Public EV Charging Costs in Australia: Networks, Fees and Monthly Budgets

Public EV charging in Australia can cost anything from relatively inexpensive destination charging to considerably more expensive ultra fast DC charging. The most important thing for owners to understand is that there is no single public EV charging price that applies nationally, or even necessarily across one charging network.

Prices can change according to the charging location, charger power, operator, time of day, membership status and payment method. Some stations also impose idle or congestion fees, meaning the price per kWh is only one part of the bill.

For budgeting purposes, a useful public charging range is approximately 40c to 75c per kWh, although individual chargers can fall outside that range. In our public only calculator below, an EV buying 18kWh of electricity for every 100km would therefore cost about $7.20 to $13.50 per 100km to run.

That is considerably more than many home charging tariffs, which is why the economics of EV ownership can look different for someone in an apartment or relying entirely on public infrastructure. AussieMotor's EV Home Charging Guide Australia covers household charging separately; this article focuses specifically on what happens when public charging becomes a major or exclusive running cost.

How public EV charging prices work

Most paid Australian public chargers bill drivers according to the kilowatt hours of electricity delivered, usually displayed as cents per kWh. If a charger costs 60c/kWh and the session supplies 40kWh, the energy portion of the charging bill is $24.

The Australian Government notes that public charging prices vary with factors including charger power, network and time of day. Faster DC charging generally costs more than slower options, while some operators also provide loyalty programs, membership discounts or cheaper off peak periods.

This means the large number printed on a charger, such as 50kW, 150kW or 350kW, tells you the charger's potential power, not how much the electricity itself costs. Your car may also accept considerably less than the charger's maximum output depending on its battery, temperature and state of charge.

The Government also recommends checking charger pricing and availability before travelling because apps and public charging tools can show location, plug type, charging speed, availability and current prices.

There is no single Chargefox price

Chargefox is particularly important to understand because it operates as a charging platform used by many different station owners rather than imposing one national electricity price itself.

The individual station owner decides what charging costs. A location can price electricity by kWh and can also vary charges according to the time of day, day of the week or duration of the session. The current rate is shown in the location details within the Chargefox app.

That means saying “Chargefox costs 60c/kWh” without identifying the station is potentially misleading. One Chargefox accessible charger can cost less than another charger using the same app, even where the equipment looks similar.

This is also why a simple Chargefox versus Evie price comparison does not have one permanent winner. You need to compare the actual local Chargefox station you expect to use with the relevant Evie connector and then include any discounts available to you.

Chargefox member discounts can reduce the bill

Members of AANT, NRMA, RACV, RAA, RACQ and RACT can receive a 10 per cent charging discount at selected eligible Chargefox locations after adding their membership details to the app. RAC members in Western Australia have different rules and can receive 20 per cent at RAC Electric Highway locations in WA.

These savings apply only at eligible locations, so having a motoring club membership does not automatically reduce every Chargefox session. The discount available for a specific charger should be visible within the app before the session starts.

If you already pay for a motoring club membership for roadside assistance or other benefits, any charging discount is an additional saving. Buying an entire motoring club membership solely to save on charging requires a separate break even calculation because annual membership prices and eligible locations differ.

Benefits also generally apply to charging energy rather than idle fees. Leaving the vehicle connected after charging has finished can therefore still result in an additional charge even when a membership discount applies to the electricity.

Chargefox roaming can have a different price

Roaming can make public charging more convenient because one app can provide access to chargers operated by another network. The financial catch is that the roaming price does not necessarily match the price offered through the charger's own app.

For example, Chargefox provides roaming access to some partner charging networks. The partner operator sets the roaming rate, and that operator may offer different direct pricing or member discounts through its own application.

This means convenience and lowest price are not always the same thing. If you regularly use one roaming location, it is worth checking both the Chargefox price and the operator's direct app before starting the session.

For an occasional road trip, saving a few dollars may not justify managing another account. For somebody using that charger several times a week, however, the difference can become meaningful over a year.

How much does Evie cost?

Evie also does not have one guaranteed Australia wide rate. Its own pricing information states that charges can vary between stations and even between plug types because of different charging capability and local electricity costs.

