Chargeway vs Francis Energy
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Chargeway
This app helps electric vehicle owners find charging stations and plan trips. It displays real-time charger availability, estimates charging times, and offers route planning with multiple stops. Customize your experience by adding your EV and preferred charging networks.
- Plug-specific color-coded station map
- Real-time charger availability
- Charge time estimation
- EV trip planner with multiple stops
- Vehicle customization for charging
- Station reviews and photos
- One-click directions to stations
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Download Chargeway, the most user friendly EV charging station locator and trip planner! Chargeway makes EV charging easy for everyone. Simply choose any electric vehicle (EV) and Chargeway customizes your EV charging experience making it easy to see where you can charge, where you can go, and how long charging will take. Chargeway has a unique and simple way to navigate charging options using colors for plug types and numbers for power levels. Red stations are for Tesla/NACS plugs, green stations are for J1772/CSS plugs, and blue stations are for CHAdeMO plugs. Numbers at each station pin and for each vehicle show the max power level for each can charge. Levels 1 and 2 are for AC charging and levels 3 through 7 are for DC fast charging. Designed with drivers in mind Chargeway simplifies the EV charging experience for every driver, everywhere. Chargeway’s station map covers all of North America including networks such as Tesla, Electrify America, EVgo, Shell Recharge, Blink, EVConnect, Chargepoint, Flo, Volta, Rivian, 7Charge, Circle K, EVCS, Ivy, OpConnect, Petro Canada, and many more. Chargeway features include: Station Map: - Plug specific color-coding so you know which stations match your car (Green, Blue or Red) - Power levels 1 through 7 show your vehicle and stations max charging speed - Charge time estimation for every station and charger based on your vehicles battery level - Real-time availability for chargers (Available, in use and offline status) - Automatic station location map filtering for the vehicles you choose - Easy to adjust filters for station power levels and networks you want to use - View and add reviews and photos at stations you visit - Report problems directly to network customer service teams - See shops and restaurants near a station that you can enjoy while you charge - One-click directions to help you get to any station location EV Trip Planner: - Chargeway plots the fastest route and charging station locations for your trip - Set the outside temperature and your desired speed for accurate planning - Add multiple stops between your starting point and destination for custom routes - Charging times for every stop are estimated to help you plan your trip - Select "All Stations" on planned trips to view every charging option along your route - If a certain route doesn’t have enough stations Chargeway will let you know so you can choose another route Vehicle Info: - Select your EVs color and choose a name to customize your experience - Adjust your EVs battery level and desired charge limit to estimate charging times at every station - Plug type and battery specifications for every vehicle - Add multiple vehicles to your account at any time Chargeway works for every EV on the road in North America including Tesla Model 3, Tesla Model Y, Tesla Model S and Tesla Model X; Kia EV6, Hyundai Ioniq 5, Ford Mustang Mach-E, Ford F-150 Lightning, Chevrolet Bolt, VW ID.4, Nissan LEAF, BMW i4, BMW iX, Audi e-tron vehicles, Porsche Taycan, Rivian R1T, Rivian R1S, Polestar, and many more EVs available today. No matter where you live or your lifestyle Chargeway helps you enjoy EV charging for both every day driving as well as EV road trips. Download Chargeway to discover the simplified EV charging experience! --- Chargeway Plus • Live public charging pricing right on the map! • Pricing available for over 70,000 public stations • See the total cost to charge your EV at a station • Easy to see daily station rates help you save on charging • Coming Soon: Saved Trips & more! --- Terms of Service: https://www.chargeway.net/terms-of-service/ Privacy Policy: https://www.chargeway.net/privacy-policy/
Francis Energy
Locate and manage electric vehicle charging sessions with real-time availability updates. View charger details, save favorites, and monitor your charging progress and history. Supports a wide range of EV models and charging connector types.
