How long does it take to charge an electric car?
22 September 2026 · 5 minute read
Anywhere from a few minutes to a night, depending on where you are and what you are trying to do. The honest answer is that most charging is done while you are doing something else, so the time rarely matters, and the one time it does, on a long drive, it is about the length of a coffee.
The short answer
- A normal socket at home: about 2 to 3 km of range for every ten minutes, so a night adds 100 to 150 km.
- A wall box at home (7 to 11 kW): empty to full in 6 to 10 hours. Overnight, every time.
- A public AC post (7 to 22 kW): the same as a wall box. A few hours at the shops or at work adds a good part of the battery.
- A fast charger (50 to 150 kW): 30 to 60 minutes from 20% to 80%.
- An ultra fast charger (150 kW or more): 20 to 30 minutes from 20% to 80%, if the car can take the power.
At home
Home charging is slow and does not matter, because the car is parked for ten hours anyway. A wall box on a single phase supply gives about 7 kW, which is 35 to 45 km of range an hour and a full battery overnight. On three phase it gives 11 kW, and a few cars take 22. A normal socket gives 2 to 3 kW, which is enough for a daily drive of 50 km and not much more. See charging at home.
On the road
Fast charging is DC power straight into the battery, and the battery takes it fastest when it is low. A typical car charges from 10% to 80% in 25 to 40 minutes at an ultra fast charger, and the quickest cars do it in under 20. From 80% to 100% takes about as long again, which is why road trip stops end at 80%.
That 10% to 80% adds about 70% of the car's range: 250 to 300 km for most cars, which is the next two to three hours of driving. See the charging speeds guide for what AC, fast and ultra fast mean on a charger's page.
What sets the pace
- The car's maximum. A car that takes 100 kW charges no faster on a 350 kW charger than on a 150.
- The charging curve. Power falls as the battery fills. A car that holds its power to 70% charges far quicker in practice than one that peaks high and drops early.
- Battery temperature. A cold battery charges slowly. Many cars warm it on the way to a charger; a car that has been driving an hour is usually warm enough.
- Sharing. Two cars on one charger may split its power.
- State of charge. Arriving at 10% charges faster than arriving at 50%, because the fast part of the curve is at the bottom.
Real figures for real cars
Every car on ChargeAlong has a page with its usable battery, its peak charging power and its time from 10% to 80%, with the charging curve drawn where there is measured data for it. The comparison tool puts two cars' curves on one chart, which is the quickest way to see why one car's stops are ten minutes shorter than another's.