Comparison

black tower vs Melon Mobile

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

Head to head
About

black tower

Features
Read full description

Black Tower makes EV charging simple, reliable, and seamless. Whether you’re at home, work, or on the road, the Black Tower app helps you find chargers, start sessions instantly, and manage every aspect of your EV charging experience in one place. Designed for South Africa’s growing electric vehicle community, Black Tower gives you a fast, secure, and user-friendly way to stay powered wherever your journey takes you. Key Features • Find Charging Stations Easily Locate Black Tower–enabled chargers across South Africa with real-time availability, status updates, and accurate map positioning. • Start and Stop Charging Instantly Begin a charging session directly from your phone—no cards, tokens, or extra hardware needed. • Seamless Payments Pay securely using your preferred method with simple, transparent pricing. Track spending and view your charging history any time. • Real-Time Session Tracking Monitor charging progress live, including energy delivered, estimated completion time, and session cost • Smart, Clean UI Built for Speed Enjoy an app designed for fast decision-making, intuitive navigation, and a minimal, modern interface. • Reliable Support Access support directly through the app whenever you need assistance or have questions about a charge point. Why Black Tower? Electric vehicle adoption is accelerating rapidly in South Africa. Black Tower is built to support this transition by delivering a charging experience that is simple, accessible, and built for everyday drivers. Whether you’re commuting, travelling long-distance, or topping up your battery before heading out, Black Tower helps you stay charged with confidence. Perfect For: Everyday EV drivers First-time EV owners Commuters and long-distance travellers Anyone looking for a fast, reliable charging experience Black Tower is the future of EV charging — built for South Africans, by South Africans.

About

Melon Mobile

Features
Read full description

Yup, we said it - the first-ever fully customisable mobile network in Mzansi – built to disrupt what all the other big companies are doing, in favour of more freedom, better month-to-month plans and a more affordable way to do mobile. Say goodbye to rigid plans, long-term contracts and all those other things that lock you in, and hello to freedom with our innovative Melon App. Why Melon Mobile? · We’re 100% Digital: No paperwork, no stores, no frustration - we're 100% digital. · You’re in control: Whether you want to build your own month-to-month Voice & Data plan (and change it any time) or choose one of our Unlimited Calls & Texts + Data plans. · Mobile made by you: More control means a happier you. We let you decide how you want your mobile plan to work for you. Need more Data next month? Change your plan. Less Data? Change it again. You’re in charge here. · Keep your number: Switch to Melon and keep your number. Porting takes a day, and it can be done from our App. · We keep things simple: Sign-up is a breeze. Order a free SIM, complete Self-RICA, all on our App or Website, without having to visit a store. · We don’t do contracts: You’re not locked into anything with us. Build a plan, choose a plan, change a plan – it’s all up to you. So, what’s this free trial thing? We’re giving you the chance to put us to the test for 14 days, for free. That’s 14 days of our Unlimited Calls & Texts plus 5GB Data, for free. Become a Melon test pilot by signing up to your free trial. 1. Visit www.melonmobile.co.za. 2. Register & choose your SIM (physical or eSIM). 3. Pay a small delivery (if needed) and SIM Activation fee. 4. Download the Melon Mobile App. 5. RICA & Activate SIM. 6. Enjoy your free trial. It’s easy-peasy. But wait, there’s more: Once you’re testing us out, take a look at all the other amazing things you can get from Melon. You can refer a friend and get tech vouchers up to R1000. We’ve introduced free eSIMs on all compatible smartphones and devices. We’ve brought in something we like to call, “Family Plans”, which allows you to add more SIMs to your account, giving you control over Data & Voice usage for your whole family. We’ve brought in AI, to learn more about our customer behaviour, so we can make our product even better. And we’re only getting started. #MoveToMelon and put us to the test with your free trial. Visit melonmobile.co.za and download the Melon App today. Welcome to the sweet side of mobile.

Screenshots

black tower4 screens
Melon Mobile4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: black tower at weekly against Melon Mobile's every 2 months. On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support 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.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

black tower ships an update weekly, Melon Mobile every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on November 8, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 5 level
black tower versus Melon Mobile: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
Parameterblack towerMelon Mobile
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyWeekly — betterEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.115.1
Further details — not scored
Size140 MB49 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperBLACK TOWER EVC (PTY) LTDMelon Mobile Holdings (Pty) Ltd

In-app purchases

None

black tower

No in-app purchases

None

Melon Mobile

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is black tower free?
black tower is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Melon Mobile free?
Melon Mobile is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do black tower or Melon Mobile have ads?
Neither black tower nor Melon Mobile shows ads.
Which is updated more often, black tower or Melon Mobile?
black tower ships an update weekly, and Melon Mobile every 2 months. Most recently, black tower was updated on November 8, 2026 and Melon Mobile on October 31, 2026.

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