Plug & Range

Best EV Chargers with a Built-In Timer

If your utility charges less after midnight, the single most valuable feature on a charger is a delayed start. Here is which units put that on the box, which put it in an app, and when you need neither.

By Stephen V.Last updated How we pick

The verdict first. The best built-in timer here belongs to the ELEGRP 40A, and it is also our budget pick: it has no Wi-Fi, no app and no account, just a delay timer you set on the unit itself. Nothing to log into, nothing to be switched off in three years. If you want the delay plus a readout of what the session actually drew, the EVDANCE 24A publishes a one-to-twelve-hour delayed start next to a display showing current, voltage, kWh and session time. And if you would rather schedule from your phone and see the cost, the ChargePoint Home Flex has the most mature app of any charger on this site.

The money at stake is real and it is the reason this page exists. On a time-of-use electricity rate the difference between plugging in at 6 p.m. and starting at midnight can be most of your charging bill, because utilities price the evening peak far above the overnight trough. The charger does not have to be clever to capture that. It only has to not start yet.

There are three places a delayed start can live, and they are not equally robust:

On the charger.A button or dial on the unit. Works with no network, survives the manufacturer going quiet, and anyone in the household can change it. The weakness is that it is a fixed delay from when you plug in, not a clock time — plug in an hour later and the charge starts an hour later.

In the charger’s app.Real clock schedules, often with rate plans and energy reporting. The weakness is that it depends on Wi-Fi, a login and a company’s cloud continuing to exist.

In the car.Nearly every modern EV can schedule its own charging, and this is frequently the right answer — it is free, it is a clock time, and it follows the car to other chargers. Our time-of-use charging guide walks through picking the window; this page is about the hardware half.

How this is funded:we earn a commission if you buy through our links, at no extra cost to you. It never changes which product we recommend, and we’ll tell you when we’d skip one. Full disclosure.

Quick picks

Ranked on published specs, charging speed, electrical fit and value. Select a row to jump to the full write-up. We have not bench-tested these chargers — here is exactly what we do instead.

#ProductBest forPrice
1
ELEGRP 40A Portable Level 2 Charger (ECP24-40A0-01)

ELEGRP 40A Portable Level 2 Charger (ECP24-40A0-01)

The cheapest charger in this registry that still publishes everything you would want to check: 9.6 kW, five current levels from 16 to 40 amps, an IP67 body with a stated -21°F floor, ETL certification and a 2-year warranty. There is no Wi-Fi and no app — you get a 1-to-12-hour delay timer on the unit instead — and for a lot of households that is the correct amount of charger.

Best on-unit timer, and the budget pick
$209.99 · View on Amazon

Price as of November 12, 2026. #ad How we’re funded

2
EVDANCE 24A NEMA 14-30 Portable Charger (EV-ACS2405U)

EVDANCE 24A NEMA 14-30 Portable Charger (EV-ACS2405U)

The charger a dryer outlet actually wants. The plug on the end is a NEMA 14-30, so it goes straight into a four-prong dryer receptacle with no adapter, and its maximum is 24 amps — exactly what a 30-amp circuit allows — so there is no setting that can ask that circuit for more. Its manual carries an Intertek ETL mark to UL 2594, and it steps down to 10 amps for a circuit you are unsure of. What the low price costs you is a one-year warranty and documentation that disagrees with itself in places worth reading carefully.

Best 1-12 hour delay, with a display
$269.99 · View on Amazon

Price as of November 12, 2026. #ad How we’re funded

3
ChargePoint Home Flex

ChargePoint Home Flex

If you'd rather buy a charger once and be done, this is the safe call. You set the current in the app anywhere from 16 to 50 amps, so it fits whatever your panel can spare today and still has room to grow if you upgrade the circuit later. The app is the most polished of the bunch and the warranty is long.

Best app scheduling
$549.00 · View on Amazon

Price as of November 12, 2026. #ad How we’re funded

4
Emporia Level 2 EV Charger

Emporia Level 2 EV Charger

The value pick that never feels like one. You get the full 48 amps, an ENERGY STAR listing, real Wi-Fi energy tracking and a 25 ft cable for well under what the marquee brands charge. When someone asks us where to start, this is usually the first name out of our mouths.

