By Danny Morgan

Last updated: Aug 10th 2023

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Charging an electric car is cheaper than fuelling a petrol or diesel vehicle, especially when you charge at home and have a reasonable energy tariff. But what about when you’re on the road and need to use a public charge point? Here we break each one down and show you which ones can save you the most money.

Public chargepoints price their rates on numerous factors including:

• Price of wholesale electricity from the grid
• The charging speed that their charge points can reach
• Location of the charge point
• The type of charge point (i.e. is it a destination charger, fast charger or a rapid charge point)

While public charging is more expensive than home charging, you can still save money by planning ahead, choosing the right charging network and charger type.

Types of public rapid charge points

When out on the road, there are two main types of public rapid charge point types that you could come across. Both of which we will explain in detail below:

Rapid Chargers (50kW – 99kW)

Rapid chargers (also known as DC fast chargers) are typically located in places where drivers tend to park their vehicles briefly, such as outside coffee shops and motorway stops. Instead of using an AC current, rapid charge points use a DC current which allows for much faster charging speeds, normally up to 50kW (adding up to 200 miles per hour of charge depending on your vehicle). Rapid charge points use two specialised connector types called CCS and CHAdeMO (although some rapid charge points do have the more familiar type 2 connector as a third option). Most modern EV’s (excluding most plug-in hybrids) can accept either of these connector types but it's important to check that your vehicle can have either a CCS or CHAdeMO connector before stopping at a rapid charge point.

Rapid charge points tend to be more expensive to use due to their maintenance costs being higher than destination chargers. Prices can range from around 20-40 pence per kWh.

Ultra-Rapid Chargers (100kW+)

Ultra-rapid chargers are DC charge points that can charge at speeds higher regular rapid chargers. Currently, the fastest ultra-rapid chargers in the UK can charge up to 350kW (although there are not many EVs that can support such speeds) but the most common ones you will likely find are ultra-rapid charge points that go up to 150kW.

The most common places that ultra-rapid charge points can be found are at dedicated charging hubs, motorway stops and the occasional supermarket car park. Due to the high maintenance cost of running ultra-rapid charge points, networks will often charge a higher cost per kWh for using them with prices ranging from 40-69 pence per kilowatt.