Is your EV charger compatible? A comprehensive compatibility guide

Which charging station is best? While there are a few factors that help determine that, the single most important characteristic is that it works for your car. The best charging station in the world wouldn’t be very helpful if it didn’t charge your electric vehicle. Luckily, all charging stations pretty much break down into two categories: Tesla and universal. 

Tesla Wall Connector (NACS)

To our knowledge, in the United States, Tesla is currently the only proprietary charging station on the market. The NACS connector only fits into a Tesla vehicle. This is a great option for drivers with only a Tesla and planning to only have a Tesla for the foreseeable future. Tesla currently makes two charging station options, historically the proprietary model is typically the cheaper of the two. 

Tesla (NACS)	Universal (J1772)

Universal Charging Station (J1772)

The J1772 connection is widely known as the universal connector, this is what every other model of electric vehicle that we’ve come across uses. There are a few EV makers that have produced their own brand of charging station like Rivian, Ford, and Polestar but that doesn’t mean that you have to use their charging station for your vehicle to charge. A Rivian truck can charge on a ChargePoint charging station as easily as it can on a Rivian charging station. 

Tesla also makes a universal charging station that works for both Tesla models and other vehicles as well. Historically, Tesla prices this charging station higher than the proprietary model. It seems like most people on the fence between the two Tesla Wall Connector options tend to lean toward this option more often in order to future proof. Electrically, neither Tesla Wall Connector is better than the other as they charge at the same rate. 

Plug-in Hybrids use this universal charger as well but many hybrids can typically charge on a standard household outlet just as easily. Unless you’ve found that a standard household outlet just isn’t charging fast enough we typically don’t recommend charging stations for plug-in hybrid drivers. 

If you’re still not sure which one you need between the Tesla Wall Connector with the proprietary NACS charging port or the Universal J1772 charging port, go with the universal option it’s a more inclusive option for all makes and models.