Tesla and Electrify America’s Prices Are High for EV Charging, Who’s Cheaper?

Americans continue to struggle with the effects of rising inflation, as higher prices for housing, food, utilities, insurance and other everyday necessities put pressure on household budgets.

Trading Economics reported that the annual inflation rate in the US slowed for a second consecutive month to 3.4% in July 2026, from 3.5% in June.

However, even when the inflation rate slows, prices generally remain elevated, meaning consumers are still paying more than they did just a few years ago. For many households, that has made discretionary purchases harder to justify and increased the importance of finding ways to reduce recurring expenses.

The vast majority of EV drivers are saving more than gas drivers, due to the lower fuel and maintenance costs that EVs offer. But that doesn’t mean EV drivers are not interested in saving more money. Choosing lower-cost charging may become the next major EV trend.

Tesla and Electrify America average among the highest of all U.S. electric vehicle (EV) charging networks at about $0.56 per kWh, according to Paren’s Leaderboard for DC Fast Charging. Ionna is the lowest, at $0.38 per kWh.

Lower Prices May Be the Next Priority for EV Charging Customers

The first priority for EV fast charging was getting stations built. Then the focus shifted to making them more reliable and widely available. Now, the industry may be entering its next phase: lower prices. Ionna and Walmart appear to be leading that transition.

Both companies are rapidly expanding their charging networks. Walmart initially partnered with Electrify America to bring chargers to many of its store parking lots. The company clearly saw the value of EV charging in driving store traffic and customer loyalty, and it is now expanding its own charging network.

The new Walmart stations use 400-kW Alpitronic chargers with both NACS and CCS connectors. Walmart+ customers also receive a 10% charging discount. The rollout has been aggressive, with hundreds of chargers installed in recent months.

Ionna has even bigger ambitions. The network is backed by eight automakers: BMW, General Motors, Honda, Hyundai, Kia, Mercedes-Benz, Stellantis and Toyota. The goal is to make EV charging accessible enough that concerns about charging availability do not prevent customers from buying electric vehicles.

Ionna plans to deploy 30,000 fast-charging ports across the U.S. and Canada by 2030. Many locations are designed more like traditional gas stations, with convenience stores, restrooms and both CCS and NACS connectors. Ionna has also been adding stations rapidly.

Both companies are using a familiar strategy to compete with established networks such as Tesla, Electrify America and EVgo: lower prices.

According to Paren, Ionna’s average price is $0.38 per kWh, the lowest among the 17 charging networks analyzed. Walmart was the fourth cheapest at $0.43 per kWh, behind Shell Recharge and Rocky Mountain Power.

Tesla and Electrify America, by comparison, average about $0.56 per kWh. Charging at Ionna can therefore cost roughly 40% less than charging at Electrify America.

Loren McDonald, CEO and chief analyst at Chargenomics, told Inside EVs that aggressive pricing is important because established charging networks have significant advantages. Tesla and Electrify America may already be integrated into a vehicle’s navigation system. Drivers may also have received free charging credits when they purchased their vehicles, or they may simply be accustomed to Tesla’s plug-and-charge experience.

For a new network to change those habits, it needs to provide a compelling reason.

Ionna is still a relatively unfamiliar name outside the EV industry. McDonald noted that most EV drivers have heard of Tesla, probably know Electrify America and may recognize EVgo, while many have never heard of Ionna.

Ionna has also used holiday promotions and new-station discounts to temporarily bring prices down to around $0.20 per kWh. That can be cheaper than charging at home in some areas, demonstrating just how aggressively the company is pursuing customers and brand recognition.

Walmart is pursuing a different strategy.

The retailer has thousands of stores across the country and learned from its early experience with Electrify America. Its enormous scale gives Walmart significant negotiating power with equipment suppliers and utilities. Its large parking lots also provide something that can be extremely expensive for other charging companies: readily available real estate.

That can make charger installation faster and less expensive. More importantly, the chargers can generate value beyond the charging transaction itself.

They can bring customers into Walmart stores.

As McDonald told Inside EVs, EV drivers are not necessarily the traditional Walmart customer demographic. EV charging gives the retailer an opportunity to attract new customers, who may spend 40 minutes inside the store while their vehicles charge. The goal is not simply to collect a few dollars from a charging session. It is to turn that charging stop into a $50 or $100 shopping trip.

Mercedes-Benz High-Power Charging is emphasizing amenities and reservations. BP is targeting large charging hubs. Tesla, Electrify America and EVgo continue expanding while using memberships and other programs to retain customers. Meanwhile, Walmart and Ionna are rapidly adding stations and using lower prices to attract drivers.

The shift matters because the EV fast-charging industry is moving beyond its first major objective.

For years, scale and availability were the primary goals. The industry needed enough fast chargers in enough locations to reduce range anxiety. When a charging company had the only convenient station in an area, customers had little choice but to use it.

Building those networks was expensive. Utility demand charges can also make DC fast charging costly to operate. Those expenses were passed along to drivers through relatively high charging prices.

At $0.56 per kWh, completely charging a 2024 Chevrolet Blazer EV would cost about $47.60 and provide its 279 miles of EPA-rated range. Covering the same distance in a gas-powered 2024 Chevrolet Blazer AWD would require about 12.68 gallons of gasoline. At $4.07 per gallon, that would cost $51.61.

The EV is cheaper, but the difference is relatively small.

At the most expensive Tesla Supercharger, where charging can reach $0.74 per kWh, a full Blazer EV charge would cost about $62.90. Regional electricity and gasoline prices vary considerably, but the broader point remains: DC fast-charging prices can vary substantially, and fast charging is not always dramatically cheaper than gasoline.

That does not mean EVs are expensive to operate.

More than 90% of charging takes place at home, where electricity is generally much cheaper. At an average residential electricity price of about $0.18 per kWh, home charging makes EVs significantly cheaper to operate than gasoline vehicles.

Level 2 public charging is also becoming increasingly common. Because Level 2 equipment does not require the expensive high-output AC-to-DC conversion hardware used by DC fast chargers and generally avoids the most severe demand charges, it can be substantially less expensive.

DC fast charging remains a different proposition. Part of its high cost is simply the cost of providing extremely high power. But another factor is competition. As the industry concentrated on building networks and establishing availability, charging companies were spending heavily and often had less incentive to compete aggressively on price.

That appears to be changing. The industry is slowly moving into an era where charging companies must compete not only on location and reliability, but also on price, amenities, convenience and customer experience.

That could be a major benefit for EV owners. The charging landscape is becoming increasingly fragmented. Some companies are focusing on low prices. Others are building premium charging destinations. Some are emphasizing reservations and amenities, while others are using memberships and loyalty programs.

There is no obvious winner yet. But as more companies compete for the same EV drivers, the incentives are changing. Charging networks can no longer assume that drivers will simply use the closest available station. They increasingly have to give customers a reason to choose them.

For EV owners, that competition could mean lower prices, better amenities, more reliable equipment and a much better overall fast-charging experience.

The first era of EV charging was about building enough stations. The next era may be about winning the customer with lower prices.