Ad-hoc charging without a charge card: flexible, an AFIR mandate — and the Ad-Hoc-Map with price comparison
What is ad-hoc charging?
Ad-hoc charging means spontaneously charging an electric car at a public charging station — without prior registration, without a contract and without a special charge card. Payment happens directly at the pillar or via a mobile web page, usually by credit card, debit card, Apple Pay, Google Pay or QR code.
For frequent drivers without coverage from a particular roaming network, for travelers abroad, or simply for a spontaneous stop where your own charge card does not work, ad-hoc charging is the most uncomplicated form of charging of all: pull up to the pillar, choose the payment method, charge.
AFIR: ad-hoc charging has been an EU mandate since 2024
Since April 2024, this form of charging has been mandatory in the EU under the AFIR regulation (Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Regulation) for new public charge points from 50 kW, in order to make e-mobility more barrier-free. Operators must ensure that payment without a contract is possible at these stations — and that prices are stated fairly and transparently.
More on the AFIR timeline and its implementation in Germany can be found in our guide Ad-hoc charging: charge immediately without a contract.
Flexible, but often more expensive
In contrast to contract tariffs, ad-hoc charging is very flexible, but according to comparisons often significantly more expensive — up to 62% higher costs than the cheapest contract tariff of the same operator. That is why many drivers use ad-hoc charging primarily as a backup or occasional solution: at one pillar or the other, abroad, or for spontaneous charging stops.
Rule of thumb
A few charging kilowatt-hours per month: ad-hoc is convenient and makes sense. If you charge a lot regularly, e.g. on business trips, the contract tariff quickly becomes noticeably cheaper.
A closer look: the Ad-Hoc-Map app from ewerk and Move Electric
It is exactly this segment — cheap ad-hoc charging without a contract — that the free Ad-Hoc-Map app, developed by the Bremer ewerk GmbH together with the YouTube channel Move Electric (Jens Zippel), illuminates. Core idea: instead of fighting your way through dozens of operator apps, a single map shows all charging stations with a CCS connector and at least 50 kW of charging power where ad-hoc charging without registration is possible.
As its data source, the app uses the well-known Google Map by Gerd Bremer, which has long had cult status in the e-mobility community: ad-hoc stations with cheap prices, maintained by users. The data are read in several times a day and cleaned up in its own database.
Map with price & power
Every pin shows the charging power and price at the charge point, operators are color-coded — you can see cheap stations at a glance.
Filters, favorites & search
Filter by charging power, operator and price, save your own stations and navigate directly in Apple Maps or Google Maps from a route start.
Keeping it up to date together
Users can report price changes or outages directly in the app — this way the data source stays current, without you ever having to create an account.
Payment remains classic ad-hoc: on the spot by credit or debit card, by QR code, by SMS, or via charging apps without registration. The app was initially offered in the Apple App Store (the Android version followed in the Play Store) and shot up to place 10 in the app charts after launch — in the navigation category even to place 1.
Ad-hoc charging: what you should watch for
- Price difference: ad-hoc prices usually sit a clearly noticeable amount above the contract tariff of the same operator — with high consumption that becomes quickly noticeable.
- No roaming question: you pay what the pillar demands — your own operator stays out of it. That makes ad-hoc abroad especially easy.
- Transparency: price labels and notices are not equally clear everywhere — a map with prices (like the Ad-Hoc-Map) or your tariff comparison helps before the trip.
- Existing stock: the AFIR mandate applies to new charge points from 50 kW; at older stations a charge card may still be needed.
Conclusion
Ad-hoc charging makes public charging barrier-free: no account, no charge card, no subscription. For the occasional and emergency cases it is the most comfortable form of charging — for everyday use it comes down to weighing up: contract tariff or ad-hoc? And if you want to know where ad-hoc is especially cheap, it is worth a look at a map like the Ad-Hoc-Map — or your own charging plan with LadeGuide, which puts ad-hoc and contract options side by side for you.