The days when an electric car was an exotic curiosity are long gone. Today, it is a cold calculation. If you have a socket within parking range, the gas station becomes nothing more than an expensive hot dog shop for you. We have checked what the real costs of charging an electric car look like compared to traditional refueling and how much it costs to charge an electric car.
The cost of charging an electric car vs. traditional refueling
To reliably compare the cost of driving 100 km, it is worth adopting a specific benchmark for combustion engine cars. An average gasoline-powered car, like a popular Octavia or Tiguan, consumes about 7.5 liters per 100 km. At an average fuel price of 6.00 PLN per liter, covering this distance costs 45.00 PLN. Against this background, operating an electric car using the domestic G11 tariff (approx. 1.12 PLN/kWh) is much more favorable.
Below you will find a summary presenting energy expenses for the latest models available on the market in 2026:
| Car Model | Average Consumption | Cost per 100 km (Home) | Savings vs. Fuel |
| Hyundai Inster | 15.0 kWh | 16.80 PLN | -63% |
| Renault 5 E-Tech | 15.5 kWh | 17.36 PLN | -61% |
| Kia EV3 | 16.5 kWh | 18.48 PLN | -59% |
| Tesla Model Y RWD | 17.0 kWh | 19.04 PLN | -58% |
| Skoda Elroq | 17.5 kWh | 19.60 PLN | -56% |
| BMW i5 | 19.0 kWh | 21.28 PLN | -53% |
| Porsche Macan EV | 21.0 kWh | 23.52 PLN | -48% |
* The above costs were calculated based on data provided by individual manufacturers.
Interesting facts worth knowing
No more “revving” while cold: In an electric car, full power is available immediately. You don’t have to wait for the oil to warm up to join traffic dynamically. Moreover, in winter, an electric motor does not wear out more on short trips (unlike a diesel with a DPF filter).
Drive with one pedal: The One Pedal Drive function allows you to almost never use the brake. You take your foot off the accelerator, the car slows down significantly and recovers energy. This is not only energy savings, but also incredible comfort in traffic jams.
Battery as a home Powerbank: Modern cars (like the Kia EV3 or Hyundai Ioniq) have a V2L (Vehicle-to-Load) function. You can plug a coffee machine, a laptop, or even… a refrigerator into them during a power outage at home. Your car is a giant battery on wheels.
How to charge an electric car at home for the least amount of money
Standard calculations based on a 24-hour tariff are just one option. If your goal is to minimize costs as much as possible, it is worth considering switching to the G12 night tariff. By planning charging between 10:00 PM and 6:00 AM, the energy rate drops to about 0.75 PLN/kWh. In such a scenario, cheap electric car charging allows you to bring the cost of driving 100 km in a city car to below 10 PLN.
However, the most cost-effective solution remains your own photovoltaic installation. A 5-7 kWp system is able to fully meet the energy needs of a household and provide almost free fuel for your vehicle. In that case, the real operating cost is limited only to the maintenance of the installation, which, when calculated per distance, amounts to just a few zlotys per 100 km.
Summary of annual expenses and savings
Analyzing an annual mileage of 20,000 km, the differences in maintenance costs become striking. A driver of a combustion engine car will spend about 9,000 PLN per year on gasoline. An electric car user, mainly using the cheap night tariff, will pay about 2,500 PLN in the same time. This means that 6,500 PLN of pure profit remains in your wallet every year. To make home charging fully comfortable, it is worth investing in a Wallbox, which shortens the energy replenishment time from several hours to just a few.