Electric car charging points

Find public charging stations in the UK and learn how long it takes to charge your EV

UK map of electric car charging points

Find electric car charging points near you with this map of all the public EV charging stations in the UK. There're now more than 75,000 charge point connectors across the UK, as of February 2025, in over 22,000 locations. That's more public charging sites than petrol stations!

Free electric car charging points

There are thousands of free electric car charge points in the UK, often located in supermarkets, shopping centres, public car parks, hotels and sometimes service stations. Be aware there could be restrictions such as a set period of time or a requiring a purchase in-store, so it's best to check.

How long does it take to charge an electric car?

Charging an EV can be anything between 30-60 minutes and 8-10 hours. How long it takes to charge your electric car depends on the car's battery size, how many miles you do between charges, your charging behaviour and the power rating of the charger you're using. Most homes have single phase power which means the maximum charging rate is 7kW, and is usually the right amount of power for home-charging.

There are three main types of chargers:

  1. Slow - usually rated up to 3kW is mainly used to charge overnight at home or workplace. Takes 8-10 hours to fully charge. 

  2. Fast - rated at either 7kW or 22kW and can usually be found in car parks, supermarkets, leisure centres. Takes 3-4 hours to fully charge. 

  3. Rapid - typically rated from 43kW and found at motorway service stations, petrol stations, supermarkets. Takes 30-60 minutes to fully charge but is only compatible with rapid-charging function EVs. 

Find out more about how EVs work
How long to charge EV. Slow 8-10 hours, fast 3-4 hours, rapid 30-60 minutes.
EV tariff and charger bundles

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Electric car charging cables

Charging cables have connectors you plug into the electric car and/or the charge point. What type of charging connector you use depends on your car and the power rating of the charge point. Here are five charging plugs used in the UK. 

UK three pin plug

Power rating of 2.3-3kW AC, Single Phase (Standard Charge):

  • Approximately 5 miles range per 30 mins of charging
  • Standard UK domestic electricity outlet
  • Not designed for prolonged use needed to fully charge an electric car
  • Very slow charging with a maximum power output of 3 kW

Type 2 plug

Power rating of 3-42kW AC, Single Phase/Three Phase (Fast Charge):

  • Approximately 24 miles range per hour of charging on a 7kW home charger
  • Becoming the standard European charging cable connector type
  • Compatible with both single and three-phase electricity supply
  • In-built locking mechanism when connected to the power supply
  • Tesla has a 120 kW DC version of type 2

 

Note: Some older vehicles use a discontinued connector known as a Type One, but no new vehicles on sale today use this connection

CHAdeMO plug

Power rating of 50kW DC, Three Phase (Rapid Charge):

  • Approximately 85 miles range per 30 mins of charging
  • Older type of charging cable connector for rapid charging
  • Compatible with Japanese vehicle manufacturers
  • Most common rapid connector type due to the popularity of the Nissan Leaf

Combined Charging System (CCS) plug

Power rating of 50-350kW DC, Rapid Charge:

  • Approximately 85-200 miles range per 30 mins of charging
  • The most versatile rapid charging connector
  • Likely to become the most popular DC connector standard
  • Enables a higher power rating to support larger ultra rapids chargers
Pod Point business charger

Workplace EV charging

Businesses, charities and local authorities can take advantage of the Workplace Charging Scheme, which comes with incentives to reduce carbon emissions.

There are customised options that use battery storage, solar, Vehicle to Grid (V2G) and Demand Side Response (DSR) which can be potential revenue streams.

Find out how we can help your business.

Learn more about electric cars & charging points

Grants, subsidies and schemes for electric cars

Find out what government grants are available for EVs for homes and businesses.

Understand electric car batteries

Discover all you need to know about electric car batteries. How they work, to how much they cost to replace and how they're recycled.

What are the benefits of electric cars?

Learn about the benefits of electric cars and the advantages over internal combustion vehicles.

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