Shell Recharge charging stations: prices, how to pay, app and where they are

A Shell Recharge charging station is a Shell rapid or ultra-rapid charger, usually on a Shell forecourt or at a partner site such as Waitrose or Aldi, and it costs 74p to 89p per kWh at standard prices in November 2026. Start the charge in the Shell App instead of tapping a bank card and you pay 10p per kWh less.

Shell also runs a much larger network of slower lamp-post and bollard chargers in residential streets through ubitricity, priced separately. This guide covers both: what they cost, how to pay, whether the subscription pays, and where to find them.

What is Shell Recharge and who runs it?

Shell Recharge is Shell’s public charging brand, covering rapid chargers at its own forecourts and partner sites and on-street chargers run by ubitricity. Ubitricity describes itself as a wholly owned subsidiary of Shell that brands its network Shell Recharge, and its posts appear on Zapmap as a separate network, Shell Recharge On-street.

The two halves do different jobs. The forecourt network is for topping up on a journey: Zapmap lists it as mainly 50 kW rapid and 150 to 300 kW ultra-rapid chargers. Shell’s first dedicated hub, in Fulham, London, opened in January 2022 with nine 175 kW chargers on a former fuel station, according to Zapmap. The on-street network is for overnight charging near home, at 3 to 49 kW.

How much does Shell Recharge cost per kWh?

Shell Recharge rapid and ultra-rapid charging costs 74p to 89p per kWh at standard prices, as listed by Zapmap and checked on 10 November 2026. The price you see at a charger depends on how you pay, the time of day and the site. Forecourt Trader counted nine separate Shell rates when Shell changed its pricing in July 2026, with the top rate of 89p charged to contactless payers at 50 kW and above between 7am and 12pm and between 3pm and 7pm.

Charger and payment	Price per kWh (10 November 2026)	Source
Rapid and ultra-rapid, standard pay as you go	74p to 89p	Zapmap
Rapid and ultra-rapid, Shell App	64p to 79p (10p off standard)	Shell, via its App Store listing
Rapid and ultra-rapid, subscriber	about 45p to 55p (30% off app price)	Shell
Night Saver, 7pm to 7am (July 2026 rate)	60p	Forecourt Trader
Night Saver with subscription (July 2026 rate)	42p	Forecourt Trader
On-street (ubitricity), QR code	45p off-peak, 56p standard, 67p peak	ubitricity
On-street (ubitricity), Shell App	from 38p	ubitricity

For context, Zapmap’s price index put the UK average pay as you go price for rapid and ultra-rapid charging at 82p per kWh in October 2026, so Shell’s standard range sits either side of the average and its app price sits below it. Our report on public charging prices in October 2026 shows how other networks compare.

Ubitricity’s on-street prices change with the time of day: 45p from midnight to 7am, 56p from 7am to 4pm and 8pm to midnight, and 67p from 4pm to 8pm. A small minority of posts without smart charging charge a flat 54p.

What does a 10 to 80% charge cost in a BYD Seal, Jaecoo E5 or Omoda E5?

A 10 to 80% charge on a Shell rapid charger costs £36.69 to £51.40 at the 89p contactless rate across these three cars, and £17.32 to £24.26 at the 42p subscriber Night Saver rate. Our method is 70% of the usable battery from our spec data multiplied by the price per kWh, before charging losses; see how we calculate.

Car	Usable battery	Energy added, 10 to 80%	89p contactless	79p app	55.3p subscriber	42p subscriber Night Saver
BYD Seal Design RWD	82.5 kWh	57.75 kWh	£51.40	£45.62	£31.94	£24.26
Jaecoo E5 Pure	58.9 kWh	41.23 kWh	£36.69	£32.57	£22.80	£17.32
Omoda E5 Knight	58.9 kWh	41.23 kWh	£36.69	£32.57	£22.80	£17.32

The BYD Seal takes 150 kW at its peak and 37 minutes for a 10 to 80% charge, so it can make use of a Shell ultra-rapid unit. The Omoda E5 peaks at 130 kW. The Jaecoo E5 peaks at 80 kW, so on a 150 kW or 300 kW Shell charger it pays the same ultra-rapid price per kWh without using the extra power.

How do you pay at a Shell Recharge charger?

You can pay by contactless bank card at the charger, in the Shell App, or with a Shell Recharge charge card, and the app is the cheaper of the first two. Zapmap lists contactless and the network’s app as the payment methods at Shell Recharge sites. Shell’s App Store description says the 10p per kWh app saving applies at participating Shell service stations and Shell Recharge branded chargers, and excludes Shell Recharge On-street.