Best for seeing what it saved you
5
Lectron Level 1 Charger, 12A (Wi-Fi)

Lectron Level 1 Charger, 12A (Wi-Fi)

Level 1 charging with a brain. It gives up three amps against the plain 15A version and gets back the Lectron app — live charging status, scheduled sessions, and a kWh cap so you can stop a charge at a set amount. On Level 1 that scheduling matters more than it sounds: a trickle charge runs for most of the night anyway, so being able to start it when your off-peak rate does is worth more than the amps you traded away.

Cheapest scheduled charging
$169.99 · View on Amazon

$179.996% off

Price as of November 12, 2026. #ad How we’re funded

The picks in full

#1Best on-unit timer, and the budget pick

ELEGRP 40A Portable Level 2 Charger (ECP24-40A0-01)

The cheapest charger in this registry that still publishes everything you would want to check: 9.6 kW, five current levels from 16 to 40 amps, an IP67 body with a stated -21°F floor, ETL certification and a 2-year warranty. There is no Wi-Fi and no app — you get a 1-to-12-hour delay timer on the unit instead — and for a lot of households that is the correct amount of charger.

Strengths

  • Five current levels (16/20/24/32/40A) — it fits whatever circuit you have
  • IP67 with a published -21°F to 121°F range, and a carrying case in the box
  • 2-year warranty and full ETL certification at the bottom of the price band

Trade-offs

  • No Wi-Fi, no app and no energy monitoring — just an on-unit delay timer
  • Not ENERGY STAR listed, so it may not qualify for some utility rebates
  • 40 amps is the plug-in ceiling; a 48-amp unit needs hardwiring
Max output40 A
Power9.6 kW
ConnectorJ1772
InstallNEMA 14-50 plug
Cable length25 ft
Warranty2 years
WiFi + appNo
CertificationsETL certified

Our charging-speed math. Forty amps at 240V is 9.6 kW, and at 3.5 miles per kWh that is roughly 34 miles of range an hour. ELEGRP's own figure is 37 miles an hour, which assumes a slightly more efficient car than our reference.

Build note. ELEGRP publishes 240V, up to 9.6 kW, five selectable current levels of 16, 20, 24, 32 and 40 amps, a NEMA 14-50 plug, a 25 ft cable measured plug-end to connector, a J1772 connector, ETL certification with its PBE overheat protection, an IP67 rating with a -21°F to 121°F range, a 1-12 hour delayed start, a carrying case and a 2-year warranty.

Specs read from the manufacturer spec sheet, on August 19, 2026. “Not published” means the brand does not state that figure.

#2Best 1-12 hour delay, with a display

EVDANCE 24A NEMA 14-30 Portable Charger (EV-ACS2405U)

The charger a dryer outlet actually wants. The plug on the end is a NEMA 14-30, so it goes straight into a four-prong dryer receptacle with no adapter, and its maximum is 24 amps — exactly what a 30-amp circuit allows — so there is no setting that can ask that circuit for more. Its manual carries an Intertek ETL mark to UL 2594, and it steps down to 10 amps for a circuit you are unsure of. What the low price costs you is a one-year warranty and documentation that disagrees with itself in places worth reading carefully.

Strengths

  • Native NEMA 14-30 plug with a 24-amp maximum — it cannot be set above what the circuit allows
  • ETL listed (Intertek control number 5034626) to UL 2594 and UL 2231-2, per its user manual
  • Five current steps (10/12/16/20/24A) for an older or unverified dryer circuit
  • On-unit display of current, voltage, kWh and session time, plus a 1-12 hour delay timer

