Level 2 vs Level 1 EV charging: does the faster one cost more?

Both figures here are the same car doing the same 11,100 miles a year, which is the only way this comparison means anything. At the US average rate of 18.34¢ per kilowatt-hour the gap is $38 a year.

All comparisons · Both figures from the same duty-cycle model · EIA June 2026

EV charging (Level 2 home) costs less by

$38a year

$378 over ten years · EV charging (level 2 home) uses 6% less electricity

EV charging (Level 2 home) 3,541 kWh a year against 3,747 kWh — at the US average rate of 18.34¢/kWh.

EV charging (Level 2 home)3,541 kWh$649
EV charging (Level 1 wall socket)3,747 kWh$687

The verdict

Level 1 costs slightly more, which surprises most people who expect the slower charger to be gentler on the bill. The energy that ends up in the battery is the same; what differs is the loss on the way in, and charging losses are a larger share at low power. Speed is the reason to fit Level 2 — not cost, and not cost in the other direction either.

Side by side

EV charging (Level 2 home) and EV charging (level 1 wall socket) are costed by the same function from the same dataset, so the $38 between them is a difference in the appliances and not in how each was measured. EV charging (Level 2 home) draws an average 7,241 W across the hours it runs; EV charging (level 1 wall socket) draws 1,403 W across its own.

Both at 18.34¢/kWh, the EIA residential average for June 2026. Ten years is roughly the service life of either.

EV charging (Level 2 home)EV charging (Level 1 wall socket)Difference
Electricity a year3,541 kWh3,747 kWh206 kWh
Cost a year$649$687$38
Cost a month$54$57$3.15
Over ten years$6,494$6,872$378

The assumptions behind those figures

Nothing above is a manufacturer’s claim. 7,200 W at 100% for 1.63 hours a day, 300 days a year, is where EV charging (level 2 home)’s 3,541 kWh comes from; 1,400 W at 100% for 8.9 hours over 300 days is where EV charging (level 1 wall socket)’s 3,747 kWh comes from. The duty cycle is the input most published comparisons leave out, and it is why the ratings and the running costs are not in the same proportion here.

Change any of these on the appliance’s own page and every figure moves with it. The duty cycle is a property of the machine; the hours are a property of you.

EV charging (Level 2 home)EV charging (Level 1 wall socket)
Rated power7,200 W1,400 W
Duty cycle100%100%
Hours a day in service1.638.9
Days a year300300
Average draw while in service7,241 W1,403 W

What the gap is worth at your rate

Nothing here is a purchase decision, so there is no payback to compute. But $38 is the gap at the national average, and what it is worth to you depends on your rate — which varies more across the country than the difference between these two.

Residential average for June 2026, from the EIA. Your own tariff may differ; you can read it off your bill.

EV charging (Level 2 home)
$649

a year

EV charging (Level 1 wall socket)
$687

a year

A year apart
$38
Over ten years
$378

In the US average at 18.34¢ per kWh. Both figures on the standard assumptions printed above; your rate is the input that moves the gap most.

The gap in your state

The appliances are the same everywhere; the rate is not. The gap between these two is worth $109 a year in Hawaii and $27 in Nevada — 4× apart, on identical appliances.

A year of each, by state. Residential average price, EIA June 2026.

StateRateEV charging (Level 2 home)EV charging (Level 1 wall socket)Difference
Hawaii52.72¢$1,867$1,975$109
California34.74¢$1,230$1,302$72
Massachusetts29.61¢$1,048$1,110$61
Maine29.59¢$1,048$1,109$61
New York29.49¢$1,044$1,105$61
Rhode Island29.23¢$1,035$1,095$60
Alaska28.21¢$999$1,057$58
New Hampshire27.01¢$956$1,012$56
New Jersey24.95¢$883$935$51
Vermont24.44¢$865$916$50
District of Columbia24.39¢$864$914$50
Connecticut24.32¢$861$911$50
Michigan22.99¢$814$861$47
Maryland21.84¢$773$818$45
Pennsylvania21.73¢$769$814$45
Illinois19.89¢$704$745$41
Wisconsin19.56¢$693$733$40
Delaware19.29¢$683$723$40
Ohio19.19¢$680$719$40
Minnesota17.52¢$620$656$36
Indiana17.51¢$620$656$36
Virginia17.22¢$610$645$35
Colorado17.13¢$607$642$35
Alabama16.4¢$581$615$34
Georgia16.36¢$579$613$34
Oregon16.32¢$578$612$34
Missouri16.22¢$574$608$33
Texas15.94¢$564$597$33
Iowa15.93¢$564$597$33
Kansas15.71¢$556$589$32
South Carolina15.55¢$551$583$32
West Virginia15.45¢$547$579$32
South Dakota15.36¢$544$576$32
Wyoming15.24¢$540$571$31
Arizona15.18¢$538$569$31
Montana15.14¢$536$567$31
Florida15.1¢$535$566$31
New Mexico15.06¢$533$564$31
Washington14.91¢$528$559$31
Mississippi14.88¢$527$558$31
North Carolina14.74¢$522$552$30
Idaho14.37¢$509$538$30
Oklahoma14.33¢$507$537$30
Kentucky14.26¢$505$534$29
Arkansas14.12¢$500$529$29
North Dakota14.12¢$500$529$29
Tennessee14.07¢$498$527$29
Louisiana13.49¢$478$505$28
Utah13.37¢$473$501$28
Nebraska13.25¢$469$496$27
Nevada13.11¢$464$491$27

Questions

Is it cheaper to charge an electric car slowly?
Level 1 costs slightly more, which surprises most people who expect the slower charger to be gentler on the bill. On the assumptions printed above, EV charging (level 2 home) costs $649 a year and EV charging (level 1 wall socket) costs $687 at 18.34¢ per kilowatt-hour — a difference of $38 a year, or $378 over ten years at today’s rate.
How is EV charging (level 2 home)’s 3,541 kWh a year calculated?
Rated watts × duty cycle × hours × days, plus standby, times your rate — the same function that produces every figure on this site. For EV charging (level 2 home): 7,200 W × 100% × 1.63 h × 300 days ÷ 1,000 = 3,541 kWh, which at 18.34¢ is $649. EV charging (Level 1 wall socket) runs through the identical arithmetic on its own assumptions and lands at $687. The rate is the EIA residential average for June 2026; nothing here is a manufacturer’s claim.
Do I need Level 2 at all?
For a commute under roughly 40 miles a day, Level 1 on a standard outlet genuinely keeps up overnight and needs no electrician. Level 2 earns its cost when the daily distance is longer, when the car must be ready at short notice, or when a narrow off-peak window has to hold the whole charge.
What does it cost per mile?
Divide your car’s miles per kWh into your rate. At 3.5 miles per kWh and the US average of 18.34¢, that is about 5.2 cents a mile, against roughly 12 cents for a 30 mpg petrol car at $3.60 a gallon.
Does my state change the answer?
It changes the size of the gap, never its direction. The same pair costs $109 a year apart in Hawaii and $27 in Nevada. Whichever uses less electricity uses less everywhere; only what that is worth moves.

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Electric Power Monthly, Table 5.6.A, June 2026. U.S. Government work, public domain.

How every figure on this page is computed · Where the data comes from