Public EV Charging in China: Networks, Cost, and How to Use It

Most of the time you will charge an electric vehicle (battery electric vehicle, or BEV) at home, but public charging is what makes longer trips and no-home-charger living workable. China has by far the largest public charging network in the world. According to the IEA Global EV Outlook 2026, more than 65 percent of all public charge points worldwide are in China, and the public chargepoint count grew from around 3.4 million at the end of 2024 to over 4.7 million by the end of 2025. This guide explains who the main operators are, how public charging is priced, how you actually pay by QR code, and when it makes sense to use a public fast charger versus waiting to charge at home. Public prices vary by operator, power level, and time, so this page names the operators rather than quoting a price for each, and the rate tables below use dated figures from this site's configuration as a representative snapshot.

By mht-dev, Frontend Engineer & Creator

A frontend engineer who bought a first electric car in March 2026 and built EV Charge Calculator while working out the real cost of charging it, writing every guide from an everyday new EV owner's perspective.

The world's largest network and the main operators

China's public charging network is in a league of its own. The IEA Global EV Outlook 2026 reports that more than 65 percent of all public charge points worldwide are in China. The authoritative data body is the China Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Promotion Alliance (EVCIPA, 中国充电联盟): it counted roughly 4.08 million public charging piles at the end of May 2025, while the National Energy Administration (NEA) figure was about 4.63 million at the end of November 2025. Note that the often-quoted 16.7 million to 20 million headline includes private piles, most of which are private, so this guide anchors on the public-pile count.

The public market is highly concentrated. On the EVCIPA TOP15 operator ranking for 2025, the three largest public-pile operators are TELD (特来电), Star Charge (星星充电), and YKC (云快充); behind them come Didi's 小桔充电, State Grid (国家电网), and China Southern Power Grid (南方电网). The top 15 operators together hold roughly 85 percent of all public piles, so the market is concentrated. In practice no single operator covers an entire trip, so most people who charge in public end up with two or three apps or mini-programs. Source: EVCIPA TOP15 ranking, as of 2026-06-03. This guide names operators for orientation only and does not endorse any of them.

How public pricing works: electricity fee plus service fee, and the time-of-use swing

In China, a public charging price is made of two parts: the electricity fee (the cost of the electricity itself) plus a service fee (the operator's charge for the charging service). The service fee is usually capped locally. Shanghai, for example, caps the service fee at around 1.3 RMB per kWh, with a 2024 median service fee of about 0.42 RMB per kWh, for a combined average near 1.10 RMB per kWh. The Shanghai numbers are only an example of how the cap mechanism works, not a single national price. Source: Shanghai service-fee cap policy and public reporting, as of 2026-06-03.

All-in public DC fast charging swings hard with time-of-use pricing. In tier-1 cities the evening peak all-in price can exceed 2 RMB per kWh, while the late-night valley runs roughly 0.8 to 1.2 RMB per kWh. The representative figures this site uses, a public DC peak around 1.80 RMB per kWh, an off-peak around 1.00, and public AC around 1.20, all sit inside the real 2025 bands; the rate tables below show them, and you should treat them as a representative snapshot rather than an official quote. One forward-looking policy note: from around 1 March 2026, China is moving public charging off fixed peak and valley tariffs toward more market-based, dynamically-floating electricity pricing. That reform is still in progress, which means public prices may vary more as it rolls out. Source: Shanghai and Sina 2025-26 public pricing plus the in-progress liberalization of charging tariffs, as of 2026-06-03.

Rates and sources

Rates updated 2026-06-03

Finding a charger and paying by QR code

In China, public charging is almost entirely QR-code or app based. You scan a QR code on the charger with your phone and pay through WeChat Pay (微信) or Alipay (支付宝), settled by the kWh actually delivered. Aggregator apps and mini-programs such as YKC (云快充) and Amap (高德地图) let you find chargers across many operators, see live prices, and pay directly, which is effectively roaming across networks and saves you from registering with each operator separately. It is worth installing and linking payment for the main apps before you set out rather than at the charger, and watch the live time-of-use price each charger shows, since valley-period charging is usually noticeably cheaper.

