How it works
Built on open data, designed for real EV drivers
We believe EV drivers deserve transparency about how their tools work. Here's exactly how EV Charge Routes plans your trip, decides which chargers fit your car, where our data comes from, and how we keep the lights on.
1. How route planning works
When you enter an origin and destination, we calculate the driving route using open mapping data, estimate energy consumption based on your EV's real-world efficiency (Wh/km), and overlay every compatible charger within a configurable detour radius along the corridor.
We then sequence recommended stops so you arrive at each charger with a safety buffer (typically 10–15% state of charge), accounting for elevation, average speed, temperature, and battery charging curves. You can adjust the buffer, preferred network, and minimum power level — the plan re-optimizes instantly.
2. How charging compatibility is determined
Compatibility is a function of three things: the physical connector (CCS2, CHAdeMO, Type 2, Tesla NACS), the network's access policy (open, app-required, RFID, plug-and-charge), and your vehicle's maximum DC/AC charging power.
We cross-reference your vehicle from our EV database (over 200 models) against each station's connector list and surface only stalls you can actually use. Tesla Supercharger access is flagged separately because availability for non-Tesla EVs varies by country and site.
3. Where our data comes from
We aggregate from open, well-established sources — and credit each one:
- OpenChargeMap (OCM) — the world's largest open registry of EV charging stations. Provides location, connector types, power levels, operator, and usage status. Updated continuously by a global community.
- Mapillary — crowdsourced street-level imagery used to verify station photos, signage, and physical accessibility (parking layout, height restrictions, lighting).
- OpenStreetMap (OSM) — the underlying map and road network for routing, geocoding, and place names. Licensed under ODbL.
- Operator APIs — where available (Ionity, Fastned, BP Pulse, Enel X, Evie, Chargefox and others) we layer in real-time availability.
- Our own enrichment — pricing benchmarks, station reviews submitted by drivers, and photo moderation.
No source is perfect. Where data conflicts, we prefer the operator API → OCM → community submissions, and we date-stamp every record so you know how fresh it is.
4. How we keep data accurate
Every station can be reported by drivers (broken, moved, decommissioned, wrong connector). Reports are reviewed, and confirmed corrections flow back upstream to OpenChargeMap so the whole ecosystem benefits.
We re-sync OCM nightly, run automated checks for impossible values (e.g. 1000 kW AC charger), and flag stale records older than 12 months.
5. Business model — how we make money
We're fully transparent about this. The core route planner, charger finder, and city/region pages are free forever and ad-light. We sustain the service through:
- Investor education content — our /invest hub for people exploring EV-related stocks, ETFs, and the broader transition. We may receive referral fees from regulated brokers we feature. This never affects route planning or charger data.
- B2B data API (coming soon) — fleet operators and automotive companies license our aggregated charger dataset.
- Optional Pro tier (planned) — advanced fleet features, route exports, and priority support.
We do not sell personal location history, and we do not allow charging networks to pay for higher placement in route results.
6. Your privacy
You can use the planner without an account. We collect the minimum needed to make the product work and offer one-click export or deletion of your data at any time.
Ready to plan your next trip?
Free, no signup required. Just enter your car and your route.