Free EV charging in Ireland: where it still is
No public charging network in Ireland is free any more. ESB, the biggest, started charging on its fast chargers in November 2019 and on the rest in August 2020, and in Northern Ireland in April 2023. Ionity isn't free either. What's left is charging a business offers its guests or customers: of the 1,321 charging locations on the island, OpenStreetMap marks 106 as free, mostly at hotels, Tesla destination chargers, car dealers and a few shops. 42 of those are for customers only, and just 4 are fast chargers of 50 kW or more, all at car dealers.
| Where | Marked free | Of those, customers only |
|---|---|---|
| Hotels, guesthouses and B&Bs | 28 | 19 |
| Tesla destination chargers (not Superchargers) | 21 | 8 |
| Shops, shopping centres and town-centre car parks | 15 | 3 |
| Car dealers | 11 | 6 |
| Council chargers | 5 | 0 |
| Car parks, colleges, venues and unnamed | 26 | 6 |
| All | 106 | 42 |
OpenStreetMap on 24 October 2026, as the ChargingSpots app reads it. Grouped by the name of the place, so the groups are approximate. "Marked free" is what the map says, and nobody dates those tags: check the sign, or ask, before you rely on one.
Is Ionity free?
No. Ionity charges per kWh in Ireland like everywhere else: up to €0.85 per kWh without a subscription, and from €0.46 with one, at the prices it set from 1 July 2026. Its subscriptions have a monthly fee; Ionity sometimes adds a charging credit for new subscribers for a limited time, so its subscriptions page is worth a look before you sign up.
The nearest thing to free Ionity charging comes with some new cars. BMW Ireland says a new electric BMW includes the IONITY Plus package with no standing charge for the first year. That removes the monthly fee, not the charge for the electricity. The other carmaker plans on Irish sites, such as Kia's and Hyundai's, offer a lower price per kWh for a monthly fee rather than free charging. If your car came with a charging plan, its terms say what Ionity costs you.
ESB ecars: free until 2019
ESB's network was free to use when it was built. It introduced pricing on its 50 kW fast chargers from 18 November 2019 and on its standard chargers (up to 22 kW) from 10 August 2020. In Northern Ireland it was free until 26 April 2023. Today the only free thing on ESB's price plans is the access card; paying by contactless costs €0.72 per kWh on standard chargers and €0.85 on fast and high-power ones.
Many maps still show ESB chargers as free, because the tags were never updated: OpenStreetMap still marks 188 chargers on networks that charge for every session as free. ChargingSpots ignores those tags, so it never tells you a paid charger is free.
Supermarkets
Lidl charges: €0.63 per kWh on its DC chargers and €0.61 on AC, at 102 stores, paid by contactless or online. Tesco's chargers are run by ESB, which said in 2019 that they would be priced at ESB's rates from 2020. A few Aldi stores are still marked free on the map, but Aldi doesn't say on its site whether they are, so check at the charger.
Hotels and Tesla destination chargers
Most free charging in Ireland is at hotels, guesthouses and B&Bs, for people staying or eating there. Many of them use Tesla's Wall Connectors, which Tesla calls destination charging; Tesla lets each host choose whether its chargers are pay-per-use or complimentary, so a Tesla destination charger may or may not be free. These are slow chargers: of the free ones whose power is on the map, 63 of 67 give 22 kW or less, which suits an overnight stay or a long lunch, not a quick stop. Book ahead or ask at reception.
Car dealers
The only free chargers of 50 kW or more on the map are at car dealers: 4 of them, 3 marked for customers only. A dealer's charger is there for its own customers first, so ask before you plug in.
Councils
OpenStreetMap marks 5 council chargers as free, in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown and Wicklow. We found no Irish council that says on its site that its public charging is free today, so treat those tags as unconfirmed.
At work
Charging at work can be free to you, and Revenue says there is no benefit-in-kind on a charging point an employer provides at its premises, as long as it is available to all employees and directors.
See which chargers are free on your route
ChargingSpots shows every charger on the island on one map, and marks the ones that are free, or free for customers, when OpenStreetMap says so. Tell it your networks, how you pay and your plugs, and every charger on your route is marked compatible, incompatible or not sure, with the reason. Which cards and apps work where is on the charging cards guide. The app is free, with no account.
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Where this comes from
The counts are OpenStreetMap's, as the ChargingSpots app reads them on 24 October 2026. Everything else is from the company's own website or press release, read on 4 November 2026. Prices and offers change, so check before you travel.
- ESB: pricing for fast chargers (23 October 2019)
- ESB: pricing for standard chargers (8 July 2020)
- ESB: pay for use in Northern Ireland (21 March 2023)
- ESB ecars price plans (valid from 2 November 2026)
- ESB and Tesco charge points (20 December 2019)
- Ionity: why are charging prices changing
- Ionity: subscriptions
- BMW Ireland: public charging
- Kia Ireland: public charging
- Hyundai Ireland: charge myHyundai
- Lidl Ireland: EV charging points
- Tesla: host commercial charging
- Revenue: BIK exemptions, EV charging
ChargingSpots is made by Caddora in Ireland and is not connected with any of these companies. Charger data © OpenStreetMap contributors.