- Real-time charger availability
- Charger details and favorites
- Remote charging session control
- Live charging information
- Charging history and statements
- Supports CCS and CHAdeMo
- Finds Level 2 chargers
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When you sign up for a free Francis Energy account, you can use the app to: • Check the availability of chargers in real-time • See charger details and save your favorite charging locations • Start and stop your charging session from your phone • View live charging information while you take a break from the road • See your charging history and view statements Francis Energy’s DC fast charging stations support all CCS (SAE Combo) and CHAdeMo compatible EVs. You can also use the app to find Level 2 chargers (with J1772 connectors) You can charge almost all electric vehicles on the road with us from manufacturers including: Audi BMW Chevrolet Ford Hyundai Kia Mercedes-Benz Nissan Polestar Porsche Rivian Tesla Toyota Volkswagen
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Chargeway at 4.6 against Francis Energy's 1.5. Chargeway also leads on review sentiment (48% vs 10%) and update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 15 months). Francis Energy's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2). On price, ads, device support and iOS requirement 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
Both are free to download. Chargeway sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Francis Energy asks for nothing beyond the download.
Chargeway holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 1.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Chargeway has 2.5K ratings behind it against 29, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 48% of Chargeway's written reviews are positive against 10% of Francis Energy's.
Chargeway ships an update every 3 weeks, Francis Energy every 15 months. The most recent releases landed on November 11, 2026 and November 7, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Chargeway | Francis Energy |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.6 (2.5K ratings) — better | 1.5 (29 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 47.8% of reviews — better | 9.8% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 2.5K — better | 29 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks — better | Every 15 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 16.4 | 16.1 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 31 MB | 72 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Chargeway Inc. | Francis Energy, LLC |
Customer experience
Chargeway
Francis Energy
User reviews
Chargeway
From 2.5K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Excellent trip planning
- 👍 Clean and intuitive interface
- 🔋 Accurate range and charging estimates
- 💡 Helpful charging station information
- 👍 Great customer support
Room to improve
- 🔒 Requires phone number to use
- 🐛 Connectivity and login issues
- 💡 Limited route customization options
- 🐛 Inaccurate or missing charging station data
Francis Energy
From 29 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 User-friendly dashboard (recent update)
- 👍 Guest option available
- 👍 Decent network of locations
- 👍 Quick and easy setup (for some)
- 👍 Clear prompts during setup
Room to improve
- ❌ Chargers often unreliable/not working
- ❌ App is consistently buggy/unusable
- ❌ Expensive pricing compared to competitors
- ❌ Poor customer service
- ❌ Inconsistent app performance
Bugs and requests
Chargeway
Reported bugs
2 issues- App crashes when trying to create an account
- Charging station information not updating in real-time
Requested features
4 requests- Add option to switch between miles and percentage for remaining range
- Improve charging station filters and sorting
- Allow adding multiple vehicles to a single account
- Integrate with in-car navigation systems
Francis Energy
Reported bugs
25 issues- App crashes immediately after starting charge
- App crashes on iOS 17.3.1
- App gets stuck in a billing history loop
- App doesn't remember password
- App doesn't integrate with Google or Apple for login
Show 20 moreShow fewer
- App doesn't allow password visibility
- App doesn't seem to have a working timer
- App won't allow cutoff at 80%
- App requires license plate number
- App requires excessive personal information
- App crashes after starting charger
- App doesn't load chargers quickly
- App doesn't accurately display chargers
- App says chargers work when they don't
- App doesn't load charging data
- Charging ends when leaving the app
- Permission failure at charging station
- Chargers have hardware issues
- Credit card reader failures
- Station timed out during initial connection
- Cannot enter car model or change password in app
- Error message: car belongs to someone else
- Password incorrect, no reset email received
- Customer service doesn't know why chargers work/don't work
- App doesn't show chargers in the area
Requested features
13 requests- Fix non-working chargers
- Improve app reliability and fix bugs
- Make app more user-friendly
- Offer dark mode
- Integrate with car's in-dash system (new Chevy EVs)
Show 8 moreShow fewer
- Allow password autofill/remember me functionality
- Allow password visibility toggle
- Implement charging timer and 80% cutoff
- Don't force app signup for basic charging
- Reduce required personal information for signup
- Put stations on a major charging network
- Transfer user accounts/funds from old apps
- Improve customer service responsiveness and knowledge
In-app purchases
Chargeway
- Monthly$2.991 Month
- Annual$24.991 Year
Francis Energy
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Chargeway free?
Is Francis Energy free?
Which has better reviews, Chargeway or Francis Energy?
Do Chargeway or Francis Energy have ads?
Which is updated more often, Chargeway or Francis Energy?
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