Supercharging and battery swap: charge faster, or skip the plug entirely

From 2024 to 2026, China has built out 超充 (supercharging) on a large scale, mostly on 800V high-voltage platforms. A useful anchor for mainstream supercharging today is the Xpeng (小鹏) S4 at around 480 kW, while Huawei (华为) liquid-cooled units reach up to about 600 kW and a few flagship MW-class units exist, though MW-class is still cutting edge and limited. To keep it honest, the average public charger power nationwide is still only about 50 to 55 kW (2025, IEA), so not every public charger is a supercharger. Besides plugging in, China also has a distinctly Chinese public option: battery swap (换电), where a station swaps your depleted pack for a charged one in minutes. The swap network is led by NIO (蔚来), with thousands of swap stations (around 3,400 by mid-2025, reportedly rising past 4,000 by year-end, with sources differing), and CATL (宁德时代) is building a second standardized network (EVOGO / 巧克力换电). This guide describes swap as a public option and does not claim a precise station total beyond the sources. Source: IEA, public reporting, and operator information, as of 2026-06-03.

When to use public charging versus charging at home

For everyday driving, home charging is still the cheaper and more convenient default, and public DC is best kept for trips and for top-ups when you cannot charge at home. The reason is cost: public DC fast charging costs several times more per kWh than a residential rate, and far more than an off-peak overnight rate, so leaning on it for daily charging adds up quickly. If you do not have a home charger, a workable pattern is to use cheaper public AC charging where you park regularly and save the dearer DC fast chargers for when you genuinely need speed. To see how much a public fast charge versus a home charge actually differs for your own car, put both rates into the calculator at /cn, and for the home side of the comparison see this site's companion guide on the cost to charge an EV at home in China.

Frequently asked questions

How much does public EV charging cost per kWh in China?

Public charging is priced per kWh, where the price equals the electricity fee plus a service fee and swings with time-of-use pricing. In tier-1 cities the public DC peak all-in price can exceed 2 RMB per kWh, with a late-night valley around 0.8 to 1.2; public AC is usually cheaper. The representative figures this site uses are about 1.80 RMB per kWh for public DC peak, 1.00 for off-peak, and 1.20 for public AC, all inside the real 2025 bands and offered only as a representative snapshot. For the live price, check the charger's app. Source: this site's cn.ts rate configuration plus Shanghai and Sina public pricing, as of 2026-06-03. The rate table on this page shows the figures this site uses, and the calculator at /cn works out the cost for your car.

How do I pay for public charging in China, and which apps do I need?

Public charging is QR-code based: you scan the QR code on the charger with your phone and pay by the kWh delivered through WeChat Pay (微信) or Alipay (支付宝). Aggregator apps and mini-programs such as YKC (云快充) and Amap (高德地图) let you find chargers across operators, see live prices, and pay directly, which works like roaming. Because the top 15 operators hold about 85 percent of public piles but none covers an entire trip, it is best to install two or three apps or mini-programs and link payment before you travel. Source: EVCIPA TOP15 and public operator information, as of 2026-06-03.

What are supercharging and battery swap in China, and can they really refuel in minutes?

Supercharging (超充) is mostly built on 800V platforms; a mainstream anchor is the Xpeng S4 at around 480 kW, with Huawei liquid-cooled units up to about 600 kW and a few MW-class flagships that are still cutting edge and limited. Even so, the average public charger nationwide is only about 50 to 55 kW (2025, IEA), so not every charger is a supercharger. Battery swap (换电) is a distinctly Chinese public option that swaps in a charged pack in minutes, led by NIO (蔚来) with thousands of swap stations, while CATL (宁德时代) is building a second standardized network (EVOGO / 巧克力换电). Source: IEA and public reporting, as of 2026-06-03.