Buy a used EV in Australia and you inherit a second job: app manager. There is no single “EV apps Australia” download that finds a charger, pays for it, plans your road trip and watches your battery. The networks are fragmented, the brand apps come with subscription fine print, and half the listicles online are quietly flogging affiliate links. So here is the shortlist: the apps that actually earn a spot on your phone, grouped by the job they do, with the free-versus-paid reality spelled out.
You will end up with three or four, not one. That is not you doing it wrong. That is the state of public charging in this country.
Why one app is never enough
Australia’s charging networks do not fully talk to each other. There is no single tap-and-go card that opens every charger. The largest networks each run their own app and payment, and while roaming is slowly improving, you still need accounts across several to avoid getting stranded at the one charger your main app cannot start. Chargefox has helped here: it is owned by the state motoring clubs (NRMA, RACV, RACQ, RAA, RAC and RACT) and now lets you roam onto partner networks including NRMA and BP Pulse. Handy, but not the whole map.
Treat the apps below as a toolkit. Install the finder and the route planner first, then add network apps as you actually hit their chargers.
Finding and paying for public charging
PlugShare is the one everyone starts with, and rightly so. It is free, it shows chargers from every major network on one map (Chargefox, Evie, Tesla, NRMA, AmpCharge and the rest), and the community reviews and check-ins tell you whether a charger is actually working before you drive to it. That last part is the real value. A charger that exists on a map but is broken is worse than useless.
Chargefox is your main payment app for fast charging on the highway. You find a site, start and stop the session, and pay in the app. Because of the roaming deal above, one Chargefox account also gets you onto several partner chargers, which cuts down the number of logins you juggle.
Evie is the second network worth an account. It runs a fast-growing set of DC fast chargers (the high-powered public chargers that fill the battery in tens of minutes, versus the slower AC charging you get at home) across cities, regional towns and highways, and the app finds sites, starts a session and pings you when the car is done. On a long drive it is the obvious backup when a Chargefox site is full or down.
The Tesla app now matters even if you do not own a Tesla. Tesla has opened selected Superchargers to non-Tesla EVs through the Tesla app, and in Australia that now covers about 85% of Supercharger locations. Catch: your car needs the right plug (CCS2 works at the newer sites), and without a paid Supercharging Membership you can pay up to 39% more per session than a Tesla owner does. If you charge at Superchargers often, do the membership maths. If your used EV still runs the older CHAdeMO plug, Superchargers are not an option at all.
MyNRMA, AmpCharge and BP Pulse round out the set, and you add them by region rather than all at once. NRMA runs one of the broadest regional footprints, with its fast chargers accessed through the MyNRMA app. Ampol’s AmpCharge puts DC fast chargers at its petrol stations, activated through the AmpCharge app, and BP Pulse has launched in Australia retrofitting its service stations with rapid chargers. You do not need these on day one. Add them when your regular routes pass their sites.
Route planning for longer trips
For a day trip inside your range, PlugShare is enough. For anything where you have to charge on the way, A Better Route Planner (ABRP) is the tool. You tell it your car and your destination, and it plans where to stop, how long to charge, and how much buffer you will have, factoring in your battery and the chargers along the way.
The pricing is fair. The core planner is free, and Premium runs about 5 euro a month or 50 euro a year for live traffic, real-time charger availability, and Apple CarPlay or Android Auto. Most people are fine on the free web and phone version. The reason ABRP matters for used-EV owners especially: it plans across NRMA, Evie, Chargefox and Superchargers in one route, which the built-in navigation in many cars will not do. PlugShare also has a trip planner built in, which is a decent free fallback if you would rather not run two apps.
Watching your own car and battery
Every brand now has a connected-car app that shows your state of charge, lets you precondition the cabin, and locks or finds the car from your phone. The ones that matter for the used models Australians actually buy:
- Tesla app: the best of the bunch, and it now includes an in-app battery health test that estimates how much capacity your pack has lost. Worth running the day you take delivery, alongside a proper battery health check.
