How to cut the cost of public electric car charging

Public electric vehicle (EV) charging is no longer as cheap as it once was. As more and more people have bought electric cars, places that previously let drivers top up for free have introduced fees and the rising wholesale cost of electricity has pushed prices up.  

In August 2025, the average price of using an ultra-rapid charger (+150kW) was 78p per kilowatt hour, according to the AA EV Recharge Report¹. That compares to 69p/kWh in November 2022 when the AA began publishing its monthly report. Prior to that, EV drivers could expect to pay around 45p/kWh.  

Now, even slow public EV chargers (up to 7kW) cost 50p/kWh, on average, compared to 26p/kwh for charging your vehicle at home with a 7kW charger.  

Despite the price rises, if you’re reliant on the public network, there are ways to cut the cost of electric car charging.

Find free electric car charging points 

Although the number of places which let you charge for free is dwindling, about 8.5% of all EV charging points (1,837 of more than 82,000) are still free to use, according to Zapmap².  

Many of those are currently in South East England, with Scotland taking second place as the having the most free charging points, partly due to the biggest charge point operator there, ChargePlace Scotland, which was backed by Transport for Scotland.

However, the ChargePlace Scotland network is coming to an end. By the end of 2025, all charge points within the network will have transitioned to private operators and the network will cease operations.

You can search for EV charging points in the UK online via Zapmap and apply filters to see which ones are free to use before you travel, as well as their accessibility and connector types.

Bear in mind that any charging points, which are free of charge are likely to be in high demand, and some only give you 15 minutes of charging time. 

You might assume that most of the free EV chargers are in supermarkets but that isn’t the case. General car parks, car dealerships, hotels and other accommodation, actually have the most free EV charging devices.

According to Zapmap, there are 318 free devices at dealership forecourts. That’s because dealers need to charge electric cars which are being serviced or top up any demonstrator EVs they have, as well as offering EV charging for visitors.

You should call the dealership to check what their rules are, especially as the chargers will probably only be available during their opening hours.  

A better bet is so-called ‘destination charging’ at places like hotels, cinemas, shopping centres and visitor attractions where you’re likely to be parked up for a while.  

Always check the signs, though, as some places may let you charge for free but expect you to pay to park. Alternatively, you may have to pay for charging but the parking is free for EVs. If you don’t move your car once it’s charged, some places will fine you.   

Do supermarkets still have free EV charging?

The number of UK supermarkets with EV charge points increased by a third between January 2024 and June 2025 according to RAC and Zapmap, so they are a popular place to charge.

Out of all the UK supermarkets Tesco has the largest overall charging network, with 1,409 charge points across 633 locations, however they don't offer free charging.

If you're looking to charge for free, Sainsbury's is the supermarket to choose. As well as having ultra rapid charge points at many of their sites, they also offer free 7kW at a small number of sites across the UK.

Alicia Hempsted
Insurance Expert

Save money with off-peak charging

Some charge point operators have off-peak hours, offering reduced cost charging. It may not seem like a huge difference in cost between peak and off-peak prices, but these small costs can add up.

Rapid off-peak charging, for example, is 19 pence cheaper than peak, which can save you nearly £10 when charging a 50kWh battery.

Even at home you can benefit from reduced off-peak prices with the right electric vehicle energy tariff.

Peak hours are between 8am-11am and 4pm-10pm, so consider stopping off at a charge point during your lunchbreak to share a bit of money on your next charge.

Consider taking out a subscription  

If you frequently use public EV charging points, it’s worth considering signing up to a network or charge card.

You normally pay a monthly or annual fee in return for a discount on the price of public charging, although some cards don’t charge any subscription or transaction fees. Here are only a few that are currently available:

There are plenty more to choose from, like IONITY and Plugsurfing, and many car manufacturers are coming up with their own subscription service as well, so shop around.

Sign up to community charging 

An alternative to the traditional public chargers is to rent a neighbour’s EV charger (community charging). There are apps available, such as Co Charger and PlugShare, which formalise the process. 

Co Charger says that community charging is generally a third cheaper than public charging. You can book a charger in advance and there are no subscription fees. It currently has more than approximately 400,000 home chargers across the UK

To decide your best public EV charging options, it’s worth plotting your most frequent journeys and seeing which chargers and networks are the most convenient.  

^{Sources
1 https://www.theaa.com/about-us/newsroom/aa-ev-recharge-report-august-2025
2https://www.zap-map.com/ev-guides/free-ev-charging-points-where-are-they
3 https://electroverse.com/
4 https://www.bppulse.com/en-gb/public-ev-charging/pricing
5 https://www.joinbonnet.com/pricing
6https://www.elli.eco/en/b2c/products/tariffs}