Comparison

Place to Plug vs IONITY

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Place to Plug

Discover and book electric vehicle charging stations worldwide. Start charging directly from your phone, share your own charging point with the community, and manage your charging sessions. This app promotes sustainable mobility by making EV charging accessible and convenient.

Highlights
  • Map and list of charging stations
  • Advanced filtering options
  • Real-time station status
  • Remote charging start/stop
  • Book charging points
  • Share charging points
  • Charging session history
Features
Read full description

Master electric driving and sustainable mobility. Become a PRO with our app, it's totally free! With Place to Plug EV drivers can easily discover thousands of charging stations along their way around the world, both public and private. Find your preferred charging point and even book it for your peace of mind. Start charging on your arrival without the need of specific apps or RFID cards. Become one of our awesome community users by sharing your socket with other EV drivers. • Tap, charge and GO Charge right from your phone. This app will give you all the power! • Ensure your charge whenever you want Book a socket and let it wait for you. Just keep calm and enjoy your road! • Charge everywhere Use sockets from our community to charge even at the top of a mountain. • Environment matters We reduce emissions by helping you to use EVs. Let's green the world! FEATURES • Map and list of charging stations around the world • Advanced filtering such as power, connector type, charging zone type… • Access to public and private charging points • Real time status of charging stations & charging points • Remote start/stop wherever and whenever you want • Start charging by scanning a QR code • Book charging points to ensure your charge • Charging session history & details • Charging point reporting & reviews • Sharing your charging point with other Place to Plug users • Private charging points management • Bookings management And, of course, Tesla users will also find all Supercharger stations in our app! NEW IN We release our brand-new widget and Apple Watch App! And we give a warm welcome to iOS 13 and Sign in with Apple. Do not miss our new widget! Start charging by scanning a QR code you will find in the connector of the charging station, find all your favorite stations and nearby charging stations. And about the Watch... you have never had so much power in your wrist before. Its design will allow you to stop any charge right from your wrist and get directions to your favorites and nearby charging stations ;) Discover all its features! SUPPORT IN REAL TIME Having problems with any charging point or charging station? Our app offers you a real time chat with all charging points operators as well as with the users that book and use your charging points :)

About

IONITY

Find and use high-power EV charging stations across Europe. Plan your routes, start and stop charging sessions, and manage payments easily. Offers subscriptions for lower charging prices.

Highlights
  • Find nearest charging stations
  • Real-time charger availability
  • Route planner
  • Start/end charging sessions
  • Track charging progress
  • QR code scanning to start
  • Secure payment storage
Features
Read full description

Say hi to your co-driver. You’re searching for a top-notch EV charging experience? Here you are: Download the IONITY App to access Europe’s leading High-Power Charging (HPC) network available across 24 countries – open to EVs from all manufacturers. Our network delivers maximum charging speeds of up to 400 kW, enabling you to charge 300 kilometres of range in 15 minutes. Faster charging sessions — more time for you. Discover the highlights of the IONITY App Navigation • Search and find the nearest or a specific IONITY Station — the availability of all charging points is displayed in real-time. • Use the IONITY Route Planner to plan your journey ahead and import your daily or upcoming routes to your favourite navigation app with ease. Charging • Conveniently start and end your charging session directly within the IONITY App. • Track your charging progress in real-time and receive a push notification when you’re at 80% to go back on the road. • Optional: Use our app to scan the QR code on the charger to start the session. Payment • Safely store your account and payment details within the app to conveniently pay for your charging sessions. • Receive monthly invoices for your personal or professional use to keep an eye on your spendings. • Have a closer look at your past IONITY charging sessions and explore useful information like station location and kWh charged. Find the right IONITY Subscription for you Discover our subscriptions within the app: Choose the one that matches your lifestyle, driving habits, and charging needs by opting for IONITY Power or Motion. Sign up now and charge your electric vehicle at very attractive price per kWh. Prices vary by country. IONITY Power Power your EV and charge for less: Our IONITY Power subscription is the right choice for most EV drivers. You save money after only two charging sessions per month: Benefit from the cheapest charging prices per kWh and continue your journey fast. IONITY Motion Keep yourself in motion: IONITY Motion is the ideal subscription for drivers that only occasionally use their electric vehicle and want to benefit from a cheaper charging price per kWh by using the IONITY App. Your benefits with IONITY Power and IONITY Motion: • A significantly lower charging price per kWh • No seasonal or peak changes of kWh prices • Switch your current subscription anytime • Cancel subscription anytime to next billing date • Subscribe and pay via the IONITY App Charging for registered users without IONITY Power or Motion subscription: IONITY App tariff Ready. Set. Charge! Sign up within the IONITY App and automatically benefit from a slightly lower charging price per kWh. No subscription and no monthly fees. This is the IONITY App tariff. Upgrade to our subscriptions to save even more. About IONITY IONITY builds and operates Europe’s largest ultra-fast charging network. With a High-Power Charging (HPC) capacity of up to 400 kW, it enables maximum charging speeds. IONITY exclusively uses renewable energy, ensuring emission-free and carbon-neutral driving. Currently, the IONITY network includes over 700 charging stations and more than 4,800 HPC charging points across 24 European countries. IONITY was founded in 2017 and is a joint venture between the car manufacturers BMW Group, Ford Motor Company, Hyundai Motor Group, Kia, Mercedes-Benz AG and Volkswagen Group with Audi and Porsche as well as BlackRock's Climate Infrastructure Platform as a financial investor. The company is headquartered in Munich, Germany, and has additional offices in Dortmund, Germany, the French metropolis Paris, and outside the Norwegian capital Oslo. Further information at www.ionity.eu.

