How to choose a Level 2 charger
Once you know you want a real 240V charger, three things decide which one: amperage (and the circuit it demands), what you’re paying extra for, and whether your panel can actually deliver the number on the box.
40A vs 48A, and the circuit each one needs
Most of the field here splits into two camps: 40-amp units and 48-amp units. At our standard reference of ~3.5 miles per kWh, 40A (9.6 kW) adds roughly 34 miles of range an hour, and 48A (11.5 kW) adds roughly 40 — a real but modest gap for most daily driving. The bigger difference is what each one demands from your electrical panel. Under the National Electrical Code’s Article 625, EV charging is treated as a continuous load, so a circuit is sized to 125% of what the charger actually draws — the “80% rule” in reverse. Run the math and it lands on round numbers: 40A × 1.25 = 50A, and 48A × 1.25 = 60A. In practice that means a 48-amp charger needs a 60-amp breaker, while a 40-amp charger runs on a more common 50-amp circuit. If your panel is already tight — a 100-amp service with a lot already on it looks very different from a 200-amp service — the “slower” 40-amp charger can be the easier, cheaper install, not just the budget one.
What actually decides the price
Two chargers can push the identical number of amps into your car and still be noticeably apart in price, because amperage isn’t what you’re paying for. It’s the app (a mature one, like ChargePoint’s, costs more to build and support), the enclosure (die-cast metal costs more than plastic, and a real outdoor rating costs more still), cable length, and extras like load balancing. Warranty terms move too — most of this list carries three years, but the cheapest portable unit here drops to two. None of that changes how fast the car fills. If you want the cheapest honest route to 40A, the plug-in Grizzl-E or a budget portable unit gets you there without paying for a screen you may never open.
Matching amps to your panel
Buy for the circuit you have, or the one you’re realistically willing to install — not the biggest number on the box. A 48-amp charger wired to a 50-amp circuit simply runs at 40A anyway, so you’ve paid the 48A premium for headroom you can’t use yet. Have an electrician run a load calculation on your panel before you buy; it’s a quick check and it’s the only way to know what you can actually spare without guessing. And remember the miles-per-hour figures above assume the ~3.5 mi/kWh reference — your own car’s efficiency will move the real number up or down, which is exactly why we print the assumption instead of hiding it. If you’re not sure which charging level you even need, our charging levels guide lays out Level 1 vs Level 2 vs DC fast charging in plain terms. Once the circuit is settled, deciding between a plain charger and an app-connected one is a separate question — our smart charger roundup covers which Wi-Fi features are worth paying for.
