and Scottish Power all offer similar EV tariffs, although all three have a significantly cheaper EV charging rate of 8p/kWh. In contrast, OVO’s 14p/kWh rate is the most expensive on this list. However, thanks to a partnership, Volvo owners can charge up at a far more favourable rate of 7p/kWh.
Similar to other similar tariffs, the downside for heavy electricity users is that the special rate is only applicable to EV charging, and can’t be used to power any other electrical devices you might want to run at night on a timer, such as a washing machine or dishwasher.
Visit OVO for more information
8. Scottish Power EV Saver
EV charging rate 8.5p/kWh
EV charging times 00.00-05.00
One day charging cost £7.39
Although it’s not as flexible as the provider’s EV Optimise tariff, Scottish Power EV Saver offers wider compatibility among electric cars and home chargers. An EV rate of 8.5p/kWh is competitive against other EV tariffs, but users only get that for five hours a night.
Fortunately, the standard rate of 25.2p/kWh is among the cheapest around, and the 54.74p standing charge is also reasonable.
Visit Scottish Power for more information
9. Ecotricity EV Tariff
EV charging rate 7.69p/kWh
EV charging times 00.00-05.00 (or 01.00-06.00 in the summer months)
One day charging cost £7.91
Similar to many of the offerings here, the ultra-cheap rate is limited to five hours a day, meaning you’re unlikely to fully charge a typical electric family car in the off-peak period alone. Fortunately, an EV charging rate of 7.69p/kWh is cheaper than many, and a peak rate of 29.81p/kWh isn’t bad, either. The daily standing charge of 54.74p is par for the course.
Visit Ecotricity for more information
10. British Gas EV Tariff
EV charging rate 9p/kWh
EV charging times 00.00-05.00
One day charging cost £8.76
Similar to many EV tariffs, including Ecotricity’s and Utility Warehouses’, British Gas’ offering is limited to five hours charging during off-peak hours. While its EV rate is slightly higher than average, its standard rate is lower at 25.2p/kWh, so it’ll cost you less to use other appliances at peak hours.
The daily standing rate of 54.74p is only about average for an electric vehicle energy tariff, though.
Visit British Gas for more information
11. Octopus Energy Go
EV charging rate 8.5p/kWh
EV charging times 00.30-05.30
One day charging cost £8.84
If you don’t have a charger that’s compatible with Octopus’s Intelligent Go tariff, this is the next best option from the company. At 8.5p/kWh, the EV rate is about average, although the tariff’s peak energy rate of 33.54p/kWh is the highest on this list.
Fortunately, customers can run other appliances around the house at the reduced rate during off-peak times; however, this only applies for five hours a night – two less than EDF’s Go Electric tariff offers.
Visit Octopus for more information
12. Good Energy Fixed
EV charging rate 9p/kWh
EV charging times 00.00-05.00
One day charging cost £8.87
Like many other options on this list, Good Energy’s Fixed EV tariff is limited to just five hours per night, meaning you’re unlikely to complete a full charge without running into the peak period.
Both the EV charge rate (9p/kWh) and peak rate (32.7p/kWh) are par for the course, although the daily standing charge of 59.68p is higher than almost all other tariffs from alternative companies.
Visit Good Energy for more information
How we rate the home electric car tariffs
Price is the biggest concern for homeowners, so our first consideration when ranking the home EV charging tariffs was how much they would cost to charge up an EV. To compare them, we calculated the cost of charging up a Tesla Model 3 Long Range with a 75kW usable battery capacity from 10% to 80% for someone living in an average-sized house in Kent.
Because it's not always possible to charge a 52kWh battery from 10% to 80% during off-peak hours, due to the size of the battery and the 7kW electricity supply most properties used, we had to split our sums.
- We multiplied the number of cheap rate hours each tariff provided by our home charge speed (7kW) to give the total amount of charge regained out of the required 70% (or 52.5kWh) during the cheap charge period
- We then multiplied the remaining amount of charge needed by the peak rate cost to give the total use fee for the peak rate hours.
- Finally, we added both figures to get the total cost of charge from 10-80% in a day
For tariffs with shorter off-peak prices we’ve used the low rate price for the first five, six or seven hours and then resorted to the peak price for the remainder of the charge session.
Using the E.On Next Drive Fixed V23 tariff as an example, we calculated how much of the battery would be charged in six hours and multiplied it by the EV charging rate of 9p. We then worked out how much of the remainder would cost to charge with the peak rate of 28.4p. The low rate cost is £3.78 and the peak rate fee is £2.98, meaning the total cost to charge from 10-80% is £6.76.
