Cleaner hardware, user brings the cable.
- less fixed cable exposed to daily wear
- neater appearance when not in use
- driver must have the correct charging cable
- can create support issues with occasional visitors
Commercial EV charger comparison · UK 2026
Compare the charging system — not just the charger price.
Two commercial chargers with the same headline kW can behave very differently once multiple vehicles plug in, software fees begin, public payment is enabled or the site needs a larger electrical connection. Compare the whole specification and operating model before comparing quotes.
Technical and grant sources checked: 1 September 2026
Power-category comparison
Start with the charging job the site needs to perform.
The table uses our existing planning model for the base installed socket/charger allowance. It is not a complete project quote and excludes material civils, major supply work and ongoing software.
| Charger type | Strong fit | Electrical position | Our base installed allowance* | Main watch-out |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7kW ACstandard AC | Workplaces, overnight hotels, long-dwell parking | Normally 230V single-phase | £1,200–£2,200per socket ex VAT | Socket quantity can matter more than speed. |
| 22kW ACfast AC | Shorter destination stays, fleet AC charging | Usually 400V three-phase at this rating | £1,800–£3,500per socket ex VAT | Many EVs cannot accept the full 22kW on AC. |
| 50kW DCrapid / high-output DC | Fleet turnaround, retail/public charging | Higher-power three-phase infrastructure | £20,000–£35,000per charger ex VAT | Connection and civils can exceed hardware assumptions. |
| 100kW DCrapid DC | Higher-throughput public and operational fleets | Major site load consideration | £35,000–£65,000per charger ex VAT | Vehicle charging curve can reduce usable benefit. |
| 150kW+ DCultra-rapid | Short-dwell hubs and high-value turnaround | Potentially hundreds of kW across a small site | £45,000–£80,000per charger ex VAT | Grid connection can become the project critical path. |
*Base installed allowance in our V2 cost engine: charger hardware, standard protection/commissioning and a straightforward local installation. It excludes material civils, major supply work and ongoing software/payment fees.
Headline kW vs usable kW
For multi-outlet chargers, ask what each vehicle gets when every outlet is active.
A dual-socket pedestal marked “22kW” can mean very different things depending on whether that rating applies to each socket, the whole unit or a dynamically shared power budget.
The OZEV commercial technical specification takes this seriously: where equipment has multiple outlets, its power classification is based on the output delivered at each outlet with all outlets operating simultaneously.
Quote question
“What is the guaranteed output per outlet when all outlets are charging at the same time?”
Socketed vs tethered
Both can be valid commercial choices — the operational trade-off is different.
Current commercial technical specifications permit both socket-outlet equipment and charging stations with tethered cables. Choose around user experience, cable management, maintenance and the vehicle mix.
More convenient for repeat users.
- cable is always available at the bay
- simple workplace / fleet user experience
- cable management and replacement matter
- check reach for different vehicle charge-port locations
Standard approach for high-power charging.
- high-current cable is part of the charger system
- cable weight and cooling can affect usability
- reach and bay geometry become critical
- damage can take an expensive outlet offline
Commercial charger buyer scorecard
Ten things to score before selecting a manufacturer or installer.
Use the same scorecard for every tender response. It stops an attractive hardware price from hiding software lock-in, weak service or expensive site requirements.
Power per active outlet
Guaranteed simultaneous output, not only the maximum label on the cabinet.
Electrical architecture
Phase requirement, protection, distribution design, load-management capability and upgrade implications.
Vehicle fit
Expected AC/DC limits, connector location, cable reach and charging curve for the intended vehicle mix.
Access & payment
Plug-and-charge workflow, RFID, app, contactless and guest/public access requirements.
Back-office interoperability
OCPP version, supported profiles, certification status and freedom to change charging-management provider.
Load management
Dynamic building load, charger-to-charger balancing, priority rules and what happens if connectivity fails.
Reporting & integrations
Energy/session exports, APIs, reimbursement data, fleet systems and payment reconciliation.
Warranty & service
Parts, labour, on-site response, remote support, spare-parts policy and software-update period.
Grant / regulatory fit
Exact OZEV model status where relevant and public-chargepoint compliance where public access is intended.
Total cost of ownership
Installation, subscriptions, SIM/data, payment fees, maintenance, replacement parts and exit costs.
OCPP & software lock-in
“OCPP compatible” is a starting question — not the end of the software comparison.
OCPP is the open communication protocol between a charging station and a charging-station management system. It is useful because it can support multi-vendor estates and reduce dependence on one proprietary back office.
The Open Charge Alliance currently describes OCPP 1.6 as widely used, with the industry moving toward OCPP 2.x. OCPP 2.0.1 adds improved device management, transactions, security, smart charging and ISO 15118 support. OCPP 2.1 was released in 2025.
For procurement, ask which version the charger actually uses, which functions are implemented, whether the implementation has been independently certified and whether the contract genuinely allows migration to another backend.
OCPP is not OCPI
One manages chargers. The other matters to public charging data and ecosystem connectivity.
These acronyms are often mixed together in commercial proposals.
Charger ↔ management system
Used for charging-station management, transactions, remote control and smart-charging functions.
Procurement issue: backend flexibilityPublic charging data ↔ external ecosystem
UK public-chargepoint regulations require specified public data to be made open and machine-readable using OCPI.
Operating issue: public data compliancePublic-access hardware
A charger suitable for a private workplace is not automatically the right public charger.
If the site will be public, compare the hardware as part of a complete charge point operator service: payment, roaming, pricing display, helpdesk, open data, reliability and maintenance.
