Best electric car charging stations 2024: UK's top charger networks rated by EV owners

Anyone who’s lived with an EV will tell you that public electric car charging stations can be rewarding or frustrating in equal measure; basic reliability is a key factor, of course, but the cost of charging varies much more than petrol or diesel prices, too. 

Indeed, if you’re an electric car driver used to charging for pennies per kWh at home on the driveway, the thought of coughing up the best part of a quid for every kWh at a motorway service station might be positively galling. However, that’s usually the trade-off for the fastest charge times and, hopefully, the shortest waits for a free charger to get you on the move again. 

When you consider other variables, such as site locations and accessibility, cleanliness and presentation of facilities, the ease of use of chargers and associated apps, plus safety and security, it’s obvious that some providers will be preferable to others. 

But which charger networks are the winners and losers, and which ones should you trust as an EV driver? 

The Department for Transport has put measures in place to try to help motorists, by compelling operators of rapid chargepoints to meet standards for reliability and payment options, and to provide round-the-clock telephone call centre support. 

But we’ve no sight yet of any data from the companies concerned in relation to how successfully those requirements are being met. While the DfT attempts to drive up network performance, there’s no better way to track how individual chargepoint networks are performing than by asking the people who use them – and that’s exactly what the Driver Power customer satisfaction survey has been doing for several years now. 

Our algorithms rank network operators based on the real-life experiences of EV owners who use the public chargepoint infrastructure on a daily basis, making our survey results essential reading for anyone who is already driving an EV – or thinking about taking the plunge. 

The UK’s best public electric car chargepoint providers

Read on to find out which charging networks satisfy their users more than most, and which companies have more work to do.

1. Tesla

9

There are 900 Superchargers at 90 locations, and Tesla owners have typically raved about their formerly exclusive option. Many sites are now open to anyone who has a CCS-compatible charge port, so other drivers can feel the benefit – albeit at slightly higher cost than Tesla buyers. 

But while the network’s tariffs, tech and operational performance offer peerless levels of satisfaction, Tesla’s performance slips up for customer service, where it is fourth. That’s a disappointment, considering the company’s rankings elsewhere.

2. MFG EV Power

9

The UK’s biggest independent filling station operator clearly means business when it comes to the EV transition, and that is rewarded with excellent feedback from electric car drivers. 

The network has a rash of first and second places in all categories, except one, and that’s price. If you work on the premise you get what you pay for, MFG might have a reasonable defence, but you only have to look at the overall winner to show that excellence and value for money can be combined.

3. Gridserve

9

With almost 1,500 charging bays at 200 locations, Gridserve calls its network the “Electric Highway”, and it includes high-power “Super Hubs” as well as a range of charger speeds elsewhere. Its third-place finish constitutes a strong performance by the firm, and it’s consistent, too. 

In fact, Gridserve comes third in all categories except two, dropping one place to fourth for satisfaction with charging speeds, but jumping up to second place for customer service – a key indicator of a company’s commitment, we feel.

4. Ionity

9

This pan-European network is owned jointly by car makers BMW, Ford, Hyundai, Mercedes and the Volkswagen Group, and operates 289 chargepoints in the UK at 38 locations on key routes, with 27 more sites being prepared. 

Its satisfaction performance is average across all categories, with no significant outliers for good or bad, although Ionity does earn a podium place for charging speed. But given that all of its chargers are nominally 350kWh units, one might have expected it to do better.

5. InstaVolt

9

The country’s biggest fully public network operates 1,700 chargers at 800 locations, supplied by ‘green energy’ through Octopus. It may be green, but drivers rate prices the absolute worst in our survey, while customer service ranks seventh.

The best scores are fourth places for ease of use and the smartphone app, while charge speeds are fifth. There are similar scores for lighting and security, plus presentation and condition, but InstaVolt is sixth for reliability, charger location and numbers, plus accessibility.

6. ChargePlace Scotland

9

The Scottish Government-owned charging network has several thousand locations across the country, and unlike the private operators, it shares network performance on its website. 

Our survey shows EV owners are very pleased with prices, and reasonably satisfied with locations and accessibility. But charge speeds and security aspects impress drivers less, while the network is next to bottom of the table for reliability, presentation/condition and its smartphone app. 

7. Pod Point

9

Pod Point says it has been voted the “most used public charging network in the UK” by drivers, and it operates at locations such as supermarkets, shopping centres, airports, hotels and restaurants. 

In our survey, Pod Point ranks third for customer service, and fifth for both reliability and price. But satisfaction elsewhere is less impressive – in part, no doubt, due to the limitations of its partner locations. But it only earns seventh place for ease of use of chargers, and the Pod Point app ranks eighth.

8. BP Pulse 

9

As a blue-chip oil company, you’d think BP would have the muscle to really make something out of the EV transition, but so far drivers appear to have been left distinctly underwhelmed by BP Pulse’s recharging efforts. 

In fact that’s putting it kindly, because BP is ranked dead last in all but three survey categories. The brand managed seventh for both its pricing policy and for the lighting and security of its sites, and sixth for the performance of its smartphone app. 

Take the Driver Power survey now and tell us about your car and charging experience...