Current public examples show why a national figure would be misleading. One official example uses 64c/kWh, while another describes a 50kW Melbourne charger costing up to 64c/kWh and a 150kW Melbourne charger costing up to 73c/kWh. A separate current example shows some ultra fast Melbourne charging reaching 75c/kWh.

Those numbers should be treated as examples rather than a permanent tariff. Evie tells drivers to check the app for the current connector specific price before starting a charge.

At 64c/kWh, a 40kWh top up would cost $25.60. At 73c/kWh the same 40kWh session would cost $29.20, creating a $3.60 difference despite exactly the same amount of energy entering the battery.

Evie Mates changes the calculation for frequent users

Evie Mates is a free monthly plan designed to reward drivers who use the network relatively frequently. Once a user has charged more than 100kWh during their monthly plan period, subsequent qualifying charging sessions receive a 5c/kWh discount for the remainder of that period.

The important detail is that the session that takes you across 100kWh remains at full price. If you have used 90kWh and then buy another 20kWh, that complete 20kWh session is charged normally; the discount begins with the next session.

The threshold resets every month. At our example consumption of 18kWh per 100km, 100kWh represents about 556km of public charged driving, although the actual kilometres before the discount starts will vary according to efficiency and session size.

There is no monetary membership break even because the plan itself is free. The relevant question is simply whether you use enough Evie energy in a month to pass the threshold early enough to benefit from the discounted sessions that follow.

RACQ members have a different Evie option

Eligible RACQ members can receive 4c/kWh off Evie public fast charging in Queensland and selected northern New South Wales locations, subject to the offer's terms and a 1,000kWh annual fair use limit.

The RACQ discount cannot be combined with Evie Mates, and energy purchased while using the RACQ offer does not count towards the Mates 100kWh monthly threshold. Drivers who qualify for both therefore need to consider which option fits their actual charging pattern.

A Queensland driver charging only occasionally may prefer the immediate RACQ saving. Someone using Evie heavily in other eligible areas may get more value from the free Mates plan after crossing its monthly threshold.

This is another example of why looking only at a network's headline cents per kWh does not give the full ownership cost.

Evie Tap and Go can use different pricing

Some Evie chargers support Tap and Go debit card payments, meaning an account or app is not required at those trial sites. A temporary $50 pre authorisation is placed on the card, with only the final charging cost retained.

However, Evie explicitly notes that Tap and Go pricing can differ from account pricing available through the app or an Evie Pass. Drivers who care primarily about getting the lowest rate should therefore check the app rather than assuming contactless payment has exactly the same tariff.

At the time of this fact check, Tap and Go was being trialled at sites including Belrose Home and Allambie Grove in NSW, Birkdale Fair in Queensland, Collingwood in Victoria, Ulladulla and Tamworth in NSW.

Contactless payment is a useful convenience feature, particularly when trying a network for the first time, but convenience can sometimes have a different price.

How much does a Tesla Supercharger cost for a non Tesla EV?

Compatible non Tesla EVs can use eligible Australian Supercharger locations without buying a Tesla charging membership. The Tesla app identifies which sites are open to other CCS2 compatible vehicles and displays the current non Tesla charging price.

The important point is that there is no single permanent non Tesla Supercharger rate that should be published for the entire Australian network. Pricing can change by location, and selected sites can offer different on peak and off peak rates. The price applying when the vehicle is plugged in is the price used for that charging session. For example, the Mackay Supercharger in Queensland currently lists eight stalls with up to 250kW output and is open to compatible non Tesla EVs. Coolac in NSW lists 12 stalls with up to 300kW and is also open to compatible other EVs. Their live charging prices need to be checked in the Tesla app rather than copied from an old comparison table.

This is why an article quoting something such as “all Tesla Superchargers cost 79c/kWh for non Teslas” can become outdated very quickly. The app is the authoritative source for the site and time you actually intend to charge.

Is Tesla Supercharger membership worth it?

Tesla offers an optional monthly Supercharger membership for non Tesla EV drivers. Members receive a lower pay per use charging rate than non members at participating locations, with current membership pricing and signup information displayed inside the Tesla app.

The public Australian terms do not currently give one permanent membership price that can safely be copied into an evergreen article. That is useful rather than inconvenient for our calculation because it lets you use the current figures from your own app.