Contactless is simplest if you only charge with Shell now and then; our explainer on contactless EV charging covers where else you can tap a card to pay. If you charge often, the app or card saves money, and Shell GO+ members earn points when they charge.

On-street ubitricity posts take payment through a QR code, the Shell App, other charging apps or a pay as you go web page. The bank holds £40 when a session starts, which ubitricity says is typically released within 3 to 15 working days. Scan only the code printed on the post itself: fake stickers are a known problem, as our guide to the QR code scam on EV chargers explains.

Under the Public Charge Point Regulations, operators must show prices in pence per kWh and let drivers pay through at least one third-party roaming provider, so a roaming app or card can also start a Shell session.

Does the Shell Recharge subscription pay for itself?

The £9.99 a month subscription pays for itself once you rapid charge about 42 to 52 kWh a month on Shell. It takes 30% off the app price on up to 1,000 kWh a month, which is 23.7p per kWh off a 79p app price and 19.2p off a 64p app price. Divide the £9.99 fee by those savings and you reach 42.2 kWh and 52.0 kWh.

In driving terms, using each car’s WLTP range divided by its usable battery:

Car	Efficiency (WLTP)	Break-even at 79p app price	Break-even at 64p app price
BYD Seal	4.29 miles per kWh	181 miles a month	223 miles a month
Jaecoo E5	4.21 miles per kWh	177 miles a month	219 miles a month
Omoda E5	4.53 miles per kWh	191 miles a month	236 miles a month

So a driver who does around 200 miles a month on Shell rapid chargers roughly breaks even, and anyone doing more saves money. A driver who charges at home and uses Shell only on the occasional long trip will not. The subscription also takes 30% off ubitricity on-street charging, which suits drivers without a driveway who charge on their street most nights. Our comparison of EV charging subscriptions sets Shell’s plan against Ionity, BP Pulse and others.

Where are the Shell Recharge chargers?

Zapmap counted 1,387 Shell Recharge rapid and ultra-rapid chargers at 269 locations at the end of October 2026, at Shell forecourts and partner sites such as Waitrose and Aldi. The on-street network is about ten times larger: 14,484 Shell Recharge On-street chargers at 14,364 locations at the same date, almost all of them single posts.

Those counts explain who Shell suits. The forecourt network is small next to Shell’s on-street estate, so treat it as one option on a long trip rather than the only one. For drivers without off-street parking, our guide to char.gy’s on-street charging covers another lamp-post network.

To find a charger, use the Shell App’s charger search or filter the Zapmap map by network, then check the connector and power listed for the site against your car.

How reliable are Shell Recharge chargers, and are there idle fees?

Shell Recharge’s rapid chargers are covered by the Public Charge Point Regulations, which require rapid networks to average 99% reliability and to publish it, and to run a free 24/7 staffed helpline. Zapmap does not publish a reliability score for the network; its app shows live status where available, plus user ratings for each site, which is the best check before you set off.

Idle fees apply on ubitricity’s 7 to 22 kW posts: 5p a minute from 60 minutes after charging has finished, between 8am and 8pm. Zapmap notes that overstay fees may also apply at Shell Recharge rapid sites. On a rapid charger, unplug and move once you reach 80%: charging slows above that point and other drivers may be waiting.

How do you use a Shell Recharge charging station?

Using a Shell Recharge rapid charger takes a few steps and no account if you pay by card.

1. Find a working charger in the Shell App or on Zapmap and check its power and price.
2. Park in the bay and pick the charger’s cable that fits your car.
3. Plug the cable into the car before you start the session.
4. Tap a contactless card on the reader, or select the charger in the Shell App and start it there for the 10p per kWh saving.
5. Stay with the car or nearby.
6. Stop the session on the screen or in the app at about 80%, unplug and move off the bay.

For an on-street post, plug in your own charging cable, then scan the QR code on the post or start the session in the app.

Verdict: who Shell Recharge suits

Shell Recharge suits drivers who pass Shell forecourts regularly and will use the app, and city drivers without a driveway who rely on ubitricity posts, especially overnight at 45p per kWh or less. At 89p per kWh by contactless at peak times it is expensive for occasional use, so download the app before your first charge. Regular users doing about 200 miles a month or more on Shell should take the subscription.

It suits a driver who charges mostly at home less well: home charging on an off-peak tariff costs far less per kWh than Shell’s public rates, and Best Chargers compares home chargers. For a direct comparison with the other fuel company network, read our BP Pulse vs Shell Recharge comparison.