The model: the refill that costs like a coffee

The question arrives with the first bill after the purchase: what does charging really cost me? This calculator answers with four numbers — the battery capacity, the tariff, the charges per month and the range — and returns the whole bill: the monthly cost, the cost of a single charge, the cents per hundred kilometres and the kWh drawn from the grid.

The spoiler is in the title: the e-bike's refill costs like a coffee at the bar, and a hundred kilometres cost less than a newspaper. The calculator serves to put the exact number under the surprise.

The four knobs: battery, contract, habits and assistance

The capacity goes from 300 to 1000 watt-hours: from the compact city bike to the dual-battery cargo. The tariff goes from 10 to 60 cents per kWh: the range of real contracts. The charges go from 2 to 30 a month: from Sunday use to the daily commuter. The range goes from 40 to 120 kilometres per charge: from permanent turbo to the eco ride. And one declared convention: a ten percent charging loss — charger plus battery — already included in every number.

The battery scale: five sizes, five bills

Mid tariff, eight charges a month, eighty kilometres per charge; only the battery size changes:

The middle row is the factory recipe: the light commuter's 500-watt-hour battery is worth 1.10 units a month — thirteen and three-quarter cents per charge, 17 cents per hundred kilometres. And the scale states the proportion: the bill is linear in the watt-hours — the 900 cargo costs three times the 300 city, and all of them stay under two units a month.

The two identities: the bill that squares at the socket

The model rests on two exact identities. The first is the calendar: monthly cost equals charge times number of charges — 13.75 cents times eight make exactly 1.10 units. The second is the road: cents per hundred kilometres times range equals one hundred times the charge — 17.19 for the eighty kilometres give back the 13.75, to the cent. The site's harness verifies them at every release.

The charge that is blind to habits

The single charge's cost has its double immobility: it depends neither on how often you charge nor on how many kilometres you ride — it is the pure product of watt-hours and tariff, plus the declared loss. The 13.75 cents stay 13.75 for the Sunday rider and for the cargo courier: habits move the month, never the gesture. It is the separation that orders the bill: the battery and the contract decide the refill's price; you only decide how many refills.

The four readings: from the invisible to the true refill

The verdict reads the cents per hundred kilometres. Below twelve it is the invisible charge: the bill cannot tell it from noise. Between twelve and twenty it is the pocket-change refill: the bulk of real e-bikes. Between twenty and thirty-five it is the visible charge: generous batteries or expensive tariffs — noble small change. Beyond thirty-five it is the true refill: dual batteries at peak tariff — which still stay twenty times below any petrol.

The border of twelve: the exact row

The border between the invisible and the pocket change has its calibration row: the 400-watt-hour battery at the 30 tariff, stretched to 110 kilometres per charge, produces exactly 12.00 cents per hundred kilometres — which the strict guard already reads «pocket-change refill». It is the model's only touchable border, and it touches where it matters: in the heart of real configurations.

The five units: the threshold never hit head-on

Above the readings, the model marks the monthly threshold: five units a month — the point where charging stops being invisible on the bill. The threshold has a curious, declared property: it can never be reached exactly — the charging loss's factor of eleven makes it impossible to close the month at a sharp 5.00, from any combination of the grid. You pass above or below it, never head-on: the mathematics of loss knows no tie.

The limits of the model: what the socket does not tell

The perimeter is declared: the count measures the charging energy alone, with the loss at ten percent. Out stay the battery's ageing — the e-bike's true cost, consumed in cycles and paid at replacement — maintenance and the vehicle's amortization. The perimeter's lesson is itself the verdict: energy is the e-bike's smallest line — whoever wants real savings should watch the battery's cycles, not the meter.

The tariff scale: the contract writes the bill

Standard battery, eight charges, eighty kilometres; only the electricity contract changes:

From the friendly tariff to the peak, the bill quadruples and the reading crosses all four bands — same battery, same kilometres, the same 4.40 kWh standing still. It is the table that shifts the question: for the e-bike the true knob is not the battery, it is the contract — and the night band, which for the electric car is strategy, here is a gesture: charging takes an evening and the night holds it whole.

The charges scale: the gesture still, the month that grows

Same battery, same tariff, same range; only how much you ride changes:

Two flat columns and one that grows: the cost per charge and per hundred kilometres do not know how much you ride — they are the gesture's price, set by battery and contract. The month climbs linearly, but look at the numbers: the intense commuter of twenty-four charges pays three units thirty — Europe's cheapest bus pass costs ten times as much. It is the column that closes every debate on the cost of electric commuting.