The break even formula is:

Monthly break even energy = monthly membership fee ÷ saving per kWh

For example, imagine the app showed a $10 monthly fee and a 10c/kWh member saving. The break even point would be 100kWh per month. At our 18kWh per 100km budgeting assumption, that equates to around 556km of charging supported driving per month.

That $10 and 10c example is deliberately hypothetical and is not being presented as Tesla's current Australian membership price or discount. Use the exact membership fee and the member versus non member rate shown in your Tesla app.

Public EV charging membership break even calculator

You can calculate any paid charging membership using the same method.

If the saving were only 5c/kWh, the same $10 membership would require 200kWh per month to break even. If the saving increased to 15c/kWh, break even would fall to about 67kWh.

The principle matters more than any specific example: a membership is valuable only when the monthly energy you actually buy is high enough to recover its fee.

Occasional road trippers may save more by paying the normal rate. Apartment residents using the same network several times every week are much more likely to benefit from a worthwhile membership.

Public only EV charging monthly budget calculator

To show what living without home charging might cost, the following table uses deliberately simple assumptions rather than pretending there is one Australian average public tariff.

We assume the EV requires 18kWh purchased from the charger for every 100km driven. We then calculate three example public charging tariffs: 40c/kWh, 60c/kWh and 75c/kWh.

These rates are budgeting scenarios, not guaranteed Chargefox, Evie or Tesla prices. They cover a useful range from relatively inexpensive public charging to more expensive fast charging and should be replaced with the rates from the stations you actually intend to use.

At 1,500km per month, relying entirely on our 60c/kWh public charging scenario produces a $162 electricity bill. Use mostly 75c/kWh ultra fast charging instead and the same distance rises to $202.50.

A driver covering only 500km per month would spend $54 at the middle 60c rate. Public charging therefore does not automatically make EV ownership prohibitively expensive, but the result depends heavily on kilometres and the stations available near the driver's normal routes.

For broader fuel, servicing and ownership cost context, see AussieMotor's Cheapest Cars to Run in Australia guide.

What does public charging cost per 100km?

Using the same 18kWh per 100km assumption makes the comparison particularly simple.

Your actual EV may use considerably less or more than 18kWh/100km. A small efficient hatch driven gently can consume much less energy than a large electric SUV travelling at highway speeds.

This is why the best public charging budget starts with your vehicle's actual energy consumption rather than its battery capacity. A 100kWh battery does not mean you purchase 100kWh every time you visit a charger.

AussieMotor's Cheapest Electric Cars in Australia guide includes efficiency and charging cost comparisons for current lower priced Australian EVs.

A 40kWh top up can vary noticeably in price

Many drivers rarely arrive at a public charger with a completely empty battery. A more realistic road trip session might involve adding 30kWh, 40kWh or 50kWh and then continuing the journey.

For a 40kWh charging session, the calculation is straightforward:

That $14 spread between 40c and 75c does not matter much if you fast charge twice a year. If the same type of session happens several times every week, choosing locations and memberships becomes much more important.

Public charging costs should therefore be considered through frequency as well as tariff. The most expensive charger on an occasional interstate trip can have less impact on annual ownership cost than a slightly overpriced charger used near home every second day.

Can you own an EV without home charging?

Yes, but you need to budget differently from someone who can recharge in their driveway every night.

The Australian Government says around 80 per cent of reported Australian EV charging occurs at home, which means a public only owner is following a less common ownership pattern. That does not make it impractical, particularly if reliable chargers are available near work, supermarkets, shopping centres or places you regularly visit. Energy Australia

The larger issue is cost and convenience. At 1,000km per month, our public only example ranges from $72 at 40c/kWh to $135 at 75c/kWh. At 2,000km, it ranges from $144 to $270.

Before buying, identify two or three reliable chargers that fit your normal routine, record their actual current rates and calculate your monthly kilometres. That gives you a much better answer than simply asking whether Australia has enough chargers in general.

Public charging can narrow an EV's running cost advantage

EV running cost figures often assume household electricity because that is how most Australian EV charging currently occurs. When the same car relies solely on public fast charging, its energy cost can rise substantially.