Trade-offs

  • One-year warranty, the shortest of the picks on our dryer-outlet page
  • EVDANCE's own pages disagree on the circuit it needs (a "20A circuit" on the store page, a "32A breaker" in the manual) — a 14-30 is a 30-amp receptacle
  • The 25 ft is total length: about 21.9 ft from control box to car and 3.1 ft from box to outlet, per the Amazon listing
  • EVDANCE says the plug-and-socket joint is not waterproof, and the connector needs its cap when stored
Max output24 A
Power5.76 kW
ConnectorJ1772
InstallNEMA 14-30 plug (four-prong dryer outlet)
Cable length25 ft
Warranty1 year
WiFi + appNot published
CertificationsETL listed (Intertek 5034626) to UL 2594, UL 2231-2 and CSA C22.2

Our charging-speed math. At its 24-amp maximum and 240V it delivers 5.76 kW, roughly 20 miles of range an hour at our 3.5 miles-per-kWh reference, or about 200 miles across a ten-hour overnight window. Dropped to 16 amps for an older circuit, it is about 13 miles an hour.

Build note. From EVDANCE's user manual for model EV-ACS2405U: 24A maximum at 240V (5.76 kW); current chosen before plugging into the car by holding the A button and stepping through 10, 12, 16, 20 or 24A; a 1.77-inch display showing real-time current, voltage, power, kWh, session time and temperature; a 1-12 hour delayed start; a Type 4 enclosure; a -22°F to 122°F operating range; 25 ft total length; an SAE J1772 connector; certification to UL 2231-2, UL 2594 and CSA C22.2 under an Intertek ETL mark (control number 5034626); and a 12-month warranty. The documentation is inconsistent, and we record the manual over the store page: the evdances.com spec table for this same product lists a "6-32A" adjustable range, a "Dedicated 20A Circuit" and a "J1772/CCS" connector, and the site banner advertises a 3-year warranty that the product page, the manual and the Amazon listing all put at one year. The manual pictures Wi-Fi and Bluetooth icons and EVDANCE sells a Wi-Fi version on its own store, but the Amazon listing we link does not state an app, so Wi-Fi is recorded as not published.

Specs read from the manufacturer spec sheet, on September 15, 2026. “Not published” means the brand does not state that figure.

#3Best app scheduling

ChargePoint Home Flex

If you'd rather buy a charger once and be done, this is the safe call. You set the current in the app anywhere from 16 to 50 amps, so it fits whatever your panel can spare today and still has room to grow if you upgrade the circuit later. The app is the most polished of the bunch and the warranty is long.

Strengths

  • Adjustable 16-50A fits a modest circuit now and a bigger one later
  • The most complete app here: scheduling, reminders and usage history
  • 3-year warranty and a generous 23 ft cable

Trade-offs

  • You pay a brand premium over value 48A units
  • Using the full 50A needs a 70A circuit most older panels can't spare
Max output50 A
Power12 kW
ConnectorJ1772
InstallHardwired (a plug-in NEMA 14-50 SKU is also sold)
Cable length23 ft
Warranty3 years
WiFi + appYes
CertificationsUL/cUL listed, ENERGY STAR

Our charging-speed math. Run it at the full 50 amps (about 12 kW) and, at a middle-of-the-road 3.5 miles per kWh, it puts back roughly 42 miles of range an hour. Turn it down to 40A to live on a 50A circuit and you're at about 34.

Build note. The headline feature is app-adjustable amperage — anywhere from 16A up to 50A, in software.

Specs read from the manufacturer spec sheet, on July 19, 2026. “Not published” means the brand does not state that figure.

#4Best for seeing what it saved you

Emporia Level 2 EV Charger

The value pick that never feels like one. You get the full 48 amps, an ENERGY STAR listing, real Wi-Fi energy tracking and a 25 ft cable for well under what the marquee brands charge. When someone asks us where to start, this is usually the first name out of our mouths.

Strengths

  • 48A and ENERGY STAR at a genuinely value price
  • The app tracks energy use, not just an on/off toggle
  • Long 25 ft cable and a remote holster in the box

Trade-offs

  • 48A hardwired needs a 60A circuit; on a NEMA 14-50 plug it's capped at 40A
  • The app is less polished than ChargePoint's, and support is a smaller operation
Max output48 A
Power11.5 kW
ConnectorJ1772
InstallHardwired or NEMA 14-50 plug
Cable length25 ft
Warranty3 years
WiFi + appYes
CertificationsUL listed, ENERGY STAR

Our charging-speed math. Hardwired at 48A (11.5 kW), figure about 40 miles of range an hour at 3.5 mi/kWh. Drop to a 40A plug-in circuit and it's closer to 34.

