BP Pulse UK: prices, subscription, app and network guide

BP Pulse is BP’s public charging network, with 4,780 UK chargers at the end of October 2026, and it charges 79p to 93p per kWh to pay as you go on its rapid and ultra-rapid chargers. Its £7.85 a month subscription cuts the usual 89p rapid rate to 69p, so it pays off once you rapid charge about 40 kWh a month.

That makes BP Pulse a network to use where it sits on your route rather than one to seek out on price. This guide covers what it costs, what a 10 to 80% charge costs in three popular cars, whether the subscription pays, how to pay, where the chargers are and how the network rates for reliability.

What is BP Pulse and who runs it?

BP Pulse is the electric vehicle charging business owned by BP, the oil company, and Zapmap lists its chargers at BP forecourts, M&S Simply Food stores, Waitrose car parks and dedicated hubs. It began as two brands: Polar, the public network, and BP Chargemaster, the charger maker. BP bought Polar in 2018 and merged the two under the bp pulse name in December 2020, ending the Chargemaster brand after eleven years, according to electrive. If you have an old Polar Plus card, that is why.

BP Pulse no longer sells home chargers to the public, Driving Electric reports, and it has stepped back from fleet depot charging: our report on Fuuse and Drax taking over ex-BP Pulse fleet customers covers that change.

One naming clash: bp pulse LIVE is not a charger. It is the 15,600-capacity arena on the NEC campus in Birmingham, renamed from Resorts World Arena on 1 September 2024 under a sponsorship deal. Searches for drinks prices, parking promo codes and the Showdeck belong to that venue.

How much does BP Pulse cost per kWh?

BP Pulse rapid and ultra-rapid chargers cost 79p to 93p per kWh to pay as you go, according to Zapmap’s figures last updated in October 2026, and the price varies within that range between sites. Carwow lists 89p per kWh as the standard rapid rate, 69p for subscribers and 65p per kWh on the slower AC chargers.

Charger and payment	Price per kWh	Source and date
Rapid and ultra-rapid (50 kW to 400 kW), pay as you go	79p to 93p	Zapmap, October 2026
Rapid and ultra-rapid, standard pay as you go rate	89p	Carwow, November 2025
Rapid and ultra-rapid, subscriber	69p	Carwow, November 2025
AC (7 kW), pay as you go	65p	Carwow, November 2025
Subscription fee	£7.85 a month	Carwow, November 2025

Zapmap’s average pay as you go price on rapid and ultra-rapid chargers was 82p per kWh in October 2026, so BP Pulse runs from 3p below that average to 11p above it, and its 89p standard rate sits 7p above. Our side-by-side of BP Pulse vs Shell Recharge compares it with its forecourt rival, and the latest Zapmap rapid charging price averages show where both sit against the market.

The 79p to 93p spread is a 14p per kWh difference between two BP Pulse sites, which adds up to more than £7 on a 52 kWh charge.

How much does a 10 to 80% charge cost on BP Pulse?

A 10 to 80% charge at a BP Pulse rapid charger costs £31.84 to £51.40 at the 89p rate in the three cars we costed, and £24.68 to £39.85 at the 69p subscriber rate. Our method: 70% of each car’s usable battery, multiplied by the price per kWh; miles added are 70% of the WLTP range, and the full workings are on our methodology page.

Car (usable battery)	Energy added, 10 to 80%	WLTP miles added	At 79p	At 89p	At 93p	At 69p (subscriber)	10 to 80% time (maker)
BYD Atto 2 Boost (51.1 kWh)	35.8 kWh	150	£28.26	£31.84	£33.27	£24.68	38 min at up to 82 kW
BYD Atto 3 EVO Design (74.8 kWh)	52.4 kWh	221	£41.36	£46.60	£48.69	£36.13	25 min at up to 220 kW
BYD Sealion 7 Comfort (82.5 kWh)	57.8 kWh	210	£45.62	£51.40	£53.71	£39.85	32 min at up to 150 kW

At 89p per kWh, that works out at 21.3p a mile in the Atto 2, 21.1p in the Atto 3 and 24.5p in the Sealion 7 on WLTP figures. Subscribers at 69p pay 16.5p, 16.3p and 19.0p a mile. Real-world range is lower than WLTP in winter and at motorway speeds, so the true cost per mile is higher.

Charging time depends on the car as much as the charger. The Atto 3’s 220 kW peak needs one of BP Pulse’s ultra-rapid units to reach its 25-minute figure; on a 50 kW charger it takes much longer. The Atto 2 tops out at 82 kW, so a 300 kW charger does not shorten its 38 minutes.

Is the BP Pulse subscription worth it?

