How to choose a charging operator

Coverage beats price

The first thing most people look at is the kWh price — but the cheapest operator is expensive if its chargers aren't on your routes. A low price doesn't help when you end up charging somewhere else anyway, because the nearest charger belongs to a completely different operator. So start with coverage, not price.

Look at the routes you drive most often — the commute, the trip to see family, the regular errands — and check which operators actually have chargers along them. On the map here on the site you can see every charger and who runs it, so you can check whether a network covers your regular routes before committing to its prices or subscription.

Fixed route or varied routes?

If you drive the same fixed route every day — typically a commute between home and work — you can pick exactly the operator that covers that stretch. The coverage question is then simple: find the network with a well-placed charger on your route, and commit to its price or subscription with peace of mind.

If instead you drive varied routes and rarely know where you'll end up charging, broad networks or a roaming card win. A broad network gives you chargers in many places, and a roaming card gives you access to several operators with one card or app — for a small surcharge per kWh. For unpredictable driving, wide access is usually worth more than a narrow discount on a network you only hit occasionally.

Compare the total price

Once you've found a couple of operators that cover your routes, compare the total price — not just the headline kWh price. The cost of a charge can be made up of several parts, and a low kWh price can quickly be eaten up by fees you overlooked.

Go through these four items for each operator you're considering, so you compare like with like:

• kWh price — the variable price for the electricity itself, usually 3–8 kr per kWh depending on whether it's AC or fast charging.
• Start fee — a fixed amount some operators add per charge, regardless of how much you charge.
• Monthly fee — the fixed cost of a subscription, which only pays off if the discount earns the fee back.
• Lock-in and cancellation — how long the subscription ties you in, and how easy it is to cancel again if your needs change.

Discounts and perks

Price doesn't always stand alone. Some operators offer discounts through loyalty programmes, fuel cards or other memberships — if you're already a customer somewhere, you can sometimes charge cheaper than the public price suggests. A perk like that can shift the ranking between two operators that otherwise look alike on price.

These perks change over time, and they're rarely obvious on the operator's front page. On the operator pages here on the site you can see the current prices and the perks we've recorded for each network, so you can factor them into the math instead of guessing.

Use data, not adverts

Operators' adverts naturally highlight their own strengths, which makes it hard to compare on equal terms. A better starting point is the raw numbers: what does the electricity cost, and how closely does the network cover your routes?

The operator pages here on the site show prices and coverage side by side, so you can judge the networks without marketing language. And rather than weighing it all up yourself, the calculator combines coverage, prices, fees and perks into a single ranking based on exactly your profile — your monthly driving, your routes and how much you charge at home.