The best and cheapest home tariffs for EV drivers in 2025

We explore the benefits of a dedicated home charging energy tariff, the difference between dynamic and time-of-day rates, and how much electric car drivers can save on the best EV tariffs.

It’s been a good start to the year for EV chargers in the UK. According to Zapmap, there are now over 75,000 public charging spots across the country; a 32% year-on-year increase from 2024.

Despite that availability, a ZapMap survey found that 79% of EV drivers still charge at home. This is not just due to the increased ease and stability that comes with a home charger. It is also down to the substantial savings that can be made.

In fact, energy supplier E.ON found that home charging can be up to 50% cheaper than using public chargers when paired with an off-peak electricity tariff. Meanwhile, using a dynamic tariff such as Intelligent Octopus Go can save drivers up to 87% on public charging.

With prices of electricity jumping almost 9% to 27p/kWh hour from April 1, we’ve looked into what this means for EV charging at home, as well as the best and cheapest EV home charging deals currently on the market.

What is an EV tariff?

An EV tariff is a special energy rate that varies prices compared with a standard domestic tariff to make charging cheaper. Most EV charging tariffs are time-of-day tariffs working on ‘peak’ and off-peak’ pricing. There are more complex ‘flexible’ tariffs, which we’ll explore in detail further down. In every case, the cost will depend on your energy supplier.

Understanding peak rates and off-peak rates

When it comes to understanding EV home charging and choosing the right charger/charging tariff, two terms to understand are peak tariff (sometimes referred to as the ‘daytime’ tariff) and off-peak (the ‘overnight’ tariff).

A ‘daytime’ tariff reflects the increased ‘on-peak’ standard electricity charge of 27.03p/kWh, and usually runs from the early hours of the morning until late evening. Conversely, an overnight or ‘off-peak’ tariff usually operates between late evening and the early hours and significantly lowers the price per kWh. Prices for EV charging can drop as low as 6.5p/kWh during this period.

The time periods for both daytime and overnight EV charging tariffs will depend on your energy supplier but typically run from around midnight to around 5am. Do check the specifics with your supplier before committing to anything.

Dynamic EV charging tariffs explains

While many EV tariffs work on a simple ‘day’ or ‘night’ principle, a dynamic or agile tariff uses live data via an app paired with a smart charger to figure out the cheapest and greenest times to charge.

A dynamic tariff is tied to the wholesale market price of electricity, and establishes when the national power grid is at its ‘greenest’ or under the least stress. This sees the tariff’s pricing fluctuate every 30 minutes in accordance with load. Therefore, the cost of charging drops and rises in line with the price of electricity.

While relatively new, the ‘pay for what you use’ philosophy behind an agile/dynamic tariff is best suited to users who have the flexibility to shift their electricity usage around rather than those who schedule charging and other high-drain activities for a particular time.

Courtesy of its Intelligent Octopus Go agile tariff, Octopus has introduced the UK’s first ‘Plunge Pricing’ system. This sees customers get paid for taking excess energy off the grid during periods of particularly low demand and high renewable generation.

Customers paying for Intelligent Octopus Go can benefit from EV charging prices as low as 7p/kWh, while those using the brand’s standard time-of-day tariff will pay 8.5/kWh.

Ovo also offers an agile EV charging rate through its Ovo Charge Anytime tariff. This sees customers pay its standard electricity day rate of 27.03p/kWh, but uses a smart charger to monitor how much of this was spent on EV charging at 7p/kWh. The difference is then refunded to the user at the end of the month, leading to savings of up to £620 annually.

On average, the adoption of a smart charger can lead to savings of up to £450 per-year.

The UK’s cheapest EV tariffs

We have looked into how the energy price cap will affect the cost of EV home charging as of April 1. The following table compares peak with off-peak charging prices, plus the periods when off-peak charging comes into overnight effect. It is key to look into whether your chosen EV tariff is an add-on or a standalone entity, and to consider how much energy you use at peak times, along with your planned charging schedule.

Despite April’s electricity price increase, Ofgem anticipates that EV home charging prices will once again fall in July when the energy cost-cap is revised.

Tariff	Peak cost	Off-peak cost	Off-peak times	Agile tariff
OVO Charge Anytime	27.03p/kWh (equivalent)	7p/kWh	Anytime	Yes
Intelligent Octopus Go	26.02p/kWh	7p/kWh	23:30 – 05:30	Yes
EDF GoElectric Jun26	25.69p/kWh	8.99p/kWh	00:00 – 05:00	No
E.ON Next Next Drive EV Fixed	29.86kWh	6.7p/kWh	00:00 – 07:00	No
Scottish PowerEV Optimise	27.02/kWh	10p/kWh	Anytime	No
British Gas EV Tariff	27.08p/kWh	7.9p/kWh	00:00 – 05:00	No
Octopus Go	26.02p/kWh	8.5p/kWh	00:30 – 05:30	No
Scottish Power EV Saver	28p/kWh	7.2p/kWh	00:00 – 05:00	No
EDF EVolve	24.86p/kWh	14.86p/kWh	00:00 – 05:00	No
Ecotricity One-Year Fixed EV Tariff	30.79p/kWh	8p/kWh	00:00 – 05:00	No
Good Energy EV Charge	29.41kWh	6.75p/kWh	00:00 – 05:00	No
Utility Warehouse Variable Rate EV Tariff	Dependant on package	6.75p-8p/kWh	00:00 – 05:00	No

Using the information above, the average cost of on-peak home EV charging is 27.43p/kWh, and off-peak amounts to 8.35p/kWh. According to Octopus, the mean average EV battery size in the UK is between 40kWh and 60kWh. However, more and more manufacturers are experimenting with different sizes of batteries to suit different users’ needs.

If we take the Renault 5 with a 52kWh battery, the French manufacturer’s revived icon will take around four and a half hours to charge within the industry-recommended 20% to 80% using a 7kW home charger. Based on our average costs, during off-peak hours, this will cost the owner £2.61. At peak times, this will increase to £8.56. A full charge at off-peak rates will cost £4.34, while at peak rates a 100% charge comes in at £14.26.

Despite the price difference between the two periods and the April 1 price increase, home charging still remain significantly cheaper than public charging. This costs an average 52p/kWh to use a slow/fast public charger, and approximately 80p/kWh for a rapid/ultra-rapid charger.

Remember, the bigger your battery, the longer your charging time and the higher your charging cost will be.

There are other benefits, too…

As more and more drivers are making the transition from internal combustion engine (ICE) cars to EVs, some energy suppliers and car makers are giving customers extra benefits on top of preferential tariffs.

These range from free public charging sessions or credit at partner operators to cash back on your electricity bill and even, in some cases, a free home wall box.

Currently, British Gas is offering a year’s worth of free charging when you purchase a Hive home charger and switch to one of their EV tariffs.

However, it is worth noting that offers largely depend on the energy supplier and some deals are short-lived, so check suppliers’ website to see what deals – if any – they are offering.

In conclusion

We’ve seen that EV home charging and choosing an EV home charging tariff works out much cheaper than relying on the public charging network. In fact, it’s possible to charge an EV with a smaller battery for less than it costs for a cup of coffee.

Before selecting a tariff, we would advise that you shop around for the one that best suits your charging and other home energy needs. If you have to use a lot of electricity at peak times, the higher on-peak rates can cancel out some of the overnight rate savings. So be sure to get an official quote from your chosen energy supplier, and remember to take into account how often and when you charge your EV. Not one size fits all.