This demonstrates the importance of also choosing a tariff with a low peak hours rate, so we’ve considered this, along with the daily standing charge, when rating the companies.
Prices are correct as of 7 May 2026.
What types of EV tariffs are there?
Single rate electricity tariffs
Conventional plans provide electricity at a fixed rate, given in pence per kilowatt-hour (p/kWh), in addition to a daily standing charge. This offers a good balance for many people, because it means you don’t have to worry about racking up a huge bill by running energy-intensive appliances (such as a dishwasher or washing machine) at peak times.
Dual rate electricity tariffs
By contrast, ‘dual rate’ tariffs, as the name suggests, offer two different prices – a peak rate during the day, and a cheaper off-peak rate overnight – to encourage people to save money by using more electricity when demand is lower.
Therefore, if you’re an EV driver who can plug in overnight, you’ll be able to save money by setting your car to charge during the off-peak period. You can usually do this via the car’s app or infotainment system, or using your home wallbox app.
The trade-off for off-peak savings is an increase in the peak rate. In fact, the peak price on dual rate policies is allowed to exceed the Ofgem Energy Price Cap (currently 22.36p/kWh*) based on the size of the off-peak discount.
Dual rate tariffs with EV smart charging
While many EV tariffs are simply dual rate tariffs, some go a step further. Octopus Energy’s Intelligent Octopus and OVO Energy’s Charge Anytime both allow owners to access ‘smart charging’ at a discounted rate throughout the day as well as at night.
This means that on top of discounted overnight power, your car can be automatically told to charge when electricity production is at its greenest outside the off-peak period, and you’ll still only be charged the lower rate.
One thing to bear in mind, however: in order to be able to take advantage of smart charging, either your car or your home wallbox charger must be compatible with your chosen provider’s smart charging service. It’s worth ensuring that your car or charger are compatible, otherwise you might find you’re able to get a better deal elsewhere.
How much does it cost to charge an EV at home?
To give you an idea of just how much you could save, here’s an example using the results from our recent EV range test. In that test, the second most efficient model was the Tesla Model 3 Long Range. It eked 324 miles of range out of its 75kWh battery, equivalent to an efficiency of 4.3 miles/kWh.
Charging that car at home, at a typical rate of 22p/kWh, would mean a £509 spend for 10,000 miles of driving. By contrast, the best-value EV tariff we found (OVO’s Charge Anytime) offers electric car smart charging at a rate of 7p/kWh. At this rate, fuelling a Model 3 could cost as little as £162 for every 10,000 miles covered.
You can read more about this in our feature on how much does it cost to charge an electric car feature.
What is the best EV tariff for me?
There are four key stats to consider when working out how much you could save by switching to an EV tariff:
Peak rate – the rate you’ll pay to power your home during the day. This will be more expensive for a dual rate than a single rate tariff, so it’s worth checking how much more that will cost you day to day.
Off-peak rate – the discounted rate on a dual rate tariff. This is the rate you’ll pay for electricity between certain hours of the night, although these hours vary from policy to policy. This is also the rate you’ll be charged at for EV smart charging.
Smart charging – additional off-peak-rate EV charging offered when the electricity supply is greenest. It can be a useful add-on if you frequently plug in during the day, but you need a compatible car or charger to be able to reap the savings.
Standing charge – a fixed daily fee charged while an electricity tariff is in place. The current Ofgem Energy Price Cap sets the maximum standing charge at 53p per day*.
Maximising your savings means finding a balance between those factors to best suit your lifestyle.
What is the OFGEM energy price cap?
This is the maximum amount an energy supplier can charge householders for each unit of electricity they use and for the daily standing charge for the energy.
It was introduced by the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem), the energy price regulator, in 2019 to stop consumers from paying too much for electricity if they remained loyal to one supplier for many years.
There are also price caps for gas, and those for electricity and gas are both reviewed every three months.
Introduced on 1 April 2026, Ofgem’s latest Energy Price Cap for a typical household using both electricity and gas is £1641. That’s a decrease of 6.6% (or £117) compared with the previous cap. The fall is largely due to the end of using energy bills to fund the Energy Company Obligation (ECO) scheme.
Under the current figures, the energy price cap per unit stands at 24.67p/kWh, whereas the daily standing charge is capped at 57.21p.
