What's the Best Home EV Charger for 2024? We Tested 7; Here Are the Ones to Buy

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This article was updated in July 2023 with new products and information. We plan to update this article regularly; check back often for updates.

With gas prices soaring and certain states providing significant tax credit incentives, electric vehicle ownership is looking better by the day. That said, EV ownership is a big change for drivers accustomed to internal combustion engines. From regenerative braking to single-speed transmissions to charging, owning an electric vehicle comes with a new set of features and responsibilities.

The most important of these responsibilities is EV charging. And most of your charging will happen at home, following the day’s commute or a weekend trip, while a marginal amount will occur at roadside chargers as a supplementary boost. Home EV charging is much cheaper and more sustainable than DC fast-charging in the long run and is the logical choice for anyone with access to the right power source.

Things to Consider When Buying an EV Charger

The output of your household circuit is an important figure to take into account, followed by the output of the EV charging equipment. Additionally, matching the vehicle’s rate of charging and charging equipment output is vital to charging your EV efficiently.

After thorough testing, the Gear Team picked seven of the best EV home chargers ranging in price from $300 to $700. These are universal level 1 and 2 chargers that will work with any EV on the market today. Some boast features like Wi-Fi connectivity, allowing users to monitor charging and control the unit via an app, while others are rugged, no-frills chargers made to last inside and out. Some chargers listed offer variants with slightly different prices.

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BEST OVERALL: ChargePoint Home Flex EV Charger

• Output capability: 50/48/40/32/24/16 amps (12.0/11.5/9.6/7.7/5.8/3.8 kW)

• Cord length: 23 feet

• Cord management: Built-in

• Outdoor rating: Yes (NEMA 3R)

ChargePoint's Home Flex unit integrates into the same app used to connect to the company's numerous public charging units. The Gear Team found the app to be the most user-friendly of all the ones they tested, with the clearest display and easiest-to-understand charts. Total charge time and energy output during each charge are also easy to read, comprehend, and schedule.

The ChargePoint app also offers the most in-depth cost-tracking, allowing users to select a rate plan from their local utility company. The Gear Team was able to calculate the actual cost of charging down to the penny, even when charging on a variable rate. They also appreciated the built-in notch at the top of the unit to wrap the cord around; many other units require the purchase of a second cord-management device.

BEST BUDGET OPTION: Emporia EV Charger

• Output capability: 48–6 amps (11.5–1.4 kW)

• Cord length: 24 feet

• Cord management: Included wall mount

• Outdoor rating: Yes (NEMA 4)

This is an impressive WiFi-connected entry at an attractive price point. The 11.5-kW output capability is at the high end of the chargers tested. The Emporia has just about everything a consumer could want, including detailed electricity pricing using your actual utility plan.

Emporia's entire electricity-tracking universe is integrated into Emporia's app. However, the Gear Team found that navigating around all of these areas of the app is overly confuscating if you're just charging your EV.

ALSO GREAT: Tesla J1772 Wall Connector

• Output capability: 48/40/32/24/16/12 amps (11.5/9.6/7.7/5.8/3.8/2.9 kW)

• Cord length: 24 feet

• Cord management: Built-in

• Outdoor rating: Yes (NEMA 3R)

Don't own a Tesla? The company's Wall Connector is still a great EV charging option for your home. In addition to its rapidly-endorsed NACS plug, Tesla also offers its home charging unit with the J1772 plug that most other EVs currently use. Connecting to a non-Tesla EV simply requires an adapter. The Wall Connector's sleek shape and glass-like clear top layer make it the most visually appealing charger tested.

The setup process for the Wall Connector is simple; just scan the QR code on the side of the unit to connect to WiFi, then set the output limit through a web-based interface.

Although the Wall Connector is capable of almost the highest output of the devices tested by the Gear Team, (48 amps or 11.5 kilowatts), it also has the thinnest cables. They're easy to wrangle, but will the small diameter affect long-term durability?