AussieMotor's broader running cost guide currently uses standard and off peak residential electricity assumptions for EV comparisons. Public only drivers should not copy those annual figures directly because they represent a different charging pattern. See the assumptions in AussieMotor's running cost comparison

At 15,000km per year, an EV using our assumed 18kWh/100km needs about 2,700kWh of purchased energy. At 40c/kWh that is $1,080 per year, at 60c it is $1,620, and at 75c it reaches $2,025.

That does not prove an EV is more expensive than a petrol car because the answer depends on both vehicles' efficiency and energy prices. It does show why a buyer without home charging needs a separate calculation instead of relying on advertisements built around cheap overnight electricity.

Idle fees can make an inexpensive session expensive

The charging tariff is not always the end of your bill. Public networks increasingly use idle or congestion fees to encourage drivers to free the charging bay when the vehicle is finished.

At some Chargefox accessible stations, the standard idle fee is $1 per minute, although the station owner can choose a different rate and grace period. The exact terms are displayed in the app for stations where idle charging is enabled.

A 15 minute overstay at a $1 per minute location could therefore add $15 to the stop. That can exceed the cost of quite a few kilowatt hours of electricity, making charger notifications worth paying attention to.

Membership discounts and vouchers should not be assumed to cover these extra fees. Chargefox specifically excludes idle fees from its normal benefits.

Tesla uses a similar system known as a congestion fee at busy Supercharger sites. In Australia, the typical congestion fee is currently $0.50 per minute, although it can be as high as $1 per minute depending on the location.

It can apply when a busy site's specified congestion threshold is reached and the vehicle is already at or above the relevant battery level, currently described as 80 per cent, or when charging has finished. Drivers receive a five minute grace period to disconnect before the fee begins.

The lesson is not that drivers should fear fast charging fees. It is that charging to 100 per cent at a busy public DC site can be both slower and potentially more expensive than leaving once enough energy has been added to reach the next destination.

The Australian Government likewise recommends generally disconnecting at about 80 per cent on public fast chargers unless the additional range is genuinely needed.

Evie can also charge for idling

Evie's current terms allow an idling charge when a vehicle remains in the charging bay after charging has finished. The applicable rate is the rate shown for that location at the relevant time.

Because the amount can be location specific, it should not be replaced with a generic national number. Check the current station information before leaving the car unattended for an extended period.

Drivers should also read local parking signage around any public charger. A charger sitting in a shopping centre, council car park or private parking facility can be subject to site access and parking conditions separate from the electricity itself.

Treat the complete charging stop as energy price plus any applicable idle, congestion or parking costs, not simply cents per kWh.

Faster is not always better value

A 350kW charger sounds automatically superior to a 50kW charger, but there are two reasons why paying more for it may not make sense.

First, your car controls how much power it accepts. An EV that peaks at 80kW will not suddenly charge at 350kW just because it is plugged into a 350kW unit.

Second, batteries do not maintain their peak DC rate throughout an entire session. Charging commonly slows as the battery becomes full, particularly beyond around 80 per cent.

If a slower charger is substantially cheaper and you will be parked for an hour anyway, it may provide better value. Ultra fast charging is most valuable when saving time actually matters and the vehicle can take advantage of the additional output.

Chargefox vs Evie: which is cheaper?

There is no permanent national answer.

Chargefox rates are set by individual station owners, meaning two Chargefox accessible locations can have different tariffs. Evie prices also vary by station and connector, while Evie Mates and RACQ discounts can alter the effective price for qualifying users.

For somebody choosing between two nearby chargers, compare four things: the live cents per kWh rate, any discount you actually qualify for, the charging speed your car can use and additional idle or parking conditions.

If one location is 8c/kWh cheaper, a 50kWh session saves $4. That may be worthwhile when both locations are equally convenient, but probably not if the cheaper charger adds a lengthy detour.

Tesla vs Evie vs Chargefox for a non Tesla driver

The most useful approach is not to declare one network universally cheapest. Instead, use two or three networks that cover your regular routes and compare their current rates when you actually need to charge.

A compatible non Tesla EV can use Tesla Superchargers that are specifically opened to other vehicles, and no paid Tesla membership is required. Membership becomes relevant only when the monthly charging discount exceeds its monthly fee.