The range scale: assistance decides the refill's kilometres

The third scale holds the charge still and changes what comes out of it: in turbo (50 km per charge) a hundred kilometres cost 27.50 cents; with medium assistance (80 km) they drop to 17.19; in eco (120 km) they reach 11.46 — the invisible charge. The same 13.75 refill: only the kilometres it is spread over change. It is the bill's only free knob: the thumb on the assistance selector is worth a contract change — and it works at every pedal stroke.

The vehicle comparison: the embarrassing column

The e-bike's 17 cents per hundred kilometres demand context, and the context is merciless: the petrol scooter travels at 3-4 units for the same distance, the compact car at 10-12, the SUV beyond 15. A factor from twenty to ninety. Even the electric car — the closest — spends 4-6 units of energy alone. The lesson is not that the e-bike wins: it plays in another league — where the energy of movement costs less than the paper of the newspaper that reports it.

The extremes of the grid: from seven cents to twenty units

The model's minimum is homeopathic use: the compact city bike, two charges a month on the friendly tariff — 0.07 units a month, seven cents: the price of nothing, literally. The maximum is the personal fleet at work: the thousand-watt-hour cargo, thirty charges at the peak tariff — 19.80 units a month, the bill of the courier who pedals every day. Between the two extremes runs a factor of nearly three hundred — and even the absolute maximum stays below a compact car's single tank: the e-bike's entire grid lives where other vehicles have not even started.

The ageing battery: the cost the meter does not see

The bill's declared perimeter — energy only — deserves its chapter, because the e-bike's true cost lives elsewhere: the battery is a consumable of 500-800 cycles, and the replacement costs hundreds of units. Spread over the kilometres it makes 3-8 units per thousand: twenty times the energy. The moves that count are of care, not contract: living between 20 and 80 percent, never the summer car's heat, never the cellar's frost — every cycle saved is worth more than a hundred night-band charges.

Frequently asked questions

What does charging an e-bike cost?

The standard 500-watt-hour battery at a mid tariff costs about 14 cents per full charge, loss included: eight charges a month make just over one unit. It is mobility's cheapest refill — the calculator puts in your exact numbers.

What does an e-bike cost per hundred kilometres?

With the typical setup, 17 cents per hundred kilometres: less than a newspaper. A petrol car spends 10 to 15 units for the same distance — a factor of fifty or more. It is the number that closes every urban mobility comparison.

What is the ten percent charging loss?

The energy dissipated between the socket and the battery: the charger heats up, the battery's chemistry retains less than it receives. Ten percent is the model's declared convention — real chargers lose 8-15 — and it is already included in every number on the page.

How many charges does a typical commuter make?

With a 15-kilometre commute and 80 of range, one charge every two-three days: 10-12 a month. The calculator uses full charges as the unit: two half charges count as one — the battery and the bill reason the same way.

Is it worth charging on the night band?

Yes, and it is convenient: charging takes 3-5 hours and the night holds them all. With a dual-rate tariff the refill drops under ten cents — the calculator's tariff scale shows your contract's exact effect.

Is the manufacturer's declared range the real one?

Almost never: label ranges hold in eco, on the flat, with a light rider. Reality with medium assistance sits at 60-70 percent of the declared. The calculator asks for YOUR real range — two weeks of use reveal it better than any brochure.

Does cold increase the charging cost?

Indirectly: a cold battery yields fewer kilometres per charge, so more charges for the same trips — the winter cost per kilometre rises 15-30 percent. Charging indoors (never in a frozen garage) protects both the bill and the chemistry.

Is always charging to 100 percent good for the battery?

No: lithium batteries age faster when kept always full. Best practice is living between 20 and 80 percent and charging to 100 only before long rides. On cost it changes almost nothing; on life cycles it changes a lot.

What is the e-bike's true cost, if not the energy?

The ageing battery: 500-800 useful cycles, then a replacement of several hundred units. Spread over the kilometres it makes 3-8 units per thousand — twenty times the energy. The calculator's perimeter is declared: here the socket is measured, not the wear.

Does a dual battery double the cost?

It doubles the cost per full charge — the 900-1000 watt-hour cargo pays 25-30 cents — but it also doubles the range: the cost per kilometre stays identical. The battery size decides how often you charge, not how much moving costs.

Can I charge the e-bike from solar panels?

It is the perfect case: 0.5 kWh per charge is a trifle for any home system, and daytime charging coincides with production. With self-consumption the energy cost drops practically to zero — only the battery line remains.

Why can the five-unit threshold never be hit exactly?

It is a declared mathematical property of the model: the charging loss's factor of eleven makes it impossible to close the month at a sharp 5.00 from any combination of the grid. You pass above or below — the tie does not exist, and the site's harness verifies it.

Updated July 2026