A UK driver who can only charge on public slow and fast chargers pays £983 a year more to cover 7,400 miles than a driver with a driveway and an overnight EV tariff: £1,142 against £159. The Autumn Budget's £100m local charging fund, worth about £150 a year from spring 2027, closes 15.3% of that gap. On the charging mixes drivers actually logged, those without home charging spent £1,198 a year and driveway drivers £458.
By the EV Cable Hub Research Team. Data: 1,140 drivers' charging diaries, a survey of 1,500 drivers, prices from 3,420 public charge points and 26 home tariffs. Last updated November 2026. How we worked this out
Key findings
- Public AC at the 54p/kWh average costs £1,142 a year at 7,400 miles; a 7.5p overnight tariff costs £159. The gap is £983.
- The £150 fund is the same as cutting the AC price from 54p to 46.9p. £833 of the gap remains.
- On real charging mixes, drivers without home charging pay 16.2p a mile against 6.2p: 2.6 times as much.
- VAT explains £190 of the AC-only driver's bill. Public charging carries 20% VAT; home electricity none until July 2027, then 5%.
- London has the widest gap at £1,173 a year; Northern Ireland the narrowest at £793.
- 84% of EV drivers in flats and 71% of private renters have no home charging, against 8% in detached houses.
- Choosing the cheapest local network instead of the dearest is worth up to £444 a year.
| Where you charge | Price per kWh | Cost per mile | Annual cost | Extra vs overnight tariff |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home, cheapest overnight tariff | 6.7p | 1.9p | £142 | -£17 |
| Home, overnight EV tariff (average) | 7.5p | 2.1p | £159 | £0 |
| Home, blended EV tariff | 11.1p | 3.2p | £235 | £76 |
| Home, standard variable rate | 25.7p | 7.3p | £543 | £385 |
| Public slow or fast AC (average) | 54p | 15.4p | £1,142 | £983 |
| Public on-street posts | 58p | 16.6p | £1,226 | £1,068 |
| Public rapid (50kW) | 78p | 22.3p | £1,649 | £1,491 |
| Public ultra-rapid (150kW+) | 82p | 23.4p | £1,734 | £1,575 |
| 3.5 miles per kWh (2,114 kWh a year). Public prices include 20% VAT; home prices reflect the household VAT cut to July 2027. | ||||
An on-street driver pays £983 a year more to charge
Where you charge decides most of what an electric car costs to run. A driver with a driveway on an overnight EV tariff pays 2.1p a mile. A driver who relies on public slow and fast AC pays 15.4p, more than seven times as much, and one using rapid chargers pays 22.3p, more than a petrol car's 17.3p.
The £983 gap compares those two clean cases. Real drivers mix sources, so we also tracked 1,140 full charging diaries. Drivers without home charging spent £1,198 a year, because many top up on rapid chargers too; driveway drivers spent £458, because they charge in public on longer trips. On those real mixes the gap is £739.
What 7,400 miles of charging costs
The Budget's £150 a year closes 15.3% of the gap
The £100m local charging fund announced in the Autumn Budget is worth about £150 a year to a driver who uses on-street chargers, from spring 2027. That closes 15.3% of the £983 gap and leaves £833. It is the same as cutting the AC price by 7.1p a kWh.
Over five years and 37,000 miles the AC-only driver pays £4,916 more than the overnight-tariff driver, or £4,616 after two years of the fund. From April 2028 both drivers also pay eVED, which does not change the gap. Our guide to what the Budget means for EV drivers covers every other measure.
VAT adds £190 a year to an AC-only driver's bill
Public charging carries 20% VAT, confirmed in law from 1 November 2026: 9p of every 54p at an AC post and 13p of every 78p at a rapid charger. Home electricity carries none while the household VAT cut runs to July 2027, then 5%. For an AC-only driver that VAT comes to £190 a year. Cutting public charging VAT to 5% would save them £143.
Who has no home charging
34% of UK EV drivers have no home charging, up from 29% in 2025: 29% have no off-street parking and a further 5% have parking but cannot fit a charger, mostly flat residents in shared car parks and tenants without landlord consent.
It falls hardest on people who rent, live in flats or terraces, and earn less. 71% of private renters have no home charging, against 22% of owner-occupiers. Drivers without home charging in households earning under £30,000 spend 5.1% of household income on charging; driveway drivers earning over £100,000 spend 0.36%.
| Housing type | Share of EV drivers | No home charging | Typical annual charging spend |
|---|---|---|---|
| Detached house | 31% | 8% | £518 |
| Semi-detached house | 29% | 19% | £599 |
| Terraced house | 21% | 60% | £902 |
| Flat | 15% | 84% | £1,080 |
| All EV drivers | 100% | 34% | £710 |
| Driveway Divide survey of 1,500 drivers, October 2026. Spend at 7,400 miles on each group's real charging mix. | |||
London has the widest gap, Northern Ireland the narrowest
London drivers pay 63p a kWh on average at public AC posts, and 51% of London EV drivers have no home charging. That makes the gap £1,173 a year, and the £150 fund closes only 12.8% of it. Northern Ireland's 45p AC average leaves the narrowest gap, £793, which the fund closes by 18.9%.
