One of the major benefits of purchasing an electric car is no longer needing to pay to fill your car up with fuel. However, it can be a surprise to learn that charging your car outside of the home is often just as expensive as a tank of gas! Out of all the charging companies available, you might want to know which is going to save you the most money.
Electrify America is not usually more expensive than other companies such as Tesla or ChargePoint. When you take factors such as membership fees, whether state pricing is by kilowatt-hour or by minute, and idling fees into account, most of these companies shake out to be similar in cost over time.
In this article, I will discuss the pricing structure for Electrify America and its competitors in more detail and provide a chart for easy comparison. Additionally, I will give some advice for minimizing your costs while using Electrify America charging stations.
The pricing of charging states can be very confusing to pin down. The confusion is due to the differences in laws on electricity pricing between the states. Some states do not allow charging by the kilowatt-hour (kWh) and so force electric vehicle companies to charge by the minute in those states.
When you compare apples to apples, Electrify America does not end up being more expensive on average. Due to the variability between state policies and the time needed to charge different models of electric vehicles, it has only appeared to be more expensive in the majority of cases.
A full charge with Electrify America in a per-minute state like Wisconsin will likely cost more than a per-kWh charge with Tesla in a state such as California; but, when we compare each company in the same state and the same type of charging, the prices tend to even out remarkably.
Additionally, the pricing for Electrify America charging depends on whether or not you are a member of their Pass+ program. When you commit to a $4 per month membership, the price per kilowatt or per minute decreases quite drastically.
You will find more infographics at StatistaThe way each company prices its charging is quite different, depending on the company you are looking at.
As previously mentioned, Electrify America has a membership program that determines the price for using its charging stations. For all states, prices are set for those who are members and those who are nonmembers. Members save on both per-kilowatt pricing and per-minute pricing. See the next section for the Price Comparison Chart.
The difference in price for members and nonmembers is large enough that you can expect to make up your membership dues in savings even if you only use a charging station a handful of times per month.
Tesla charging works much the same way as Electrify America. In states that do not allow kWh pricing, they charge by the minute. Since some models charge faster than others, the pricing is divided into tiers, with tier 1 being slowest and least expensive and tier 4 being the fastest and most expensive.
The last electric charging company I am discussing here is ChargePoint. The pricing for ChargePoint works differently from other companies because their pricing is not determined by the company at all. Instead, the private companies that host the charging stations decide what they want to charge for using a ChargePoint station.
While this means that the price for ChargePoint could be less, it is next to impossible to know what you are going to be paying ahead of time. The OnCue’s ChargePoint stations at the start of a road trip could cost double what the Kwik Trip stations are priced at.
| Electrify America with Pass+ | Tesla | ChargePoint | ||
| /kWh States | $4/month + $0.31/kWh | Approx $0.28/kWh, varies by state | Varies by station, prices decided by third party | |
| /min States | 1-90kW: $4/month + $0.12/min 1-350kW: $4/month + $0.32/min | 0-60kW: $0.17/min 60-100kW: $0.45/min 100-180kW: $0.84/min 180-250kW: $1.35/min | Varies by station, prices decided by third party. |
Sometimes you might be in a bind and just need to charge at the nearest station, regardless of the cost. However, if you can employ the following techniques for charging your car at Electrify America, then you will save a substantial amount of money over time!
We reseaerched and compared How Cheap Electric Cars Will Get In Future. Check out the results!
By becoming a member of Electrify America’s Pass+ program, you will end up saving money over the course of your electric car ownership.
If you are concerned about becoming a member because you aren’t sure about the availability of stations, then rest assured because Electrify America is expanding quickly. There are already enough stations throughout the entire country to keep you covered.
If you are planning a multi-state road trip, try to plan out your stops so that you are charging in states that are able to price by the kWh.
While Electrify America’s by-the-minute prices are comparable to other companies, it is almost always going to be a fairer price by the kWh since you are only ever going to pay for what you actually use.
Not all companies have an idling fee but Electrify America has implemented one. By doing so, it encourages drivers to get in and get out so that stations are able to get more people charged up. No one wants to wait in line if they don’t need to.
After a 10 minute grace period, you will start incurring a $0.40/min fee. So be sure to be courteous to others and your wallet by getting a move on once you are done!
If you look at the costs over time, the cost evens out between the competitors. With good planning and a Pass membership, you may save money over time with Electrify America.