- BYD app: now available free to Australian owners, with remote monitoring and control rolling out across the range.
- MG iSMART: free, and shows EV state of charge, tyre pressures and remote climate control for models like the MG 4 and ZS EV.
- Hyundai Bluelink and Kia Connect: full-featured, but read the subscription clock. Here is the trap for used buyers.
Bluelink and Kia Connect are free, but only for a fixed window from the car’s first registration, not from when you buy it. Hyundai gives Bluelink free for five years (seven if the car keeps to Hyundai dealer servicing on eligible vehicles sold from 1 June 2025), and Kia offers Kia Connect free for seven years from the warranty start date. Buy a three-year-old car and you inherit whatever is left, then pay to keep the connected features alive. Check the remaining term before you assume the app is “free”. Note too that Kia Connect rides on the Optus 4G network, so coverage follows Optus.
If you own a Tesla and want to track battery health over months rather than a one-off test, third-party services like TeslaFi, Tessie and TeslaMate log degradation, efficiency and vampire drain over time. TeslaFi and Tessie are paid subscriptions; TeslaMate is free but self-hosted and technical. Overkill for most, gold for the data nerds. A used-Tesla buyer using one of these for a month before purchase would spot a tired pack fast.
Home charging and running cost
Most of your charging happens at home, so this is where the real savings live, and getting your home charging setup right matters more than any app. If you are on a time-of-use or wholesale plan, the point is to shift charging into the cheap window. Amber is the standout here: its smart EV charging schedules your car to charge at the cheapest and greenest times, leaning on off-peak overnight pricing instead of the expensive evening peak. It needs a compatible smart charger or car, and you have to be an Amber customer, so it is not for everyone.
A word of caution on one app you will still see recommended: Charge HQ, the well-known solar-diversion app, is being shut down by its owner Amber, with the service closing on 7 September 2026. Do not build your home setup around it now. If you already use it, export your charging history before the lights go out.
Beyond a dedicated app, your car’s own app and your charger brand’s app both show how many kWh (units of energy) you have put in, which is enough to check your running cost against your tariff. The maths is simple: home charging at off-peak rates lands well under what petrol costs per kilometre, and that gap is the whole reason you switched.
Start with two apps, not ten
Do not try to install everything at once. Start with two: PlugShare to find working chargers, and your car’s own brand app to watch the battery and precondition the cabin. Add Chargefox the first time you need to pay at a public fast charger, and ABRP the first time you plan a trip beyond your range. That is the core of it. The Tesla app, Evie, MyNRMA and AmpCharge go on as you meet their chargers, not before.
The fragmentation is annoying and it is not your fault. But four free apps and a few logins is a small price for charging that costs a fraction of petrol. Sort the apps before you take delivery, not stranded at a dead charger at 10pm. And if you are still shopping, our guide to used EV prices in 2026 is worth a read.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best EV charging app in Australia?
PlugShare, because it is free and shows every network on one map with live community check-ins on whether chargers work. It finds chargers but does not pay for all of them, so pair it with Chargefox (and a network app or two) for payment.
Do I really need more than one charging app?
Yes. No single app starts and pays for every charger in Australia. Roaming through Chargefox reduces the number you need, but most owners run three or four: a finder (PlugShare), a route planner (ABRP), and one or two network payment apps for the chargers on their regular routes.
Can I use a Tesla Supercharger with a non-Tesla in Australia?
At many sites, yes, through the Tesla app, as long as your car has the right plug. About 85% of Australian Supercharger locations are now open to other EVs, but without a paid Supercharging Membership you can pay up to 39% more per session than a Tesla owner.
Are car brand apps free for used EVs?
The app is free, but connected services like Hyundai Bluelink and Kia Connect are only complimentary for a set period from the car’s first registration (five to seven years), not from when you buy it. On a used car you inherit the remaining time, then pay to renew. Check how much is left before you buy.
