How Much Does It Cost to Charge an EV in Indiana?

Charging an EV in Indiana usually costs less than filling up a similar gas car, especially if you plug in at home - roughly $10-$15 for a full charge. Check this post by the Indy Auto Man dealer’s practitioners for a general overview and some details on Indianapolis EV costs.

For drivers around Indianapolis, what you actually pay depends on your local electric rate, how efficient your EV is, and how often you rely on highway fast chargers instead of home charging points.

How much does it cost to charge an EV in Indiana?

Charging an EV in Indiana usually costs less than filling up a similar gas car, especially if you plug in at home - roughly $10-$15 for a full charge. Check this post by the Indy Auto Man dealer’s practitioners for a general overview and some details on Indianapolis EV costs.

For drivers around Indianapolis, what you actually pay depends on your local electric rate, how efficient your EV is, and how often you rely on highway fast chargers instead of home charging points.

Home charging in Indiana

Most EV owners in and around Indiana do the bulk of their charging at home because it is usually the cheapest way to power. Recent estimates put the average residential electricity rate in Indiana at around 16 cents per kWh, which is roughly in line with or a bit below national numbers, depending on when you look. Rate details from AES Indiana show energy charges around 10–11 cents per kWh before riders and fees, which aligns with those statewide averages once everything is included.

To get a feel for what “a full charge” costs, just multiply your battery size by your cost per kWh. For example, charging a 60 kWh battery from very low to full at 16 cents per kWh runs about 60×0.16=9.6060 \times 0.16 = 9.6060×0.16=9.60 dollars, while a larger 100 kWh pack would be around 16 dollars for a full charge at home.

EV charge cost per mile vs. gas

Looking at the cost per mile makes it much easier to compare an EV to a gas vehicle. Many newer EVs average about 3–4 miles per kWh, so at 16 cents per kWh, you are paying roughly 4–5 cents per mile if you mostly charge at home. A typical gasoline sedan that gets 30 mpg at 3 dollars per gallon comes out to about 10 cents per mile, so Indiana drivers often see home-charged EV miles costing about half as much as gas miles.

Over a month, national EV cost calculators using 12,000 miles per year suggest home charging bills in the ballpark of 40–60 dollars for an efficient electric sedan, compared to more than 100 dollars in gasoline for a similar car. Bigger electric SUVs and trucks will use more energy per mile, but they still usually beat their gas counterparts on “fuel” cost when most charging happens at residential rates.

Public Level 2 and DC fast charging

Public Level 2 chargers in Indiana, like the ones you might see at offices, downtown garages, or shopping centers, often bill by the kWh or by the hour, and some locations still offer free charging for customers. When you do pay, Level 2 energy usually ends up near or a bit higher than what you pay at home, with the main benefit being that you can add range while you are out and about.

Costs jump the most with DC fast charging along interstates and busy routes around Indianapolis. Studies of major fast-charging networks show a lot of Indiana and national pricing in the 0.40–0.50 dollars per kWh range or higher, and one AES Indiana filing for its own DC fast chargers lists a flat session fee plus roughly 0.36 dollars per kWh. At those rates, a 60 kWh fast-charge stop on a road trip can easily land above 25 dollars, which starts to look similar to or even higher than what some drivers pay for gas on that same stretch.

Indiana-focused examples on how much charging an EV costs

Looking at a typical Indy commute and EV charging locations makes the numbers feel more concrete. Say you drive an EV that averages 3.5 miles per kWh and you commute 30 miles a day, mostly charging at home at 16 cents per kWh. You would use about 8.6 kWh per day, or around 2.75 dollars in electricity, which comes out to roughly 55–60 dollars per month for your commute and everyday errands.

Now picture two road-trip stops at Indiana fast chargers. If that same EV needs 50 kWh at a DC fast charger priced at 0.45 dollars per kWh plus a small session fee, you are looking at a little over 20 dollars for that one stop, which is still reasonable but clearly more expensive than filling up at home. On a long highway trip with multiple fast-charging sessions, your cost per mile can creep up near or even above that of a very efficient gas car, especially if you are driving a larger electric SUV or truck.

Tips for Indiana EV car buyers