The 5 Best Electric Vehicle Charging Station Finder Apps

One of the biggest changes you need to get used to when owning an EV is figuring out where you want to charge it. There are charging network-specific apps like ChargePoint and Electrify America, and apps like PlugShare show you every charger available in your area. But which one is best to have on your phone?

Here's our list of the top 5 best EV charging apps on the iOS and Android app stores.

5. EVgo

EVgo is a charging network that's steadily growing in the United States. We've included its app because it has one of the best UI designs of any app on this list. It directs you to add your electric vehicle upon signup and adjusts the charging filters automatically.

Remember that your home may not be near many EVgo chargers depending on your location. However, this is more of a con of the network itself rather than the mobile app, but it's worth considering regardless.

An interesting aspect of EVgo's application is its Reservations feature. EVgo allows members to reserve a charger at their destination up to 20 minutes before arriving to ensure a charger is available. This feature is only available at certain chargers, and you must pay $3 in advance to reserve.

Though the app looks nice, it is missing some basic features, such as adding a route and bookmarking your favorite chargers. Although EVgo states that it has "more than 850 convenient and reliable fast-charging stations [in the United States]", it's not enough to be a reliable charging network for everyone.

Download: EVgo for Android | iOS (Free)

4. Electrify America

Electrify America has been quickly growing its EV charging network for years now. They're aiming to build 1,700 fast-charging stations (a total of around 10,000 individual chargers) in the United States by 2025.

At the time of writing, Electrify America has 670 charging stations (approximately 2,900 individual CCS fast chargers) spread throughout the country. It's prioritizing clean energy and building the fastest chargers possible, as it thinks about the EV owners first.

Over time, the app has significantly improved; it has many large UI elements, clean animations, and easy-to-use, essential filters. Like the other best charging apps, it directs you to add your EV upon signing up, automatically adjusting which plugs it supports. You can easily change the charger's output, up to 350kW, and filter by currently available chargers.

In the app, you'll find a section to link your Electrify HomeStation. The built-in map will also show how many chargers are available and their prices per kWh or minute.

An EV charging app is only as good as the network itself. Electrify America is quickly building its fast-charging network, and if you're near many of them, you won't be disappointed with the app.

Bookmarking your favorite chargers is quick and easy, and the UI design is perfect for new EV owners. However, we'd like the ability to add your own route to see which chargers are available along the drive.

Download: Electrify America for Android | iOS (Free)

3. Chargeway

Chargeway is a simple yet great app used mainly as a trip planner. Whether you're on your commute or a several hundred-mile road trip, you need a way of finding exactly where working chargers are on your route and if you have enough range to reach them; that's where Chargeway comes in.

First, add your electric vehicle to find appropriate chargers. The app will only show you chargers that work with your car, although it does allow you to find other charging stations as you wish. The Trip Planner is the best part of the app, letting you set your current location, destination, and your vehicle's current battery percentage.

We found that it shows fewer charging stations than other apps, even with the same EV added; however, this may be a good sign that Chargeway plays it safe, only displaying chargers that work with your specific EV.

Download: Chargeway for Android | iOS (Free)

2. Plugshare

PlugShare is one of the most prominent apps on the App Store to find EV chargers. It helps you locate a wide range of vehicle chargers from multiple networks, including the big names such as Electrify America, Tesla Superchargers, ChargePoint, and many more.

When you first sign up for a PlugShare account, it directs you to add which EV you own. This is an excellent feature as it will automatically filter chargers that work with your EV without you needing to do anything. The filters also work well, giving you options to narrow your search down to a specific charging speed.

PlugShare lets you add multiple trips to your profile to show you which chargers are available on your route to work, a friend's house, or your upcoming road trip. This is also a great feature for future EV owners to see if charging an all-electric vehicle on their work route is viable for them.

PlugShare is a fantastic app for finding every single EV charger available on your route. However, it could benefit from a nicer-looking UI, animations, and a quick-start guide to help new users navigate the app easier.

Download: PlugShare for Android | iOS (Free)

1. ChargeHub

ChargeHub has a fantastic user interface and helps you locate all the major EV charging networks in your area. When you first open the app, it welcomes you with a map view of all the available chargers around you with four tabs at the bottom of the screen: Map, Trips, Community, and Profile. This clean user interface helps new users navigate the app easily.

The Trips section is easy to use, allowing you to add a charger to your route and use the ChargeHub app for navigation. The app has a fair share of filters you can use without it looking overwhelming, including important ones such as connector type, minimum kW, price, and network.

The Profile section is also pretty straightforward, allowing you to add your EV make and model, view your favorite chargers, saved trips, etc. ChargeHub even includes a charging guide for new EV owners to better understand the different types of chargers, connectors, the pros and cons of various networks, and lots more. This is an excellent sign of an app that thinks about its users first.

The Community section is attractive; it shows the latest activity from users around the globe that use the app, showing when they checked in, chargers they've reviewed, etc.

However, even with location services turned on, ChargeHub still wants to show users in Maine, Ontario, Canada, California, and other faraway places. Several apps attempt a similar way of connecting EV owners, but we believe there should be a better way of doing so.

Overall, ChargeHub is the best on our list, with a beautiful user interface, accurate info on available chargers, and every feature you could ask for in an EV charger app.

Download: ChargeHub for Android | iOS (Free)

The Perfect App for EV Owners Doesn't Exist Yet

Although ChargeHub is one of the best overall EV charger locaters on the Play Store and the App Store, it doesn't do everything in one application. If you get a home charger, you'll need to use the manufacturer's app to use additional features. For instance, if you get an Electrify America HomeStatation, you could use its app to locate public chargers and use HomeStation features, but it doesn't show any other charging networks in its app.

The perfect application with a great user interface, useful trip planner, filters, the ability to pay for any charger through the app, and connecting your home charger regardless of the brand is not available yet. But we believe that incredible software will eventually make its way as the world of electric vehicles grow in the upcoming years.

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