There are three levels of EV charging speed: Level 1, Level 2 and DC Fast Charge. The time it takes to charge your EV depends on the size of your EV’s battery, the rate of charge your vehicle can accept and the speed of the charging station.

An hour connected to a Level 1 charger (the standard US household outlet) will provide a battery electric vehicle (BEV) or plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) with about 2-10 miles of additional range. This is best for charging overnight when your car isn’t in use, or for PHEVs which have smaller batteries and can rely on their built-in gas engines if they run out of battery.

Level 2 is considerably faster than Level 1 and is currently the most common option for public charging. An hour of Level 2 charging will add about 20-25 miles to most BEVs and PHEVs.

DC Fast Chargers (DCFC) are the fastest type of charger publicly available today. BEV drivers can expect to gain over 150 miles of range in an hour on the charger. For most BEVs, drivers can expect to get almost 80% of their total range restored in just 30 minutes. It’s important to note that PHEVs (and some older BEVs) are not compatible with DCFC stations.

Tesla Supercharging stations are most similar to the speeds of DCFC, but only Tesla cars can charge at Tesla-branded public charging stations.  See below for more on charging connector compatibility, and  Browse Electric Vehicles to learn more about specific brands and models.

Every EV on the road today in the U.S. is compatible with one of three standard charging connectors: SAE J1772, CHAdeMO, & Tesla.

SAE J1772 is designed for Level 1 and Level 2 charging, unless equipped with the CCS Combo plug, which enables DCFC.

CHAdeMO connectors are capable of Level 1, Level 2 or DCFC with the same universal connector.

Tesla can charge using the proprietary Tesla Supercharger network with their car's standard Tesla connector but will need to use an adapter to charge at SAE J1772 or CHAdeMO stations.

Before you use a DC Fast Charger, learn about your EV’s connector type. Some DC Fast Charger stations support both CHAdeMO and SAE J1772 connectors. The Tesla Supercharger network is not compatible with other vehicles.

Some public charging stations are free, and some require the driver to pay. The station may allow a user to swipe their credit card right at the plug or offer subscriptions that can be prepaid monthly, often through an application on the driver’s phone. Go to the links in the National Public Charging Networks table to learn more about your options.

Most public charger users follow simple “rules of the road” to ensure that everyone has a good experience. Some best practices are:

When you’re done charging, move your car out of the charging spot as soon as possible so others can use the charger.

Don’t unplug other’s cars to plug yours in.

Top off when you can, not when you have to. If you add a little charge here and there (especially when you wouldn’t be in the car anyway – such as running into the grocery store or mall), you might be able to avoid long charging stops to juice up a battery that is nearly empty.