Car Road Trip

Best EV Route Planner in 2024 (According To EV Owners)

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Last Updated on March 7, 2024 by Rose Morah

Searching for a good EV route planner can be confusing.

So, we recently took a deep dive into EV route planners.

First, we researched the most recommended EV route planner apps by EV owners who:

  • Own an EV and have used different route planner apps.
  • Have planned long road trips with EV route planners.

We then planned road trips to different locations in North America (both in cities, rural areas, and on cross-country trips) using the most recommended route planners in order to come up with best app for EV route planning.

But before we dive into the findings, let’s first find out what really makes a good EV road trip planner.

What makes a good EV road trip planner?

  1. It should be close to perfect

This means it gives you a close to accurate charge for your next destination. This is great, especially for new EV owners because it minimizes the range anxiety when going on long road trips. 

Additionally, it should provide users with accurate information about the types of chargers and how fast they really are.

  1. It should allow you to filter the charging stops based on the connector, charging speed, and the number of available chargers.

It should be able to plan a route that has multiple chargers and not just gives you what it thinks are the routes with the most convenient chargers.

Some of these routes may turn out to be ‘chargeless’ or you may end up skipping several high-power chargers.

  1. The app should be fast, user-friendly, and with very few bugs.

See also:

Smart Tips for Planning A Road Trip With An EV.

How to use Tesla J1772 Adapter at non-Tesla public charging stations.

The pie chart below shows the most recommended EV route planners by EV owners:

  • A Better Route Planner (ABRP)
  • PlugShare
  • Chargeway
  • Others
Best EV trip planner apps according to EV owners

Summary of the best EV apps in public charging stations:

  • 45% of the EV owners recommended PlugShare, while 47% recommended ABRP.
  • Some EV owners enjoy using PlugShare in conjunction with ABRP when planning long road trips.
  • Only 6% of EV owners recommended Chargeway.
  • 2% recommended other EV route planner apps.

NOTE: 70% of Tesla owners recommended the Tesla in-built trip planner. I have not included it in the above data as it is only applicable to Tesla cars.

See also:

Best Tesla Trip Planner App In 2022 (According To Tesla Owners).

How‌ ‌to‌ ‌Use‌ ‌A ‌Better‌ ‌Route‌ ‌Planner‌ (With Illustrations).

As mentioned earlier, we then took the top 3 most recommended EV trip planner apps (PlugShare, ABRP, and Chargeway) on a 2-week cross-country road trip across different cities/towns. 

The data below shows our most recommended EV route planner based on our experience with different EVs.

Best EV Route Planners

Summary of the findings:

Based on our experiences with the 3 apps, ABRP emerged as the top app followed closely by PlugShare, and the least recommended was ChargeWay.

Let’s begin from the bottom: our ChargeWay experiences:

  • ChargeWay is not that great for cross-country road trips. However, it is a great app if you are touring big cities.
  • It lacked some important features that can be found on ABRP and PlugShare apps.

ABRP and PlugShare were the best EV route planner apps, based on our experiences. These two apps have been in the game for quite a while and seem like they are here to stay!

Additionally, you can use them together for a better road trip experience.

For instance, we used A Better Route Planner (ABRP) to plan our trips, and PlugShare to find better-charging options by browsing the charging stations, places to sleep while you charge overnight, restrooms, shopping, WIFI e.t.c along the route.

You might also like:

How‌ ‌to‌ ‌Use‌ ‌A ‌Better‌ ‌Route‌ ‌Planner‌ ABRP (With Illustrations).

6 Must-Have EV Accessories (Best EV Accessories).

ABRP VS PlugShare

The table below shows a comparison between ABRP and PlugShare

A Better Route Planner (ABRP)PlugShare
1.It was 90% accurate.1.It was 70% accurate.
2.The app was sometimes slow/sluggish (a few times) but very fast most of the time.2.The app was not as fast as ABRP.
3.In some locations, it provided incorrect information about how fast a charger was on our planned route.3.Rarely provided incorrect information about how fast the charger was on our planned route.
4.It does not give quick updates on newly available chargers at different locations.4.Give fast updates on newer available chargers, including “coming soon charging stations”.
5.Fewer charging options compared to PlugShare.5.It has more charging options compared to ABRP.
6.It does not have charger reviews.6.You can check the charger reviews on PlugShare.
7.It has a ton of variables such as temperature, driving speed, battery degradation, weather, and traffic that users can tweak for a more accurate result.7. It does not have many variables.
8.No option to filter your route based on the charging networks.8.You can filter your charging networks.

Related: ABRP Vs Plugshare: Which is The Best EV Trip Planner App?

To get the most out of PlugShare, Sign up for free (register) for extra features.
The two apps are also great for EVs with a limited range.

In conclusion, apps are constantly being updated and new features are always coming out all the time. Therefore, be sure to always keep an eye on PlugShare and ABRP websites for future updates so you don’t miss out on any of them.

Hello there! My name is Rose. I’m passionate about electric cars and clean energy. My adventurous spirit and journalistic pursuits make each day fascinating and far greater. I consider traveling not just about the grandeur moments, but the little elements that transform the whole experience.