What is the best home EV charger?

Updated August 2026 with current grant amounts, prices and regulations.

With numerous home EV charging stations on the market, you are probably asking yourself which home EV charger is the best. Well, in short, the best home EV charger is one that covers your needs in full and fits your budget. So, let’s speak about the features the best home EV charger must have.

Charge-affecting features

Well, when it comes to electric car charging points, the first features you should consider are the power output and the number of charging ports. So, what is the best home EV charger when considering these features? To answer the question, let’s assess your charging needs. Both current and future.

For example, let’s imagine the following situation:

• You have got a car of small battery capacity – say, something like the Volkswagen e-Up (no longer sold new, but still a popular second-hand buy)
• There is only one electric car in your household
• You plan neither changing it for a larger one nor buying one more car

In this case, it is not wise to chase a super-powerful EV charging station that outputs 11 kW and more. As well as install a station with two or more charge ports. To clarify, if your car’s on-board charger accepts only 7.2 kW AC, you cannot take full advantage of stations with higher output. So, why overpay for a station of 11 kW if 7 kW is quite enough? A 7 kW unit is also what most British homes can actually supply: 11 kW and 22 kW chargers need a three-phase supply, and the majority of houses in London are single-phase.

However, the situation differs if you plan to change your current car to something bigger soon. For example, to a Renault Zoe (also now out of production, yet plentiful used), whose battery is one and a half times larger and whose AC charge power limit reaches 22 kW. In this case, provided your property has (or can be upgraded to) a three-phase supply, it is wise to install a 22-kW station now – our own 22 kW wall units start from £1,449. And if you plan to buy an extra car in the next few years, choose a station with double ports right now.

Other features

In addition, it is worth speaking about such features as station intelligence, cable and its length. These features do not affect its charging performance but may avail greater convenience when in use. Here, the best home EV charger is a device that is:

• Smart – this is no longer optional. Since June 2022 the Electric Vehicles (Smart Charge Points) Regulations 2021 have required every new home charge point sold in Great Britain to be smart, and your installer must notify the local network operator (UK Power Networks in London). Beyond the legal side, a smart charger lets you schedule sessions on an off-peak EV tariff of around 7–10p/kWh instead of the standard rate of roughly 26p/kWh, and keep control over your charging sessions and associated spending.
• With built-in cables – because having built-in cables is very convenient both to use and to store
• With cables of sufficient length – because it is both bad to have too long cable and too short cable

What does the best home EV charger cost in 2026?

A typical 7 kW home installation in London costs £900–1,200 fitted, or £1,300–1,800 where a new consumer unit, earthing work or a long cable run is needed – see our 2026 installation cost guide. Grant help has changed too: the EV chargepoint grant is now £500 per socket (from 1 April 2026), but only for renters, flat owners, residential landlords and households relying on on-street parking with an approved cross-pavement solution. Freehold houses with driveways are not eligible, so choosing the right unit rather than the biggest one matters more than ever – details in our chargepoint grant 2026 guide.

By the way, at Auto-E, we manufacture, install and repair home EV chargers ourselves. So, please, visit our Home EV chargers page, read about installing a car charging point at home, or message us and choose an EV charger that is the best for your needs.