Best Public charging deals

Sometimes it feels like EV owners can only get to save money if they do most of their charging at home. Luckily help is at hand with some massive savings on public chargers. The catch? Well generally you need to meet one of 5 conditions.

How to charge for less

1 Use the Network operators app to pay for the charge

Many operators give a few pence off per kWh if you start the charge and pay via their own app instead of contactless. We don’t cover these in our table but we mention some below it. What we do cover is bigger deals that are only unlocked if you use the app.

2 Charge at off peak charge times

Electricity is more expensive and chargers are busiest on weekdays between around 8am and 9pm. Many operators have decided to attract off peak EV charging with better prices, Sometimes these are a third or even half the cost. We cover these in the deals below.

3 Subscriptions

These are typically set at around £5 or £10 a month. They usually give discounts at any time of day on any day off the week.

4 Electroverse

• Backed by Octopus energy it’s worth downloading the app even if you don’t use it. Why? Well many network operators are compatible so Electroverse lets you compare prices between different operators near you easily and pretty accurately. When you do use the app they do a good job informing you about how to save money as well. You can also use the search bar to find only chargers from one operator.
• There are also reasons why you may want to use the app.
  Near me are some Shell lamp posts. Currently these cost 54p+ a 35p connection fee via the Shell app. But using Electroverse between 8pm and 7am is just 44p while between 7am and 4pm is 55p both with zero connection fee. So Electroverse is only more expensive (66p) between 4pm and 8pm.
  Likewise the Arnold Clark subscription below is only available via Electroverse
• On top of that when electricity is cheap some operators join temporary price drops for Electroverse on a last minute basis.
• If you are an Octopus energy customer at home you may get a further discount off quoted prices

5 Manufacturer backed charging app

You can’t assume a manufacturer backed charging app will save you money but some do. This is especially likely for those where you pay a subscription which is often waved for the first year with a new car.

• Good example – BMW charging
  45p for Ionity chargers and 25% off Sainsbury’s Smartcharge and BP Pulse.taking them to around 59p and 66p respectively.
  There is a subscription after the car is a year old but it seems to be around £7 a month which is probably worth it if you don’t always charge at home.
• Bad example – Renault UK
  Renault provide the Mobilise charge pass that simply adds to your charging bill (mostly 10% but sometimes much more) while making it hard to notice the extra you pay. So, if you have a Renault like the fantastic 5, leave this non subscription pass alone unless it improves. If you want to know more see our article here.

IMPORTANT NOTE – charging prices change frequently and sometimes vary by charging location. Always check prices yourself before charging either on the Network website or app, the charger where shown or the Electroverse app or Zapmap. You can also stay even better informed via the regular and well informed charging price updates from the Dave takes it on channel on YouTube

EV public charging deals

I have added this image below from WattsUp filtered to show some of the networks with deals and with 4 chargers or more at a location with minimum 200kW speed. Click to see expand. For a review on Wattsapp see this review here

Some higher standard prices to compare

1. Applegreen Electric – Speeds vary from 180kW to 400kW but they usually installing hubs with lots of chargers at Motorway service areas. The standard 83p per kWh is not that great but you do at least get a discount to 78p if you use their app. That’s around £78 for that 100kWh charge at time of writing.
2. FastNed – Available via the Fastned app for 71p. They have a good reputation for reliability and are plug and charge compatible. That’s £71 for 100kWh
3. MFG EV Power – Speeds mostly between 150-400kW at 79p this is a big network. Not used them in a long time but pricing online is opaque. You need to go into their app and choose an individual charger before a price is displayed. £79 for 100kWh
4. Zest charging – not quick and prices vary but seem to be mostly between 55-72p so £55-72 for an 80kWh charge. Seems to be better value further from London.
5. Instavolt off peak only – Instavolt are consistently one of the most expensive charging networks in the UK by day. Peak is… £92 for 100kWh priced at 92p per kWh. Wow. By night however things have finally become more sensible but only if you charge using the Instavolt app. Current deal at 8pm to 7am at 55p per kWh. They mostly aren’t the fastest but it could still be useful at £55 for 100kWh off peak
6. Gridserve – These used to be good value but these days 82-89p per kWh is £82-89 for a 100kWh charge. There is a subscription but after paying the £7.99 monthly membership fee, only the first 208kWh of charging gets discounted and it’s a rather meagre 25% discount. From their own calculator (which currently shows a saving that ignores the membership cost!) it seems the breakeven is 36kWh a month up to that 208kWh.cap which would save you £39. By comparison a Be.EV subscription on the same 208kWh would save £83 or Ionity which also have very high speed chargers would save £69. Both Be.EV and Ionity don’t cap usage either so you could save a lot more especially as Ionity works in continental Europe as well.