Zapmap has revealed the winners of its annual driver survey on the UK’s best EV charging networks – with Tesla and Sainsbury’s Smart Charge coming out on top.
Zapmap has revealed the winners of its annual driver survey on the UK’s best EV charging networks – with Tesla and Sainsbury’s Smart Charge coming out on top.
Almost four thousand EV drivers took part in the annual satisfaction ranking to rate the UK’s rapid / ultra-rapid public charging networks.
For the second year running, Tesla took the crown in the ‘Large’ sized network category, while Smart Charge, the charging network of the Sainsbury’s supermarket chain, led the rankings for ‘Medium’ networks.
The survey – now in its eighth year – gives comprehensive insights into the most trusted networks, helping new and established EV drivers charge with confidence. For charge point operators, the rankings provide insight into latest priorities for EV drivers.
The Zapmap league tables group rapid and ultra-rapid public charging networks into two categories, based on the size of the network.
This year, the ‘Large’ sized network category covers networks with over 500 devices while the ‘Medium’ sized network category covers networks with between 150 and 500 devices.
Zapmap awards a ‘Best EV Charging Network’ accreditation to the top scorer in each category, with other top performers, who achieve at least a 3.5-star overall rating, receiving an ‘EV Driver Recommended’ title.
The awards also include an ‘Up-and-coming network’ accreditation for smaller, emerging networks that don’t yet meet the minimum inclusion criteria but have already made their mark with drivers.
Respondents rank networks on their overall experience and their level of satisfaction across five key areas: reliability, ease of use, customer support, value for money, and how easy it is to pay.
The Tesla Public Supercharger network led the way as the ‘Best EV charging network 2025’ in the Large Rapid / Ultra-Rapid Network category for the second year running.
The network has been included in the rankings since 2024, following its decision to open up many of its charge points for use by drivers of non-Tesla EVs. It now has 1,115 devices at 97 locations available to the wider EV driving community; equating to some 54% of its total Supercharger network and around 40% more than were publicly available in September 2024.
Tesla is favoured by drivers for its significantly lower prices than most rapid / ultra-rapid networks, along with its reliability. The network continues to open up to general EV drivers, with Tesla also expanding its UK reach in 2026 through technology partnerships; such as the new deal with EV on the Move, which is beginning to integrate Tesla V4 Supercharging cabinets into its own network.
Tesla was followed by MFG EV Power in the large category, with Ionity and Osprey sharing third place. These three networks secure the EV Driver Recommended title for the 2025-26 rankings, alongside InstaVolt and Gridserve, with all five scoring an overall rating of 3.5 stars or more.
Second-placed MFG EV Power scored highly with drivers for its reliability, ease of use and wide range of ways to pay. The network now has more than 1,300 chargers across 522 locations, a year-on-year increase of 68%, and now includes 300 Morrisons supermarkets.
Ionity moved from second place in last year’s Medium Rapid / Ultra-Rapid league table to joint third in this year’s large category, after growing by an impressive 110% over the course of the past 12 months. It now boasts 536 devices across 58 locations, including sites at Extra MSA motorway service locations and a partnership with Village Hotels. Ionity was highly rated by drivers across categories of reliability, ease of use and wide range of ways to pay.
Osprey was also ranked joint third – and has been a Zapmap Recommended Network for the past six years. Among the large networks, Osprey received the joint highest rating for customer service alongside Tesla and scored well for ease of use and reliability. Osprey’s focus centres around thoughtfully placed, reliable and simple-to-use sites, with new additions to its network this year including hubs in Merseyside, Watford, South Wales, Glasgow and Bognor Regis.
Smart Charge, the charging network of the Sainsbury’s supermarket chain, came out top in the Medium Rapid / Ultra-Rapid Network category.
Launched in January 2024, Smart Charge was selected as Zapmap’s Up-and-Coming network in last year’s rankings and was expected to make it into the main tables this year.
The network has grown by more than 40% over the past year and now includes 335 rapid / ultra-rapid devices across 84 of its locations. Smart Charge combines competitive pricing with partner offers that leverage the Nectar card rewards scheme. Survey respondents scored it particularly highly for reliability and ease of use.
Smart Charge was closely followed by Be.EV, previously ranked fourth in the large category. With 406 rapid / ultra-rapid devices across 84 of its 175 locations, Be.EV’s ‘big green hubs’ increasingly reflect a focus on the whole charging experience: accessible bays, clear signage, locations that fit into drivers’ everyday lives and multiple ways to pay. Be.EV received the highest rating of all networks in Zapmap’s league tables for customer support and also performed well for cost of charging.
In third place for the medium category was Fastned, an established European player whose network of distinctive yellow solar canopies is growing slowly but steadily in the UK. Over the past year, the network has expanded by 38% to cover 199 devices across 34 locations. Fastned has done much to improve the public charging infrastructure in Northern Ireland this year, and has recently received planning permission for the UK’s first indoor drive through hub, which will be located in Aberdeen. In Zapmap’s 2025 rankings, Fastned increased its overall star rating and received the highest rating of all networks for its range of ways to pay, as well as particularly positive feedback for ease of use.
Together with EV on the Move, which scored an overall star rating of 3.6, Be.EV and Fastned are ranked as Zapmap’s EV Driver Recommended networks in the Medium Rapid / Ultra-Rapid Network category.
For the 2025 rankings, Zapmap has awarded the accolade of Up-and-coming network to Arnold Clark Charge. Its sites only opened to the public in the second half of 2025, but the car dealership’s network already extends across 57 locations, with ambitious plans for the year ahead. The network has been quick to introduce an optional booking system for its chargers as well as offering assisted charging. With pricing on a par with Tesla, Arnold Clark Charge secured impressive ratings across all five metrics and the highest rating of all networks for customer support.
Melanie Shufflebotham, co-founder and COO at Zapmap, congratulated the top-ranking networks and said the survey acts as a solid indication of which networks are most reliable.
“Looking to the future, over 60% of drivers expect the public charging network to continue to improve, and I am sure that the charge point networks will rise to the challenge, carrying on investing in more chargers and putting the customer experience at the heart of what they do.”
