Electric Truck Charging Costs: F-150 Lightning, Rivian R1T, Silverado EV, and Cybertruck Compared

How Much Does It Cost to Charge an Electric Truck?

The answer starts with three inputs: the truck's kWh/100-mile rating, the price you pay per kWh, and the share of miles charged at home versus public stations. A pickup charged overnight at a residential rate can look very inexpensive per mile. The same truck on a highway trip, especially with a trailer, can move much closer to gas-truck fuel cost.

That is why this guide separates the local ownership case from the road-trip and work-truck cases. The truck is the same; the charging mix is not.

Quick Answer

Electric trucks usually cost more to charge than smaller EVs because they consume more electricity per mile. Home charging is where the numbers tend to work best. DC fast charging raises the per-mile cost, and towing can raise both energy use and charging frequency.

At a sample $0.16/kWh home rate, the difference is easy to see:

Efficient EV car: 28 kWh/100 miles x $0.16/kWh = $4.48 per 100 miles
Electric truck example: 45 kWh/100 miles x $0.16/kWh = $7.20 per 100 miles

The pickup may still beat a comparable gas truck on energy cost, but it is buying noticeably more electricity than an efficient EV car for the same drive.

Why Electric Trucks Cost More Than Smaller EVs

Electric pickups carry the same compromises that define gas pickups: they are heavier, taller, wider, and often fitted with bigger tires. They also spend more of their lives carrying payload, pulling trailers, or running at highway speeds where aero drag matters.

Key Formulas

Charging cost = kWh added x electricity price per kWh
Cost per 100 miles = kWh per 100 miles x electricity price per kWh
Cost per mile = cost per 100 miles / 100
Monthly cost = monthly miles / miles per kWh / charging efficiency x electricity rate
Mixed charging cost = home kWh x home rate + Level 2 kWh x Level 2 rate + DC kWh x DC rate

FuelEconomy.gov says plug-in-vehicle MPGe and kWh/100-mile values include charging losses. When this guide uses official FuelEconomy.gov kWh/100-mile values directly, it does not add another charging-loss adjustment. When it uses labeled battery-side examples, it applies a charging-efficiency assumption where noted.

Methodology

This is a charging-cost comparison, not a truck review. Official range and efficiency come from FuelEconomy.gov / EPA downloadable vehicle data. The model table uses 2025 entries because it is the latest common model year in the official data set where all four nameplates in this comparison appear together.

Model Comparison

To keep the comparison clean, the table uses one selected 2025 FuelEconomy.gov entry for each truck. Other trims, wheel packages, battery options, and charger configurations may post different numbers.

In these exact rows, the Rivian R1T Dual Large with 22-inch wheels has the lowest official combined energy use. Treat that as a configuration result, not a brand-wide verdict. Tires, wheels, battery configuration, speed, weather, towing, payload, and charging mix can move the real bill.

Home Charging Cost Comparison

FuelEconomy.gov kWh/100-mile values include charging losses, so the official values below are used directly for the home-cost calculation.

If you calculate from a truck's trip computer or battery-side energy use instead of FuelEconomy.gov data, divide the home-charged energy by your charging efficiency. For example, 45 battery-side kWh used for driving becomes 50 kWh from the wall at 90% charging efficiency.

Public DC Fast Charging Cost

DC fast charging is where electric truck costs can jump. The rate per kWh is often higher than a residential rate, and a truck needs a lot of kWh to add meaningful highway range.

At 45 kWh/100 miles, the same energy use costs $7.20 per 100 miles at $0.16/kWh home electricity and $20.25 per 100 miles at $0.45/kWh DC fast charging. That spread is the reason a local electric truck can feel cheap while a fast-charging road trip does not.

Cost to Add 100 Miles

Cost to add 100 miles = kWh needed for 100 miles x price per kWh

You do not need battery size to estimate the cost to add 100 miles. You need energy use and the price per kWh.

Cost to Fully Charge an Electric Truck

A full-charge bill depends on how many kWh are added. Most drivers do not charge from 0% to 100% every day, and many DC fast-charging sessions stop around 70% to 80% because charging often slows as the battery fills.

These are example refill amounts, not claimed battery sizes for every truck. Efficiency determines cost per mile; battery size determines how large a refill can be.