Build note. Runs 48A hardwired, or 40A on a NEMA 14-50 outlet, with a 25 ft cable and a wall holster included.

Specs read from the manufacturer spec sheet, on July 19, 2026. “Not published” means the brand does not state that figure.

#5Cheapest scheduled charging

Lectron Level 1 Charger, 12A (Wi-Fi)

Level 1 charging with a brain. It gives up three amps against the plain 15A version and gets back the Lectron app — live charging status, scheduled sessions, and a kWh cap so you can stop a charge at a set amount. On Level 1 that scheduling matters more than it sounds: a trickle charge runs for most of the night anyway, so being able to start it when your off-peak rate does is worth more than the amps you traded away.

Strengths

  • App gives real-time status, scheduling and a kWh charge limit
  • Same no-install 120V convenience as the plain model
  • ETL listing to the same UL 2594 / UL 2231 standards

Trade-offs

  • 12A instead of 15A — slower again than an already slow charging level
  • You're paying for an app on a charger that mostly runs unattended overnight
  • No published warranty term
Max output12 A
Power1.44 kW
ConnectorJ1772
InstallNEMA 5-15 plug (standard 120V outlet)
Cable length16 ft
WarrantyNot published
WiFi + appYes
CertificationsETL listed (UL 2594 / UL 2231)

Our charging-speed math. 12A at 120V is about 1.44 kW, so at 3.5 mi/kWh that's roughly 5 miles of range an hour — about 50 miles across a 10-hour overnight, before losses.

Build note. Lectron publishes 120V / 12A / up to 1.44 kW, a 16 ft cable, an IP65-rated control box, and a Lectron app that schedules sessions and caps a charge at a chosen number of kWh.

Specs read from the manufacturer spec sheet, on August 11, 2026. “Not published” means the brand does not state that figure.

Where each pick puts the timer

ChargerTimer livesWhat is publishedNeeds Wi-Fi?
ELEGRP 40AOn the unitA delay timer on the charger, with no app at allNo
EVDANCE 24A (14-30)On the unit1–12 hour delayed start, plus an on-unit displayNo
ChargePoint Home FlexAppScheduling in the ChargePoint app, 16–50 A in six stepsYes
Emporia Level 2AppScheduling plus energy tracking in the Emporia appYes
Lectron Level 1 Wi-Fi (12A)AppWi-Fi scheduling on a 120-volt cordYes

Two of these chargers put the delay where it cannot be taken away, and three put it where it is more capable. That is the whole trade, and which side you want depends on something simple: whether your rate window is the same every night. A fixed delay is perfect for “always start six hours after I get home” and clumsy for “start at midnight on weekdays, 3 p.m. at weekends on the solar”.

A fixed delay versus a clock schedule

The practical difference, with numbers. Suppose your cheap rate starts at midnight and you normally plug in at 6 p.m. An on-unit timer set to six hours starts the charge at midnight exactly — perfect. Plug in at 9 p.m. instead and the same setting starts the charge at 3 a.m., which is still inside the cheap window, so nothing is lost. Plug in at 11 p.m. and it starts at 5 a.m., which on many rate plans is close to the morning peak. A fixed delay is forgiving at the start of the evening and unforgiving at the end of it.

A clock schedule has none of that arithmetic, which is why app scheduling is genuinely better if you charge at irregular hours. It is also why the car is often the best place of all: the car knows the time, it knows its own state of charge, and the setting travels with it. Before you pay extra for a smart charger purely to schedule, check whether your car already does it. Our smart versus basic comparison is the full version of that argument.

What a timer does not fix

It does not make charging faster. Speed is amps. Two of the picks above are 40-amp chargers and one is a 12-amp Level 1 cord, and the timer is identical in value on all three. If you have not settled the current question yet, start with how many amps you need.

