You might be surprised to hear that there are still quite a lot of free electric vehicle (EV) charging points around in the UK, however, the number of free charge points has decreased significantly over the past few years as both the cost of electricity and increasing number of EV drivers on the road make it difficult to sustain.
Out of more than 75,000 charging devices on Zapmap, we found that – as of February 2025 – 1,827 were free to use. Put another way, that’s around 2.4% of all EV charging points that won’t incur a cost. So where are they all?
Well, we’ve broken down some of the figures for you. Below you’ll see:
- The number of free EV charging devices displayed by geographical area
- Free devices split out by charge point speed
- The number of free devices by type of location
- Other interesting categories and statistics on free EV charging points
To locate these charge points across the country select “free to use” within the payment filter in our EV charging app or desktop map.
Please note that the majority of charge points flagged as free are operated by smaller independent businesses, for which Zapmap does not receive live data updates. Instead, we rely on updates from our community of EV drivers. If you find that a charger is no longer free, please let us know via the Chat function so we can keep the information accurate for everyone.
Where can I charge my electric car for free?
The chart below shows the number of free EV charging devices by geographical area.
As you can see, some areas have far more free devices than others. The three areas with the highest number of free EV chargers are the South East with 253, Greater London with 239 and the South West with 193.
There are some other noteworthy points too. Greater London’s 239 free chargers comprise only 1% of its total number of charging devices, reflecting the high concentration of paid-for on-street chargers and rapid devices in the capital.
Which types of EV chargers are free to use?
So you’ve found your free EV charging point – but how fast are the chargers? Well, the chart below displays free charging devices split out by highest connector speed.
As the chart makes clear, most free EV charging points are "slow" chargers - under 8kW. There are 1,258 of them, making up more than 68% of free chargers.
Interestingly, there are 67 rapid chargers around the country that are still free, representing just 3.6% of the total number of free chargers. However, the majority of these chargers are located in dealerships, and have restricted access so these days you are unlikely to get a free and fast charge!
Tip: Always check access restrictions and availability before setting off, as many of these chargers may be limited to specific customers or require prior approval to use.
Which locations have free electric car charging?
We’ve broken down the number of free devices by location type. So which sort of places can you expect to find free EV charging points?
As you can see, car dealerships forecourts have have the most free EV devices, with 330. You’ll also find 283 free devices at accommodation sites including hotels and other around the UK.
Categories of free EV charging points in the UK
Let’s look in a little more detail at some of the categories where you’ll find the highest number of free devices.
1. Attractions
As you might imagine, many attractions offer free charging as a way of encouraging customers to visit. This is often referred to as destination charging.
If you take a look through Zapmap and filter by location type, you’ll find cafes, restaurants, pubs, museums, garden centres, theatres, zoos, National Trust properties and leisure centres that provide free charging.
2. Hotels and accommodation
Many hotels and B&Bs offer free charging to visitors, perhaps more than have registered. What’s more, Charity ZeroNet provides charge points for the hospitality and leisure sector.
3. Car parks
Taken together, public, retail and workplace car parks have by far the highest number of free EV charging devices, at 500. As with accommodation and also supermarkets, many retailers use free charging as a way to attract loyal customers.
Do free electric car chargers have access restrictions?
Yes, some of them do and this is something you’ll need to bear in mind when locating free chargers. Many free charge points have some kind of access restriction (e.g. devices that are ‘customer only’, for example).
Another consideration is that you’ll need to ensure you have the appropriate RFID card or app to start a charge and, while the charging might be free, there may well be some parking charges to pay.
Before you head off to grab your free charge – make sure you check Zapmap and, in particular, the user comments to get insights on all the details of a particular charge point.
Third party use: this data can be used by third parties as long as the source is attributed to Zapmap and, if online, a link is added back to https://www.zap-map.com.
