Why is public charging more expensive than home charging?

A public charger adds hardware, a grid connection, the site, operation and payment. The IEA reports public fast charging prices up to 240% above residential tariffs.

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Business models · Stop 01Where does the money of one session go?From 23.60 EUR at the charger to VAT, energy, grid fees, operation and the return on the charger: one session's money, split with stated assumptions.

At home, a driver pays for energy over an existing connection. A public charger adds the hardware, the grid connection, the site, the operation and the service. The IEA reports that prices for public slow charging can be up to 150% above residential electricity tariffs, and for public fast charging up to 240% above. Most drivers charge privately most of the time: worldwide, almost 75% of charging is at home or at work, and only about 10% at public fast chargers.

From “Why public charging costs more than home charging”, stop 01
  1. How do charging companies make money?Operators earn from energy sold ad hoc and through roaming, plus time fees and flexibility; providers from the difference between their prices and operators' tariffs, or subscriptions.
  2. Is a charger profitable?It depends on utilisation: fixed costs are the same whether ten or a hundred cars come, so every extra session lowers the cost of every kWh.
  1. IEA: Global EV Outlook 2026: Electric vehicle charging. https://www.iea.org/reports/global-ev-outlook-2026/electric-vehicle-charging-chap-6-and-10. Checked 09 Oct 2026. Licence: CC BY 4.0.
  2. IEA: Global EV Outlook 2026: Electric vehicle charging. https://www.iea.org/reports/global-ev-outlook-2026/electric-vehicle-charging-chap-6-and-10. Checked 09 Oct 2026. Licence: CC BY 4.0.