Screenshots

Place to Plug4 screens
IONITY4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: IONITY at 44% against Place to Plug's 0%. IONITY also leads on rating (4.5 vs 1.0) and ratings volume (148 vs 1). Place to Plug's advantage is monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases) and device support (3 vs 1). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

IONITY holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 1.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: IONITY has 148 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 0% of Place to Plug's written reviews are positive against 44% of IONITY's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 27, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Place to Plug versus IONITY: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPlace to PlugIONITY
PriceFreeFree
Rating1.0 (1 ratings)4.5 (148 ratings) — better
Positive reviews0.0% of reviews44.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings1148 — better
Update frequencyFortnightlyFortnightly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS15.5 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size86 MB71 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperPlace to PlugIonity

Customer experience

Place to Plug

All ratings1 ratings
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%
Written reviews4 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%

IONITY

All ratings147 ratings
Positive87.8%
Neutral2.0%
Negative10.2%
Written reviews386 reviews
Positive44.0%
Neutral13.5%
Negative42.5%

Bugs and requests

Place to Plug

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

IONITY

Reported bugs

22 issues
  • App hangs on logo screen and won't load
  • Login and registration process fails repeatedly
  • Map doesn't display charging stations
  • Charging session won't start despite payment
  • App crashes during payment authorization
Show 17 more
  • QR code scanner button missing or non-functional
  • Charging status not updating in real-time
  • Unable to stop charging from app
  • Session stuck in app after failed charge attempt
  • Email verification codes not received or delayed
  • App freezes when selecting locations
  • Payment method changes not working
  • Subscription cancellation failing with server errors
  • Route planner crashes and malfunctions
  • Charger not recognized after QR scan
  • Double charging occurring on account
  • App doesn't sync with vehicle data
  • Language settings not respected
  • Tariff/pass information not displaying
  • Invoice download functionality broken
  • Weak mobile signal causes app failures
  • Address validation rejecting valid entries

Requested features

19 requests
  • CarPlay and Android Auto integration
  • Plug and Charge functionality
  • Real-time charger availability status
  • Route planning with charging stops
  • Business/company account invoicing
Show 14 more
  • RFID card or badge payment option
  • Charger occupancy forecasting
  • Infrastructure information (restaurants, toilets, WiFi)
  • Dark mode for app interface
  • Ability to save and export planned routes
  • Multiple invoice consolidation
  • Wallet/prepaid balance feature
  • Live charging progress notifications
  • Filter for IONITY-only stations
  • Improved vehicle database for route planning
  • Email language preference settings
  • Payment method management in app
  • Charger power output display on map
  • Home screen widget functionality

In-app purchases

None

Place to Plug

No in-app purchases

None

IONITY

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Place to Plug free?
Place to Plug is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is IONITY free?
IONITY is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Place to Plug or IONITY?
IONITY is rated higher. Place to Plug averages 1.0 out of 5 from 1 ratings, while IONITY averages 4.5 from 148 ratings.
Do Place to Plug or IONITY have ads?
Neither Place to Plug nor IONITY shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Place to Plug or IONITY?
Place to Plug ships an update fortnightly, and IONITY fortnightly. Most recently, Place to Plug was updated on October 24, 2026 and IONITY on October 27, 2026.

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