EV Charging Apps Explained: A Guide to Public Charging

This guide answers common questions about finding, using, and paying for public EV charging. 

• Where are the public chargers?  

• How do I find public charging locations?  

• How do I pay for public charging?  

• Do I need to sign up for a membership to use a public charger brand?  

• Do I need to install apps for each brand of public charger?  

Where are the public chargers?  

There is an interesting phenomenon called inattentional blindness where a person fails to notice a visible object because their attention is focused elsewhere. This phenomenon can apply to public charging locations.  

If you drive a gas-powered car, you do not need public charging. When you go to the mall, you are focused on finding a parking space. Your mind filters out details not deemed to be relevant to the immediate task – such as if there are public chargers at the mall. 

Your attention changes when you own an EV, and you begin to notice where public chargers are located. There are more than 250,000 public charging connectors, including more than 74,000 fast-charging units, in the U.S. Massachusetts has more than 10,000 public charging connectors, including 4,000 fast-charging units. 

How do I find public charging locations? 

There are several ways to find public charging. 

The simplest way to find them is to use your EV’s built-in navigation system. Most built-in navigation systems indicate where the closest public charging units are located. Some systems also indicate the type of unit (Level 2 or DC Fast Charging) and how many units are available. Tapping on the charging location on your navigation system displays more information about the units (brand, power rating, and reliability). It may also display the option to navigate to the charging location. 

Another way to find public charging is through mobile apps.  

PlugShare is a free vendor-neutral app (and website) which you can use to find public charging locations anywhere in the US. You can set PlugShare filters to display your preferred / compatible public charging vendors. Tapping on a charging location displays a photo of the location and Yelp-like reviews from other EV owners who have been to this location. PlugShare also includes a simple Trip Planner to plot out charging stops along your route. There is a paid membership version which removes advertisements. 

ABRP (A Better Route Planner) is also a free vendor-neutral app (and website) which you can use to find public charging locations anywhere in the US. It has many of the same features as PlugShare but its main focus is on EV Trip Planning. Enter your specific vehicle, state of charge, charging preferences, starting point and your destination and ABRP will plot out the entire trip. It will tell you how long it should take to charge your vehicle at each stop. You can also add non-charging stops (waypoints) to your trip. I recommend ABRP for serious road trips where you need 2 or more charging stops. I recommend planning complex road trips using the web version of ABRP on your computer. You can pull up the trip on the mobile app later. There is a paid membership version which can connect to your vehicle to read the current state of charge from start to destination. The paid membership will also take into account weather conditions as they can affect EV range. 

EV Manufacturer Mobile Apps: Every EV manufacturer provides some sort of mobile app to access information about your vehicle, such as state of charge, charging settings, vehicle location, and service records. Some manufacturers’ apps also include a trip planner and a payment method for various public charging networks. 

 

Charging Brand Mobile Apps: Every charging network provides some sort of mobile app to access charging information and navigate to charging units on its specific network. I do not recommend using a charging network’s brand-specific app as your primary tool for finding charging units or navigating to them because it will most likely show only that network’s locations. 

How do I pay for public charging?  

Some charging brands accept a credit card, phone tap, or QR code scan as payment directly at the charging unit. To initiate a charge, swipe your card, tap your phone, or scan the QR code, enter the required payment details, plug in, and charging begins. 

Other charging brands accept payment through their brand-specific apps, such as ChargePoint, Electrify America, EVgo, Flo, EVConnect, and Tesla. ChargePoint and Flo have a charging network partnership, so you can use your ChargePoint app to initiate a charge on a Flo unit and vice versa. To initiate a charge, open the app, choose the charging unit, plug in, and charging begins. 

Some EV manufacturers have Plug & Charge partnerships with specific charging vendors. Plug & Charge sessions do not require you to initiate or add payment information at the charging unit. Just plug in. The charging unit recognizes your vehicle and arranges payment according to the manufacturer’s payment data on file.  

Tesla supports Plug & Charge on Tesla SuperChargers. Rivian supports Plug & Charge on Rivian, IONNA, Electrify America, and certain Tesla Supercharger units. GM vehicles use the Energy Pass system in their mobile app to easily start Plug & Charge sessions at compatible DC fast-charging stations from vendors such as IONNA, Tesla Superchargers, and Electrify America.  

Plug & Charge is the most seamless way to charge. Fortunately, more and more EV manufacturers and charging companies are moving in this direction. 

Do I need to sign up for a paid membership to use a public charger brand?  

Generally, no, you do not need to sign up for a paid membership to use a specific charger brand. However, memberships tend to lower the price of charging from certain charging brands. If you find yourself using a specific brand of charging unit frequently, you may want to consider becoming a member to save on charging costs. 

If you find yourself rarely using public charging and mostly charging at home, then a paid membership is probably not worth it. 

Do I need to install mobile apps for each brand of public charger? 

If I were planning a road trip, I would install the mobile app for each charging network I planned to use, just in case. The app may make it easier to contact the vendor if you have trouble initiating a charge. 

I would not pay for a membership for each app if I do not use the vendor’s charging network on a regular basis. 

Hint: I created a separate page on my mobile phone with all of the EV-related apps I have installed. That way, they are all in one place on my screen. They are: Rivian, MyChevy, Tesla, PlugShare, ABRP, Electrify America, EVgo, EVConnect, and Flo.