Monthly Cost Examples

These scenarios use 45 kWh/100 miles as a battery-side working assumption, not as an official rating for one truck. That is why the home-charged portion is adjusted for 90% charging efficiency.

Towing and Payload

Towing is the number that can make a tidy spreadsheet fall apart. Trailer shape, speed, wind, terrain, tires, payload, and temperature all matter. When energy use rises, the truck needs more kWh and usually more charging stops.

Independent towing tests from Edmunds and Car and Driver point in the same direction: electric pickup range falls when the trailer is heavy or aerodynamically difficult. Those tests are useful warnings, not universal towing-range promises.

500-mile normal trip: 5 x $20.25 = $101.25
500-mile towing example: 5 x $33.75 = $168.75
Difference: $67.50 more in charging alone

Road Trip Example

On a road trip, the first charge often comes from home and the rest comes from faster, more expensive public chargers. That split matters.

Starting with home energy saves money before the trip even begins. Hotel, campground, workplace, or other destination charging can also reduce how much energy has to be bought from highway DC fast chargers. For route budgeting, see the EV road trip charging cost guide.

Electric Truck vs. Gas Truck Cost Per Mile

The electric truck is not automatically cheaper on every mile. It wins when electricity is inexpensive and the truck is reasonably efficient. It can lose that edge when most energy is bought from higher-priced DC fast chargers.

This is energy cost only. Purchase price, insurance, maintenance, repairs, tires, charger installation, registration, financing, and depreciation still need their own line items.

Home Charging Setup

A full-size electric truck is a strong argument for Level 2 home charging. A truck using 40 to 60 kWh/100 miles may need far more overnight energy than an efficient EV car, especially if it is used for commuting, jobsites, towing, or cold-weather driving.

For a deeper install-cost estimate, see the Home EV charger installation cost guide.

Can Level 1 Charging Work?

Sometimes, but it is usually a backup plan. A regular 120V outlet can add useful range overnight for a low-mileage owner, but it is slow for a full-size electric pickup.

1.4 kW Level 1 power x 10 hours = 14 kWh before losses
14 kWh / 45 kWh per 100 miles x 100 = about 31 miles before losses

For a low-mileage owner, that may be enough. For many electric truck owners, Level 1 is backup charging, not the main charging solution.

Time-of-Use Rates

Electric trucks use enough energy for rate design to matter. If your utility offers lower off-peak pricing, scheduled overnight charging can change the monthly bill.

Savings in this example are $42 per month, or $504 per year. The bigger the truck's energy use, the more off-peak charging can matter. For more detail, see the time-of-use EV charging guide.

Winter Charging Costs

Cold weather usually makes the truck work harder. Cabin heat, battery heat, preconditioning, tire pressure, denser air, snow, slush, outdoor parking, and towing can all raise energy use.

Difference: $1.60 more per 100 miles. For more seasonal planning, see the winter EV charging guide.

Solar and Fleet Considerations

At 12,000 miles per year and 45 kWh/100 miles, an electric truck uses 5,400 kWh per year before any charging-loss adjustment for battery-side data. That does not make solar an automatic yes, but it does make the offset target larger than it would be for a very efficient EV car.

Contractors, small businesses, and fleet buyers should build the cost model from routes, not brochure range alone. Predictable depot or home overnight charging can reduce cost and downtime. Repeated DC fast charging during work hours can raise both energy cost and lost time.

For solar sizing, see the charging your EV with solar panels guide.

Common Mistakes

Estimate Your Own Cost

Start with kWh/100 miles, multiply by miles, split the energy by charging mix, apply the relevant prices, and adjust for charging efficiency only when you are using battery-side energy. For a faster estimate, use the CostToCharge.com EV Charging Cost Calculator.

Conclusion

Electric trucks can be economical at home, but they are not low-energy vehicles. Size, weight, tires, towing, payload, winter operation, and highway speed all push electricity use upward.

Cost per 100 miles = kWh per 100 miles x electricity price per kWh

For model comparisons, start with FuelEconomy.gov kWh/100-mile data. For your own budget, use your actual electricity rate, monthly miles, towing habits, winter conditions, and home-versus-public charging mix. The strongest electric-truck case is a lot of home charging and a clear plan for the expensive miles: towing, winter road trips, and public fast charging.