Free tool · Charging business
EV Charging Station ROI & Profit Calculator
Thinking of setting up an EV charging station? Enter your investment, expected usage and tariffs to see monthly profit, annual ROI and payback period.
Charging Station ROI Calculator
Will your charging station pay off?
Pick a charger, set your usage and tariffs, and see monthly & annual profit, ROI and payback. All figures update live.
Hours the charger runs at rated power. Real utilisation is often just 2–4 hrs — keep it honest.
Monthly ROI
2.1%
₹57,600/mo net
Annual ROI
25%
₹6.91 L/yr net
Indicative projection. Assumes ownership (no land/lease cost) and rated-power charging during the hours set. Real utilisation in India is still low — model conservatively before investing.
Want to see demand near your site?
Browse public chargers on the map to gauge competition and traffic, then stress-test utilisation in this calculator.
How the ROI calculator works
Pick a charger (it fills a typical investment), set active charging hours per day, and we compute units dispensed. Profit is the spread between buy and sell tariffs minus platform/maintenance per kWh. Subtract subsidy from investment for monthly and annual net profit, ROI% and payback, plus 5-year earnings. The biggest lever is utilisation.
The economics in plain terms
You buy electricity wholesale (~₹5–7/unit on many EV commercial tariffs) and sell retail (~₹15–25). Gross spread is roughly ₹8–18/unit before platform fees, rent, manpower and demand charges. A 60 kW nameplate earns whatever cars actually consume — which is why this tool asks for active hours, not capacity alone.
What realistic utilisation looks like in India
New chargers in mid-sized cities often see only a few sessions a day at first. Highway corridors, malls and fleet hubs ramp faster; a charger on empty land with no reason to stop is the most common way money is lost. Keep active hours honest (often 2–4 hrs).
Reading your payback period honestly
Model pessimistic / base / optimistic utilisation. If it only works when optimistic, you're betting on traffic that may take years. Remember fixed demand charges and downtime — a charger offline still costs rent and sanctioned-load fees.
How subsidies change the picture
Capital subsidy cuts the denominator of every return calculation. Use the subsidy slider and compare payback with and without it. Many schemes reimburse after commissioning — you still fund full cost initially.
Costs people forget to include
Transformers, sanctioned-load upgrades, civil work, canopy, network/software, site rent or revenue share, and ramp-up working capital while drivers discover you. Hardware is the visible line; the invisible ones decide returns.
Frequently asked questions
ROI comes from the spread between electricity you buy (EV tariff, ~₹5–7/kWh) and what you charge drivers (~₹15–18/kWh), minus platform/maintenance per unit, multiplied by units sold. Annual net profit ÷ net investment is ROI%; investment ÷ monthly profit is payback.
Well-located urban fast-charging sites often aim for ~2–4 years, larger sites 3–5 — only if genuinely used. Average utilisation in India is still low, so a quiet site can take much longer or never break even. Model conservatively.
Almost entirely utilisation-driven. A busy charger dispensing a few hundred units a day can earn strong five-figure monthly profits; a quiet one may barely cover costs. Use realistic active hours, not nameplate capacity alone.
Yes — capital subsidies reduce net investment and shorten payback without changing running costs. Lower investment by the subsidy you realistically expect. Note: many schemes reimburse after commissioning, so you still fund the full cost upfront.