Every EV comes with a cable that plugs into an ordinary outlet, and every dealer suggests you'll want a proper charger installed. Both can be true. Which applies to you depends almost entirely on your daily mileage.
Level 1: the outlet you already have
Level 1 is a standard 120 volt household outlet. No installation, no electrician, no cost. It adds roughly three to five miles of range per hour of charging, which works out to somewhere around 40 miles over an overnight charge.
Here's the part the industry undersells: for a lot of people that is genuinely sufficient. If your commute is 30 miles round trip and the car sits at home overnight, Level 1 keeps up indefinitely. You do not need to spend anything.
Level 2: a dedicated 240 volt circuit
Level 2 runs at 240 volts on its own circuit, the same class of supply as an electric dryer or range. Depending on the charger and the circuit, it adds roughly 20 to 40 miles of range per hour — so a full overnight charge from near-empty is realistic.
Level 2 is worth it when Level 1 stops keeping up: a long commute, two EVs sharing a driveway, frequent unplanned trips, or a household that simply can't plan around a slow refill. It also matters more in winter, when cold weather reduces range and increases what you need to replace overnight.
The honest decision rule
Work out your actual daily mileage — not your worst week, your typical day. If it's comfortably under about 40 miles, try Level 1 for a month before spending anything. If you're regularly above that, or you're waking up to a car that isn't ready, Level 2 solves a real problem rather than a theoretical one.
What Level 2 actually involves
It's a dedicated circuit from your panel to where the car parks, sized for the charger, installed on permit. The two variables that decide the cost are distance and capacity: how far the run is from the panel to the parking spot, and whether your existing service can carry the load at all. On an older home with a 100 amp service, the honest answer is sometimes that the panel needs upgrading first.
That's the conversation worth having before you buy a charger rather than after. We'll check what your panel can carry and tell you straight — including if the answer is that you don't need us yet.