6 of the Best Apps for Electric Car Charging

As more and more people in the UK choose to go electric, there is a need for information. There are many apps out there that can help users find charging stations in their area or work with GPS to locate them. These apps also provide up-to-date data on the availability of charge points at specific locations, which can be useful if you’re traveling outside your usual area. In this article, we will review some of the best apps for electric car charging in the UK so you know what’s available when you need it most!

1. A Better Route Planner

A Better Route Planner is an app that allows you to plan a journey based on the car you own. It works by looking at your vehicle’s charge time and the maximum range that it can travel on a single charge. It then determines whether you need to stop and where would be the best place to do so based on the requirements of the user.

The best thing about this app is that it will also take into account the efficiency of the car and the current weather effects on the car. It is generally very effective and works out what sort of range you may end up with when you reach your destination.

A premium version can give you more features such as live weather data and car stats if a compatible system allows it, such as the Tesla API.

2. Plugshare

Plugshare is an app that was designed to help people find electric car charging stations. It has a few features that stand out from the crowd, such as the ability to find nearby stations and filter them based on charging speeds. The app is regularly updated with information from other users about whether they found the station in working order or whether the charging sockets were suitable for their car.

This is great for when you’re in an unfamiliar area and need to find somewhere quickly or you need to find a charger that is likely to be available when you get there. Beware though, some chargers have outdated reviews and check-ins which means that they may no longer be in working order or even there at all!

3. Chargemap

This is an app that covers much of the same ground as Plugshare, but you can filter the results more easily by charging speeds. This is great if you need to find a charger quickly and you’re not sure what speeds it offers. The app also shows you the number of charge points in a location and whether they are working

Chargemap also covers Europe and other countries as well, which is great if you’re traveling or just want to find somewhere else nearby.

The downside is that the app data isn’t always as up to date as some others but it is certainly a tool to use to check vs others.

4. ZapMap

ZapMap is a great tool if you’re traveling in an unfamiliar area. It will show you all the locations of electric car charging points, including those that are free to use and those you have to pay for.

The app features a map view which is great if you’re looking for somewhere to charge on the move, or if you want to find a location that’s easy to reach. The map view also shows some extra helpful information, such as the number of charging points at a location and how many are available.

ZapMap has a useful feature that other apps don’t have and that’s the ability to see if chargers are in-use at the time. This works with a number of major networks with live data but does not work on all chargers so be careful to double-check this before driving down and being disappointed. The data is being updated all the time so one day this may be the go-to for all EV drivers

5. PodPoint

PodPoint is an app that’s designed to help you find the nearest electric car charging station within their network. This app is particularly useful for finding free chargers at places such as Tesco which is known for offering free charging.

This app is required for claiming for Tesco charge, without it you will be limited to 15 minutes of free charging. Be careful when using free chargers at Tesco as they are for shoppers only and there is often a time-limit at the car park. These chargers are generally 7kW chargers

Podpoint also offer paid-for charging at places such as hotels and supermarkets like Lidl. these are generally at least 50 kW chargers

6. Electric Juice by Octopus Energy

A well-known electricity supplier amongst the EV community, Octopus have created an Electric Juice app and card which allows you to pay for charging across many networks.

Currently this only works for certain networks and it certainly doesn’t cover all chargers just yet. However, this app and card is great for ease-of-use as it allows you to find nearby chargers and tells you how much it will cost with your Electric Juice card.

If you are already an Octopus Energy customer you can connect the card to your account and the charging costs will be added to your monthly bill.

If you are looking to switch to Octopus, you can use our referral code which will give you £50 off your bill