Plugroo is a new Australian app that helps EV drivers find, choose and plan around charging stations across the country. It pulls every major network into one map — Chargefox, Evie, NRMA, Tesla, Ampol, BP Pulse, Jolt and Exploren — and then goes a step further than most charging apps. It uses AI to recommend the specific charger worth heading for, plan charging stops on longer trips, and summarise what each station is like before you arrive. It is now live on iOS and Android.
Why switch to Plugroo?
PlugShare is the app most Australian EV drivers already have, mainly because it is the biggest name they have heard of. It is a US company, owned by EVGo, built for a US-then-global footprint in more than 200 countries. That is a great reach and for a lot of trips it works fine.
Plugroo is made by Dirhand, an Australian software company, and it does one thing: Australian EV charging. That focus shows up in details a global platform has little reason to prioritise. It integrates directly with the networks Australians actually plug into, and shows pricing the way local drivers expect to see it, in local tariffs, not translated from someone else’s market.
It also catches the quirks that only surface once you have actually driven this country. A charger sitting behind a shopping-centre boom gate that locks up at 6pm. A “fast” charger in a rural town that turns out to be the only plug for 200 kilometres and it is currently taken by a caravan. A global, crowd-sourced map picks some of this up eventually, as reports drop in from wherever its users happen to be. A local-first app is built around it from day one, because the team behind it is dealing with the same roads, the same networks and the same blackspots as the drivers using it.
The bigger bet: judgement, not just a map
Most charging apps show every plug within reach and leave the driver to work out which one is worth the detour. Plugroo’s real differentiator is the AI layer sitting on top of the map, doing that judgement call instead of leaving it to you. Three examples worth knowing:
1. AI charger recommendations. Rather than a screen full of pins, Plugroo takes your car, your battery level and your situation, and tells you which charger to head for.
2. AI route planning with charging stops. For longer trips, it plans where you should stop.
3. AI station summaries. Every charger gets a simple rundown of what to expect: real-world speed, reliability, parking quirks, and any hidden costs (the things a listing of “50kW DC” doesn’t tell you).
That is a different product to “here are some dots on a map.” It is the difference between a directory and a decision, and it is the argument Plugroo is making against apps that got there first.
One less thing to figure out on the road
That's ultimately the point of an app like this: not more information, but less to figure out. A map full of pins still leaves the decision to you — which plug, which detour, which one will actually be free by the time you get there. Plugroo's bet is that Australian drivers don't need another list to scroll through; they need the app to make the call, using data built specifically for this country.
Plugroo is live now on iOS and Android. Next time you're planning a charge, it's worth seeing whether letting the app decide gets you there with less thinking than deciding it yourself. You can download Plugroo here.