| Nation or region | No home charging | Public AC price | Gap vs overnight tariff | Gap after £150 fund |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| London | 51% | 63p | £1,173 | £1,023 |
| South East | 30% | 56p | £1,025 | £875 |
| East of England | 29% | 54p | £983 | £833 |
| South West | 29% | 53p | £962 | £812 |
| West Midlands | 32% | 53p | £962 | £812 |
| East Midlands | 30% | 52p | £941 | £791 |
| North West | 34% | 52p | £941 | £791 |
| Wales | 31% | 52p | £941 | £791 |
| Yorkshire and the Humber | 33% | 51p | £920 | £770 |
| North East | 35% | 49p | £877 | £727 |
| Scotland | 34% | 47p | £835 | £685 |
| Northern Ireland | 30% | 45p | £793 | £643 |
| UK | 34% | 54p | £983 | £833 |
| Public AC prices are Q3 2026 averages from our price tracker, matching our UK public charging price index. | ||||
Without a driveway, an EV saves just £83 a year on fuel
A driver without home charging on a real-world mix spends £1,198 a year at 7,400 miles, £83 less than a 45 mpg petrol car's £1,281. One relying on the 66p all-public average pays £114 more than petrol. A driveway driver on an overnight tariff saves £1,122. 31% of drivers without home charging have considered going back to petrol or a hybrid because of charging costs. The full five-year picture, including depreciation and insurance, is in EV vs petrol: the true cost.
What closes the gap
Tariff porting, letting drivers pay their home tariff at local chargers, would close 92% of the gap at no cost to them. A cross-pavement charger costing about £1,845 net pays for itself in under two years, but only 61 of the 150 councils we reviewed allow cross-pavement channels. Free workplace charging is worth £331 a year, though only 41% of drivers without a driveway can use it.
The cheapest thing you can do today is pick your network. Council-run AC averages 44p a kWh against 54p overall, worth £211 a year, and carrying your own Type 2 charging cable opens up cheaper untethered posts. Our guide to charging an EV without a driveway walks through every option.
| Fix | Annual saving | Share of the £983 gap | Upfront cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cross-pavement charger plus overnight tariff | £983 | 100% | £1,845 net |
| Tariff porting (11.1p at local AC) | £907 | 92.3% | £0 |
| Free workplace charging (29% of energy) | £331 | 33.7% | £0 |
| Council-run AC (44p) instead of average (54p) | £211 | 21.5% | £0 |
| £100m local charging fund | £150 | 15.3% | £0 |
| Public charging VAT at 5% instead of 20% | £143 | 14.5% | £0 |
How we worked this out
Prices are Q3 2026 averages from 3,420 public charge points in our price tracker and November 2026 rates from 26 home tariffs in our EV tariff index. All costs use 7,400 miles a year at 3.5 miles per kWh. Real-world charging mixes come from 1,140 drivers' full energy diaries from January to September 2026. Access, tenure, income and housing figures come from our Driveway Divide survey of 1,500 drivers, fieldwork 14 to 27 October 2026; Wales, the North East and Northern Ireland rest on smaller sub-samples.
The driveway divide: your questions answered
How much more does it cost to charge an EV without a driveway?
£983 a year more at 7,400 miles if you compare public AC only at 54p per kWh (£1,142) with a driveway driver on a 7.5p overnight tariff (£159). On the real charging mixes of 1,140 drivers, the gap is £739.
How much will the Budget's £100m fund save drivers without a driveway?
About £150 a year from spring 2027, which closes 15.3% of the £983 gap. For an AC-only driver it is the same as cutting the price from 54p to 46.9p per kWh.
How many UK EV drivers can't charge at home?
34% in 2026, up from 29% in 2025. 29% have no off-street parking and a further 5% have parking but cannot install a charger.
How much does it cost to charge on an on-street charger?
On-street lamp-post and bollard chargers averaged 58p per kWh in Q3 2026, so 100 miles costs £16.57 and 7,400 miles costs £1,226 a year. Council-run AC averaged 44p.
Is it still cheaper to run an EV than a petrol car without a driveway?
Only just. On a real-world mix a driver without home charging spends £1,198 a year at 7,400 miles, £83 less than a 45 mpg petrol car. On the 66p all-public average they pay £114 more.
Is a cross-pavement charger worth it?
At 7,400 miles a year a set-up costing about £1,845 net pays back in 1.9 years, because it removes the full £983 gap. Check your council's policy first: 61 of the 150 councils we reviewed allow cross-pavement channels.
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