JuiceBox 40 Smart EV Charging Station

• Output capability: 40/32/24/16/12/6 amps (9.6/7.7/5.8/3.8/2.9/1.4 kW)

• Cord length: 25 feet

• Cord management: Built-in

• Outdoor rating: Yes (NEMA 4X/IP66)

When Car and Driver first tested home EV charging units in 2022, the Gear Team preferred the JuiceBox charger to all the rest. Since then, the company has redesigned its app—and it's somehow less intuitive now? Nevertheless, the JuiceBox is still one of the most feature-rich Wi-Fi-enabled Level 2 chargers you can buy, and deserves a spot on this list.

The JuiceBox comes in three output levels. In addition to the 40-amp version tested, there's a 48-amp version that's at the high end of the price spectrum for this group, and a 32-amp version that costs less.

The JuiceBox provides energy output and charge time for each session, customizable push notifications, and the ability to set charge times to take advantage of variable utility rates.

Lectron 32 Amp EV Charger

• Output capability: 32/16/13/10 amps (7.7/3.8/3.1/2.4 kW)

• Cord length: 21 feet

• Cord management: none

• Outdoor rating: Yes (IP67)

This Lectron is one of the least expensive home EV charger options on the market. Even though it isn't a "smart" unit with Wi-Fi capability and 32 amps is at the low end of the charging spectrum, it has a small LCD screen that displays voltage, amperage, charge time, energy (kWh), and temperature. There's no wall mount for the cord, but a simple hook or hose reel should suffice.

This unit lets you set the limit on current output, which can be adjusted among 10, 13, 16, or 32 amps to match your wall circuit. When you plug in, charge time starts over, but the kilowatt-hour readout doesn't. Further, there's no app monitoring charging, so if you want to track your car's efficiency you have to unplug and replug it before every charge. If you want to track your charging fastidiously, one of the Wi-Fi-connected units on our list is probably a better choice.

Grizzl-E Smart EV Charger

• Output capability: 40/32/24/16 amps (9.6/7.7/5.8/3.8 kW)

• Cord length: 24 feet

• Cord management: Included wall mount

• Outdoor rating: Yes (NEMA 4X/IP67)

The Grizzl-E Smart is one of the cheapest smart EV charging units on the market. Grizzl-E touts the ruggedness of its beefy aluminum enclosure. Videos on its website show a small off-road vehicle running over it (which seems completely unnecessary for a thing that's mounted on a wall, but hey: image is everything). It also had the thickest cables, which were consequently the most resistant to hanging up after charging. A wall mount for the cable is included.

It can (theoretically) pair with any EV charging app that uses the OCPP (Open Charge Point Protocol) 1.6. However, connection to an app was a pain. After quite a bit of back-and-forth, the Gear Team was eventually able to get a firmware update and connect this unit to the ChargeLab app. Grizzl-E claims to have streamlined the process, but still: buyer beware.

Like the other units, this one can adjust among various output levels, but that's most difficult to accomplish in the Grizzl-E. Rather than change it via the app, you have to take off the front cover and toggle DIP switches. The unit can, however, be preordered to a specific setting to save that hassle. The cover also must be removed to reset the Wi-Fi connection, which we did at least a half-dozen times when trying to get ours to connect.

Electrify America Electric Vehicle Charger

• Output capability: 40/32/16 amps (9.6/7.7/3.8 kW)

• Cord length: 24 feet

• Cord management: Included wall mount

• Outdoor rating: Yes (NEMA 3R)

Electrify America's home charging station uses the same app as the company's ubiquitous public fast chargers. That means most EV owners probably have it on their phones already. This home charger's setup is simple; just scan the unit's barcode in the app to add it to your account and connect it to Wi-Fi. But it's not without foibles.

Testers didn't like that the app doesn't display a charging curve or indicate when charging had stopped. That info comes in handy when trying to manage charge-time windows. Also, the cable that plugs into your home outlet is very short, limiting your mounting options. And this unit is large—far bulkier than the others tested, and it doesn't include any kind of cord management beyond a plug holster that mounts to the wall. Finally, despite Italian design house Italdesign being credited for the design, we don't think it's nearly as sleek as the Tesla Wall Connector. But that's subjective.