It does not protect the battery.Delaying a charge so it finishes nearer to when you leave does keep the pack off a high state of charge for fewer hours, which is mildly good practice, but the effect is small and we will not dress it up — see does home charging hurt your battery.

It does not replace load management. A timer avoids the price peak. It does not stop the charger and the oven tripping a shared breaker. That is a different feature, covered on our load management page, and on a tight service it is the one that actually matters — see the 100-amp panel picks.

If you want no app at all

That is a defensible position and we have a whole page for it: the best EV chargers without Wi-Fi. The short version is that a radio is a dependency, and a charger that needs none has one fewer thing to fail. The ELEGRP pick above is on both pages for exactly that reason — an on-unit delay timer is what makes going app-free affordable rather than inconvenient. The ENERGY STAR certified-product list makes the same point from an unexpected angle: Lectron’s NEXUS is certified twice, once with a radio at 3.02 watts standby and once without at 1.86 watts. The networked version uses about 60% more power doing nothing.

How to choose

A simple rate and a plug-in receptacle: the ELEGRP. Cheapest here, five current levels set on the unit, a delay timer, no account.

A 30-amp or dryer circuit: the EVDANCE, which is a native 24-amp charger so it cannot over-draw that circuit, with the longest published delay range on this page. See also our 24-amp picks.

Irregular hours or a complicated rate: the ChargePoint, whose six published current steps from 16 to 50 amps also make it the most flexible charger here electrically.

If you want to see the savings: the Emporia, because a schedule you cannot measure is a schedule you will stop trusting. Our guide to reading a charger’s energy data covers what the numbers mean.

On a budget, or as a second cord:the Lectron Level 1 Wi-Fi — 12 amps on a normal household outlet with app scheduling, which for a plug-in hybrid or a low-mileage commute is the entire solution.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a smart charger to charge overnight?

No. Three things can delay a charge: a timer on the charger itself, a schedule in the charger's app, or a schedule in the car. Nearly every modern EV can do the third for free, and a charger with an on-unit delay timer does the first with no network at all. A smart charger is worth paying for when you want clock-accurate schedules plus energy reporting, not simply to avoid the evening peak.

What is the difference between a delay timer and a schedule?

A delay timer counts hours from when you plug in — set six hours and it starts six hours later, whenever that is. A schedule is a clock time, so it starts at midnight whatever time you plugged in. A delay timer is simpler and needs no network; a schedule is better if you plug in at irregular hours.

Which EV chargers have a timer on the unit itself?

On this site, the ELEGRP 40A (a delay timer with no app at all) and both EVDANCE 24A models (a published 1-to-12-hour delayed start alongside an on-unit display of current, voltage, kWh and session time). The other picks here schedule through their manufacturer's app and need Wi-Fi.

Is it cheaper to charge an EV at night?

On a time-of-use rate, usually yes, and often by a large margin — utilities price the evening peak well above the overnight trough. On a flat rate it makes no difference to your bill at all. Check your own tariff first: our time-of-use guide explains how to read it and choose the window.

Should I use the car's timer or the charger's?

Pick one and only one. Two schedules fighting each other is the most common cause of a car that did not charge overnight. The car's timer is usually the better choice because it is a clock time, it is free, and it follows the car to other chargers; use the charger's timer when the car has no scheduling or when you want the charger to govern a shared circuit.

Does delaying the charge hurt the battery?

No, and it may help very slightly, because the pack spends fewer hours sitting at a high state of charge. The effect is small and we will not overstate it — the DOE's own guidance points at heat and sustained high states of charge as the factors that matter, not whether the electrons arrived at 10 p.m. or 2 a.m.

Will a timer stop my charger tripping the breaker?

Not reliably. A timer moves the charge to a quieter time of day, which helps by coincidence. What actually prevents a trip on a shared or undersized circuit is a lower current setting or genuine load management. If your charger trips the breaker, read our page on why that happens before you treat it as a scheduling problem.

