- Last updated: June 30, 2022
Must Have Electric Car Smart Phone Applications
You gotta admit, the rise of electric cars is taking everyone by storm. More and more electric and plug-in hybrid cars are being driven full-time. The challenges to living with electric vehicles has started a GROWING market for smartphone apps that can accommodate EV and PHEV owners.
Personally as a Chevrolet Bolt EV owner, I know exactly the needs for fast and reliable charging, trip planning, and even shopping for the next car.
From the manufacturer-specific apps that give you a ton of vital information about your vehicle, to apps that find various 110 volt, 220 volt, and 440 volt charging locations. In this post, I’ll cover the 10 best EV apps to strongly consider downloading.
Table of Contents
PlugShare
One of the most popular charger locating apps is called “PlugShare”. This is my personal favorite and the go-to app when I’m traveling. PlugShare was created almost a decade ago to help EV and PHEV owners find charging locations all over the place, even home ones found in peoples homes. Unlike with some apps that cater to certain locations, PlugShare is used across the whole world. Whether you want to find a level 3 charger in Dallas, or Copenhagen, there’s data for that.
You can use the trip planning option by creating a profile, having a valid car selected, picking the range you expect to get, and create a trip between TWO locations (A & B). PlugShare creates the most efficient route that lets you stay within range of charging stations and get to your destination the fastest.
The app is on both Google Play Store and Apple iOS.
Cost: Free
Compatible with: Android and iOS
ChargePoint
ChargePoint was early to the game, they invested heavily on their app interface and their charging infrastructure. Unlike with PlugShare, ChargePoint is an app that helps you find designated ChargePoint chargers that can range from costing something to being completely free.
ChargePoint has a great layout that shows you a detailed map of where the charging locations are, how much they are, how many kilowatts of speed you may get, and if they are in use.
You need to sign-up to their free account, but once you are, you’ll be prompted to open the app and activate any session from your smartphone. It stores your payment details, so there’s no scanning/swipping (in most cases) to get things started.
You can download it from Apple iOS and Google Play Stores.
Cost: Free & Paid
Compatible with: Android and iOS
A Better Route Planner
Some say this is the BEST electric car app on the market, at least when it comes to creating the best routes.
A Better Routeplanner was originally created in Europe but later became popular worldwide for being a reliable app for planning trips from A to B. What sets this app apart and makes it “a better” route planner is the filtering capability in being able to:
Set your departure time
Set your departure state of charge (SOC)
Show you an estimate for the cost of charging (for the entire trip)
Shows how long you’ll charge with each stop
Lets you set your maximum range of your vehicle and what minimum range you want before stops
It lets you pre-set the maximum charging speed you are capable of charging to
and so much more, seriously!
This is one of the best apps you can get that is 100% free. You can get the premium version which gives you a few more filters and the ability to work with AppleCarPlay and AndroidAuto.
You can get this app in the App Store and Google Play Store.
Cost: Free & Paid
Compatible with: Android and iOS
Electrify America/Canada
One of the biggest saving graces in the United States and Canada is a non-Tesla charging network that is reliable. Volkswagen Group of America owns and operates Electrify America/Canada and it gives regular EV owners the ability to travel not just 100-200 miles away, but even across the entire country.
Electrify America has an app that gives access to their extensive level 3 charging network that is available in most places (excluding Alaska, Hawaii, West Virginia, Wyoming, North Dakota, South Dakota). What makes this app great is that it shows you how much per kilowatt it will cost you, if the charger is being occupied, and if there are any issues with the charging station that may prevent you from initiating a charge.
The app is free but also has a paid option ($4/month for premium membership which includes a discount per kilowatt-hour).
This app is available on all devices.
Cost: Free & Paid
Compatible with: Android and iOS
EVgo
There are few companies that can truly claim that they produce 100% renewable electricity from sources like the sun, water, and air. EVgo is a charging network much like ChargePoint and Electrify America, however they are still in the process of expanding. They are in 34 states (as of March 2022) but can be mostly found in metropolitan areas like Washington DC, Dallas, Los Angeles, Miami, and many others.