The BP Pulse subscription is worth it if you rapid charge more than 39.25 kWh a month at sites charging 89p, because the 20p per kWh saving then covers the £7.85 fee. That is our own figure: the fee divided by the saving between the 89p and 69p rates, and Carwow reaches the same 39.25 kWh.

In miles, 39.25 kWh is about 164 miles of WLTP driving in the BYD Atto 2, 166 miles in the Atto 3 and 143 miles in the Sealion 7. If more than that much of your monthly driving comes from BP Pulse rapid chargers, subscribe; if you charge at home and only stop at BP Pulse on the odd long trip, pay as you go.

A worked UK example: an Atto 3 driver without a driveway who does three 10 to 80% charges a month at BP Pulse adds 157.1 kWh. At 89p that costs £139.80. At 69p it costs £108.39, plus the £7.85 fee, so £116.24. The subscription saves £23.56 a month, or £282.72 over a year.

Driving Electric reports that the subscription has no fixed-term contract, so you can switch it on for a month of heavy travel and cancel afterwards. Before you commit, compare it with the other plans in our guide to EV charging subscriptions that save money, as some cover several networks.

How do you pay at a BP Pulse charger?

You can pay at a BP Pulse charger by contactless bank card, through the bp pulse app, or with an RFID card or fob. Zapmap lists contactless and the network app as the payment options, and Driving Electric’s guide says contactless works on the 50 kW and 150 kW rapid chargers, while subscribers receive an RFID card or fob by post.

• Contactless: no account needed. Driving Electric describes it as the pay as you go option for drivers without a subscription.
• App: the bp pulse app is the other payment route Zapmap lists.
• RFID card or fob: tap it on the charger to start. Useful where mobile signal is weak.
• Fleet cards: business drivers can also use bp’s fleet card on other networks; our report on Tesla Superchargers joining BP’s roaming network explains what fleets get.

Where are BP Pulse chargers?

Zapmap counted 4,780 BP Pulse chargers across 1,128 UK locations at the end of October 2026. It lists them along major transport routes, in cities and at retail sites, with BP forecourts, M&S Simply Food stores and Waitrose car parks among the most common hosts.

The Gigahub at the NEC in Birmingham sits just off junction 6 of the M42. It opened on 7 September 2023 with 16 ultra-rapid 300 kW chargers and 150 slower 7 kW points, Driving Electric reported. It is the BP Pulse site to aim for if you need a fast charge in the West Midlands.

To find the nearest charger, use a map or route planner that filters by network. Our comparison of Zapmap and A Better Routeplanner shows which app suits planning a trip around one network’s sites.

Is BP Pulse reliable, and are there idle fees?

BP Pulse has a weak reliability record with drivers: it came last of 12 networks in What Car?’s survey of 2,118 EV drivers, updated in December 2025, and was rated worst for both reliability and ease of use. Our ranking of the most reliable UK charging networks shows which networks score better.

Idle fees apply on the rapid chargers. Driving Electric reported in August 2023 a £10 per hour overstay fee for anyone charging for more than 90 minutes on the 50 kW or 150 kW chargers. On a 150 kW charger, a 10 to 80% charge in any of the three cars above takes 38 minutes or less on the maker’s figures, well inside that window, so the fee only catches drivers who leave a car plugged in long after it has finished.

How do you use a BP Pulse charger, step by step?

Using a BP Pulse rapid charger takes a minute once you have done it once.

1. Find a BP Pulse site on a charging map or route planner before you arrive.
2. Park in the charging bay and note the charger’s power rating on the unit.
3. Choose how to pay: tap a contactless card on the reader, start the session in the app, or tap your RFID card or fob.
4. Plug the CCS cable into your car. Rapid chargers have tethered cables; on 7 kW AC chargers you may need your own Type 2 cable.
5. Wait for the screen or app to confirm the session has started.
6. Stop the session in the app, on the screen or with your card, then unplug and move the car so you avoid the overstay fee.

If a charger will not start, try another charger at the site.

Who should use BP Pulse?

BP Pulse suits drivers whose regular routes pass BP forecourts or the NEC Gigahub, and high-mileage drivers without home charging who can use the subscription to bring the rapid rate down to 69p. It does not suit price-led drivers with a choice of networks, or anyone who charges mostly at home, where the cost per mile is a fraction of these figures; our guide to charging an electric car at home shows the comparison.

Our verdict, based on published prices and survey data rather than our own testing: BP Pulse is a large network with good forecourt coverage and a subscription that pays off quickly for frequent rapid chargers, but its 89p standard rate is above the UK rapid average and drivers rate its reliability poorly. Use it where it is convenient, and keep a second network’s app on your phone.