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Charging an electric vehicle in public: a complete guide
The vast majority of people who lease an electric vehicle will charge it at home.
After all, you can take advantage of low off-peak tariffs when you replenish the energy in the car’s battery overnight.
But what about those occasions when you need to charge on the go, or if you don’t have access to a home charge point?
This guide explains all of your public EV charging options, from locating FREE chargers to using the ever-expanding network of rapid and ultra-rapid chargers located across the UK. Read on to find out how.
How do I find a public EV charge point?
Despite what you might have read, it’s much easier than you think to charge your electric vehicle in public and, according to the latest stats, there are plenty of EV charge points to go around.
As of the beginning of 2025, there are around 74,000 EV charge points in the UK spanning more than 37,000 locations.
There’s been a huge jump since 2023, too, with a 37% year on year increase in devices.
Where are electric vehicle public charge points located?
The list of locations where you’ll find an electric vehicle public charge point is extensive. You’ll commonly find them in service stations, supermarkets and car parks. But you’ll also see them outside gyms, hotels, restaurants, cafes and most tourist attractions. Basically, anywhere you might park a car.
What’s the best way to find a public EV charger?
Your best bet is to use a dedicated app, such as Zapmap, which shows all public chargers in your given location. It also gives you real-time charger availability, lets you know if any are out of action, and even lets you pay via the app.
The good news here is that when you lease an electric vehicle with Select you get three months FREE access to the top tier Zapmap Premium package and you can take advantage of all the enhanced features.
What are the different types of public EV charge points?
When you’re out and about and looking to plug in, you’ll find four main different types of public charger; slow, fast, rapid and ultra rapid:
- Slow (3-7 kWh): This type of charger is common and often found at public car parks. They’re typically ‘untethered’, which means you’ll need to bring your own cable.
- Fast (8-49 kWh): Public fast chargers are on the rise in the UK. Most connect at a speed of around 22 kWh and can take 4 to 8 hours to fully charge an EV.
- Rapid (50-149 kWh): Now you’re talking. With most EVs, a 50 kWh rapid charger can give you 100 miles worth of range in around 30 mins.
- Ultra Rapid (150+ kWh): Not all EVs can accept ultra rapid charging, but these points have the ability to give you an 80% charge in less than 20 minutes.
What about Tesla Superchargers
If you lease a Tesla, public charging is even easier. All Tesla drivers get access to the manufacturer’s Supercharger network of public charge points.
There are around 1,000 of them in the UK, and many of them are only made available to Tesla drivers (non-Tesla owners pay a higher rate).
Your Tesla’s on-board infotainment system will automatically direct you to the nearest Supercharger, and these rapid charging stations can add up to 172 miles of range in just 15 minutes.
How much does it cost to charge an electric car via a public charge point?
It’s worth bearing in mind here that whichever public charger you end up using, it’ll almost always prove more costly than charging at home.
The average pay-as-you-go price for public charging on a slow/fast charger is around 57p/kWh of electricity.
For a rapid/ultra rapid charger that cost rises to around 80p/kWh.
That’s significantly more than the UK’s energy price cap for electricity, which is around 27.03p/kWh. But public charging does make sense if you need to top up to get you home or are embarking on a longer journey.
How do you pay for charging an electric car in public?
At the end of 2024, the UK government brought in new rules for EV charge point operators as part of the Public Charge Point Regulations legislation.
It means all new public charge points of 8kW and above - and existing charge points of 50kW and above - must offer contactless payment to consumers.
That’s great news for EV owners because it means they can simply pull up, plug-in, tap a card or mobile phone, and drive away happy on a pay-as-you-go basis, without needing to download other apps to make payment or having a monthly subscription.
It’s not available on all charge points just yet, but they’re sure to catch up in the next couple of years. Contactless can be slightly more expensive than other options.
Other ways to pay for electric vehicle charging besides contactless
If the charge point you arrive at doesn’t offer contactless payments, you’ll have to utilise one of these other options instead:
- All-encompassing app: Apps like Zap-Pay, from Zapmap, aim to make paying for charging more simple. The idea is that you can use one app to pay for charging across multiple different networks and providers who have all signed up to the scheme, via a monthly subscription.
- Network app: You might need to download the charge point network’s individual app before charging. Network membership can often mean cheaper prices, which is a bonus, but you should try to download the app before you arrive at the charge point to avoid extra faff.
- RFID card: A Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) card works in the same way as an all-encompassing app, in that it allows you to access charging at lots of different networks without having to download individual apps. Just tap the card at the charger and you gain access to charging and automatic payment. RFID cards are offered by lots of different networks and vehicle manufacturers and you can also gain access to loyalty discounts via a monthly subscription.
- QR codes: For pay-as-you-go charging on some networks you can scan a QR code on the side of a charger, which then takes you through to a payment page, which controls the charging session.
- Vehicle-to-charger communication: Some EVs and networks allow a vehicle and charger to talk to each other when you pull up at a charge point, and that communication allows automatic charging and billing. Take a look at Fastned’s service here.
Can I use any public EV charger?
The short answer is ‘Yes!’, so long as the charging plugs are compatible with your EV (read this guide for a more detailed look at different charger types).
And remember that some slow public charge points require you to use your own Type 2 AC connector. Make sure it’s in your boot before you turn up.
Where can I charge my electric car for free?
Who said there’s no such thing as a free lunch? Because you’ll find hundreds of places to charge your EV for FREE in public.
According to Zapmap, there are around 2,500 free charging devices in the UK.
The majority of free EV devices are located in public car parks, but you can also find them at tourist attractions, hotels, and restaurants, as well as museums, theatres, zoos, pubs and even garden centres.
Why would a location or network offer free EV charging? It’s really simple - they want you to pull up, stay for a few hours and spend your money at their venue. Free charging is a great incentive for you to do just that.
How do I find free electric vehicle charging?
The easiest way is to use a dedicated app, such as Zapmap. When you open the map you can select the ‘free to use’ payment filter, which then reveals all of the free charging devices near your given location.
The great news here is that the vast majority of free EV charge points are actually ‘fast’ chargers (see above for definitions).
There are also dozens of rapid chargers that are free to use, with many located in Scotland in particular, where local authorities offer the service to tempt more motorists to go green.
Further questions about charging an EV in public?
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