Sources

  • ELEGRP — 40 A Level 2 EV Charger (NEMA 14-50) product page — Manufacturer page, fetched 2026-10-05: a NEMA 14-50 plug delivering up to 9.6 kW with “5 adjustable current levels (16/20/24/32/40A) to match your home capacity”, a 25 ft cable, a 1-12 hour delay timer, an IP67 charging station with an IP54 connector, a published range of -21 °F to 121 °F, ETL certification with ELEGRP's PBE overheat protection, a carrying case, and “up to a 2-year warranty”. The page states Tesla vehicles are compatible “using a NACS adapter (sold separately)”, and its own comparison table lists a separate 16 A sibling model on NEMA 6-20 (240 V) / NEMA 5-15 or 5-20 (120 V) plugs — the 32 A and 40 A models are both NEMA 14-50 only. ELEGRP's marketing figure is “up to 37 miles/h”, which assumes a more efficient car than our 3.5 mi/kWh reference (accessed October 5, 2026)
  • EVDANCE — EV-ACS2405U portable 24 A NEMA 14-30 charger user manual — Manufacturer manual for the exact model we link, read 2026-09-15 and re-fetched live 2026-10-05 (HTTP 200): 24 A maximum at 240 V (5.76 kW); current chosen before the connector is plugged into the car by holding the A button through 10, 12, 16, 20 or 24 A; a 1.77 in display of current, voltage, power, kWh, session time and temperature; a 1-12 hour delayed start; a Type 4 enclosure; a -22 °F to 122 °F operating range; 25 ft total length; an SAE J1772 connector; certification to UL 2594, UL 2231-2 and CSA C22.2 under an Intertek ETL mark (control number 5034626); and a 12-month warranty. Recorded for the conflicts as well as the specs: the manual states a “32A breaker” where EVDANCE's own store page says a “Dedicated 20A Circuit” and a “6-32A” range, and the manual pictures Wi-Fi and Bluetooth icons the Amazon listing we link does not claim (accessed October 5, 2026)
  • ChargePoint — Home Flex datasheet — Manufacturer datasheet: output adjustable in the app to 16, 24, 32, 40, 48 or 50 A (up to 12 kW); the dedicated dual-pole breaker must be rated for 125% of the maximum load (its example: a 50 A breaker for 40 A output) (accessed September 18, 2026)
  • Emporia Energy — EV Chargers (Classic and Pro) — Manufacturer page: the Classic and the Pro both list Solar Charging Integration, and both require the Vue Home Energy Monitor for it — with the Vue added, the charger 'automatically charge[s] with your excess solar power'. PowerSmart load management on the Pro requires the Vue plus the PowerSmart upgrade; Emporia also lists Invite2Charge, described as 'multi-user access control for EV chargers' (accessed September 18, 2026)
  • ENERGY STAR — Certified Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment (AC-Output), certified-product list — The certifier's own list of certified AC chargers, by model number, with the measured standby figures behind each certification. Queried 2026-10-04: Lectron's Nexus is certified twice over, once as LECHGNexusHWJ1772 (48 A, network capability 'No', 1.86 W in no-vehicle mode) and once as LECHGNexusHWJ1772-APP (48 A, network capability 'Yes', 3.02 W) — the same hardware with and without a radio. The plug-in pair is recorded the same way (LECHGNexusNEMA14-50J1772 at 1.88 W, the -APP version at 3.14 W). No ELEGRP or EVDANCE product appears anywhere on the list (accessed October 4, 2026)
  • NFPA — Using the Latest NEC for EV Charger Installations — NFPA on NEC (NFPA 70) Article 625: EV charging is a continuous load, so circuits are sized to 125% of load (the 80% rule) (accessed July 19, 2026)
  • U.S. DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center — Charging Electric Vehicles at Home — US DOE on home EV charging: most owners charge overnight on Level 1 or Level 2, installs follow NEC Article 625, with example home-charging costs (accessed July 19, 2026)
  • U.S. DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center — Electric Vehicle Charging Stations — US DOE on charging levels: Level 1 (~1.9 kW, ~5 mi/hr), Level 2 (2.9-19.2 kW, ~7.2 kW typical residential, ~25 mi/hr), and DC fast charging (accessed July 19, 2026)

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