Not long ago, EVgo’s app was mediocre in terms of design. While it was functional, other apps like ChargePoint were more userfriendly and tended to have fewer crashes.
Today, EVgo has a decent app and they give you a map of places where you can charge. When you sign up, you can opt-in to receive an RFID card that you can scan at most charging locations and activate a session without your cellphone or credit card.
If you plan on making any serious trips or live in a big city, download the EVgo app.
Cost: Free & Paid
Compatible with: Android and iOS
Tesla
Tesla has undoubtedly, one of the best apps for tracking vehicles stats, from range, cabin temperature, air flow, error codes, and more. In addition to that, this app lets you find charging stations specifically for Teslas.
Tesla has been, and still is the gold standard for having reliable and evenly spread out charging stations, good looking cars, adequate range, great customer support, and an exclusive feel that other brands don’t have.
You can download the app for their operating devices, but once you do, you’ll need to enter you cars information. The app connects directly to your car via 3G or 4G connectivity. In some of the newer models, you can remote control the car at very low speeds, and summon the car to you. If you are a Tesla owner, this app is a MUST HAVE.
Cost: Free (requires Tesla)
Compatible with: Android and iOS
MyChevrolet
This app is for Chevrolet owners, specifically, Bolt EV and EUV owners.
The MyChevrolet App is the infamous, yet questionably functional app that gives you “Tesla like” abilities with your Chevrolet Bolt EV, for a price. The free version allows you to check things via Bluetooth (when in range), but the paid version gives you access to your car via a cell-phone connection.
The app is decent at best with many important stats. For one, you can check your vehicle’s range, battery SOC, error codes, vehicle ON and OFF switch, pre-conditioning, and a few more things.
I don’t recommend paying for the app primarily because there are not enough features, nor is it functional enough to make it worth the price. Since there’s a free option, it’s better to have it than not.
Cost: Free & Paid
Compatible with: Android and iOS
ChargeHub
Recently, I started to use ChargeHub to help me find chargers that other apps might have missed. After a few days, I now use the app just as much as I use PlugShare. ChargeHub caters only to North America (USA and Canada). When you download the app (iOS or Android), it will look very familiar.
What I like about ChargeHub is its very nice user interface, from the app to even the website. There needs to be more of a dedicated adoption of this app to have a proper competition against PlugShare.
Cost: Free
Compatible with: Android and iOS
EV Hotels
For any long distance traveling in an electric vehicle, it’s nice to not only know where to charge, but also where to stay. Many hotels have installed level 2 chargers that can give you a full charge overnight. However, in apps like PlugShare, ChargeHub, ChargePoint, and many others, it can be difficult to pinpoint exactly which charging pins are hotels, motels, or Airbnbs.
The app to help you solve that problem is called EV Hotels. Downloading this application in the app store can give you the knowledge of what’s the nearest hotel that has an electric vehicle charger.
This app costs $1.99, not a high price to pay if you frequently stay in hotels.
Cost: Paid
Compatible with: iOS
OpenChargeMap
Some could say this app is the bottom of the barrel charger finding app, but I’d say FREE is always good. The OpenChargeMap app (and online portal) show you all the registered charging stations online. Since this company is non-profit, it seems to be lacking any active effort to address bugs and glitches.
Nonetheless, when you download the app, you can filter through options and find either level 1, 2 or 3 charging stations.
Add this to your arsenal of charger finding apps and you’ll likely be up to date on all the latest charger locations.
Cost: Free
Compatible with: Android & iOS
What's the best app for people outside of US and Canada?
People are using electric cars across the whole world, from USA, Europe, Russia, Taiwan, and many more. Finding electric car chargers across the globe can be done with a few different apps. The app I recommend you look at the most is PlugShare. People are uploading pictures of their cars, the charging stations and leaving comments (in various languages).
Believe it or not, there are countries that have better EV adoption than the USA. I wrote an article showing exactly which countries use electric car the most (as % marketshare of all cars sold in those countries).