Contactless threshold:
All public chargepoints of 50kW+ and new public chargepoints of 8kW+ deployed after 24 November 2024 must offer contactless payment, subject to the regulations. A site-level terminal can sometimes serve multiple chargepoints.
OZEV grant eligibility
Check the exact model number — not just the manufacturer.
For current OZEV workplace grants, chargepoints must meet the minimum commercial technical specification and the exact model must appear on the eligible commercial chargepoint model list at the time of installation.
The official model list was last updated on 5 August 2026. A manufacturer's other products, older variants or differently named models should not be assumed eligible just because one unit from that brand appears on the list.
Warranty, support & serviceability
A three-year warranty is a floor for grant-eligible equipment — not necessarily a good fleet SLA.
The commercial OZEV specification requires an on-site three-year warranty on parts and installation for grant-eligible chargepoints. High-utilisation fleets and public sites may need a much stronger support package.
Ask separately about remote diagnosis, engineer response, spare-part availability, replacement cables, modem/SIM failures, payment-terminal support and how long firmware/security updates are maintained.
Total cost of ownership
The cheapest charger quote can become the most expensive operating contract.
Compare at least a five-year cost view where the site is likely to operate for several years.
Hardware + installation
Chargers, distribution, civils, connection work, protection, bollards, commissioning and signage.
CPMS + connectivity
Per-socket licence, SIM/data, reporting, API access, reservations, reimbursement and integrations.
Payment + roaming
Card fees, roaming commissions, merchant fees and revenue-settlement charges where applicable.
Maintenance + downtime
Preventive maintenance, call-outs, replacement cables/parts and the business cost of unavailable charging.
Electricity + capacity
Marginal electricity cost, tariff structure and any charging-specific network/capacity charges.
Migration + replacement
Backend migration, data export, software termination, hardware support horizon and end-of-contract ownership.
Best-fit starting point by site type
Use the site's charging problem to create the shortlist.
Start with 7kW AC + dynamic load management.
Then justify 22kW only where dwell time, vehicle capability and three-phase capacity create a clear advantage.
Workplace guidePrioritise socket availability and guest simplicity.
Overnight dwell favours AC. Public access may make payment and regulatory operation more important than raw charger power.
Hotel guidePrioritise duty-cycle reliability and software control.
Departure deadlines, energy targets, load priority, uptime and integration can outweigh cosmetic charger differences.
Fleet / depot guideCompare the CPO service with the hardware.
Payment, roaming, uptime, tariff control, open data and maintenance sit alongside charger specification.
Retail / car park guideTender / quote comparison
Ask every supplier to price the same scope.
Hardware quotes are hard to compare when one installer includes civils, load management and five years of software while another shows only the charger and basic installation.
Issue one specification and require suppliers to identify every exclusion, annual charge and optional item.
Commercial EV charger comparison FAQ
Questions worth asking before selecting the equipment.
What should I compare when buying commercial EV chargers?
Compare usable power per outlet under simultaneous use, vehicle/site fit, socketed or tethered design, load management, software/back-office interoperability, access/payment, warranty/service, grant eligibility and lifetime operating cost.
Is a dual-socket charger always twice as powerful?
No. A multi-outlet charger may share a fixed power budget. Ask for the simultaneous output per outlet. OZEV's commercial technical specification classifies multi-outlet equipment using the output delivered at each outlet when all outlets are operating simultaneously.
What does OCPP-compatible mean?
OCPP is an open protocol between charging stations and charging-management systems. Compatibility can support backend flexibility, but ask which version and features are implemented and whether the implementation has an official Open Charge Alliance certificate.
Is OCPP the same as OCPI?
No. OCPP handles communication between charging stations and management systems. OCPI is used for data exchange in the public-charging ecosystem and is specified by the UK's public-chargepoint open-data requirements.
Does an OZEV-approved charger guarantee the grant?
No. The exact model must be eligible, but the applicant, site, installer, application timing and claimed costs must also satisfy the relevant grant scheme.
Should I buy a 22kW charger instead of 7kW?
Only where the extra speed creates value. 22kW can require materially more site capacity and the vehicle must support the higher AC rate. Long-dwell sites often benefit from more 7kW sockets instead.
What warranty should a commercial EV charger have?
OZEV's grant-eligible commercial specification requires an on-site three-year warranty on parts and installation. For mission-critical fleet or public charging, compare response SLAs and spare-parts support as well as warranty duration.
Sources & methodology
Specification-first comparison using current technical and regulatory sources.
This page does not rank individual brands. Power, outlet, installation and grant requirements are based on current OZEV commercial technical guidance. Public-operation requirements use the Public Charge Point Regulations guidance. OCPP information comes from the Open Charge Alliance.
- GOV.UK — Commercial chargepoints: minimum technical specificationAC/DC classifications, Type 2, socketed/tethered equipment, simultaneous-output treatment, smart requirements and three-year warranty.
- GOV.UK — Eligible EV chargepoint model listCurrent exact-model list for OZEV residential/commercial grant eligibility; last updated 5 August 2026.
- GOV.UK — Public Charge Point Regulations 2023 guidanceContactless, pricing, roaming, helpline, open-data and rapid reliability requirements.
- Open Charge Alliance — Open Charge Point ProtocolCurrent OCPP versions and functionality.
- Open Charge Alliance — OCPP certificationIndependent conformance certification and buyer verification.
Independent comparison framework: CommercialEVCharger.co.uk does not receive a ranking fee from charger manufacturers on this page. A final specification should be based on site data, intended vehicles, support requirements and a like-for-like commercial tender.
Turn the shortlist into a project budget
Compare the same site at different charger powers.
Use the cost calculator to test socket count, 7–150kW power, cable route, civils, access/payment and electrical-capacity assumptions.