Evie provides an immediate alternative with station specific pricing and its free high usage loyalty plan. Chargefox provides very broad access across chargers owned by different organisations and can also be useful for drivers who already qualify for motoring club benefits.

For most owners, coverage and reliability are likely to matter alongside price. Saving $3 on a charging session has little value if the cheaper charger is a long distance away or does not fit the journey.

Where should you check the live charging price?

Because tariffs change, the final price check should happen shortly before you drive to the charger.

Chargefox explicitly says its station owners can alter rates over time. Evie states that its prices vary by station and plug, while Tesla says Supercharger pricing can change and may include different peak and off peak periods.

For route planning more generally, the Australian Government recommends using charging apps and public tools to check location, availability, connector type, speed and price.

How to build your own monthly public charging budget

Start with your expected monthly kilometres. Then multiply that distance by the amount of electricity your car requires per 100km and multiply the resulting kWh by the public charging rate you realistically expect to pay.

For example, someone driving 1,200km each month in an EV that requires 18kWh of purchased electricity per 100km needs about 216kWh each month.

At 60c/kWh, that equals $129.60 per month. At 75c/kWh, it becomes $162, while a 40c charger would reduce the budget to $86.40.

Then add any monthly membership fee and realistic idle or parking costs. Subtract discounts only when you know you actually qualify for them at the stations you intend to use.

When is a public charging membership worth it?

A paid membership is worth considering when three conditions line up: you regularly use that network, the member rate is meaningfully cheaper and the monthly energy saving exceeds the membership fee.

For any network with a monthly subscription, use:

Break even kWh = membership fee ÷ member saving per kWh

Then calculate how many kilometres that energy represents using your own EV's consumption. At 18kWh/100km, every 100kWh supports roughly 556km under our simple budgeting assumption.

Do not join based only on an advertised maximum saving. Use the actual rate difference at the chargers you expect to visit because network prices can be location dependent.

Is a public only EV financially sensible?

It can be. A driver doing 1,000km per month and averaging 60c/kWh in our example spends about $108 per month on electricity. Whether that is attractive depends on the alternative car's fuel consumption, petrol price, insurance, servicing, depreciation and purchase price.

Public only ownership becomes less attractive when nearly every kilometre is supplied through the most expensive ultra fast chargers. It becomes more attractive where cheaper destination or moderate speed charging is conveniently available near places you would already park.

The right question therefore is not simply “Do I have a home charger?” It is “Where will I realistically buy electricity each week, what does it cost, and does that fit my normal routine?”

For the broader petrol, hybrid and electric ownership decision, AussieMotor's Petrol vs Hybrid vs Electric Cars in Australia guide provides the wider running cost comparison.

Public charging without home charging: what to check before buying

Before purchasing an EV with no home charging access, look up charging locations close to home, work and your most common routes. Check how many plugs each location has, whether your vehicle can use them, live pricing and whether the site is accessible at the times you normally drive.

Then calculate your likely monthly charging bill rather than relying on a manufacturer's claim about how cheap EVs are to run. The maths is simple once you know your monthly kilometres, energy consumption and likely public tariff.

It is also worth keeping accounts for more than one network. Charger outages, queues, pricing changes and route changes can all make an alternative network valuable even if it is not your everyday choice.

That approach makes public only EV ownership much easier to evaluate before you commit to the car.

AussieMotor view

Public EV charging costs in Australia are best understood as location based prices rather than network wide prices. Chargefox, Evie and Tesla all have pricing structures that can vary according to the charger or circumstances, making old national comparison tables increasingly unreliable.

For occasional road trips, the difference between 60c and 70c per kWh probably will not transform the cost of owning an EV. For drivers without home charging who buy hundreds of kilowatt hours publicly every month, however, network choice, memberships and location pricing can make a meaningful difference.

Using our 18kWh/100km scenario, 1,500km of monthly driving costs $108 at 40c/kWh, $162 at 60c and $202.50 at 75c. That $94.50 monthly spread adds up to $1,134 over a year if the same usage pattern continues.

The practical strategy is therefore simple: know your vehicle's real energy consumption, identify your regular chargers, check the live app rate and use memberships only when the numbers show they pay for themselves.