Flipturn vs. ChargePoint for Multifamily EV Charging

With the rapid growth of the EV industry, buyers now have many more options for EV charging than they did five years ago. Several players have emerged in the market, ranging from pure hardware to pure software to all-in-one vendors.

One particularly established name is ChargePoint. As one of the only options for EV charging in the 2010s, ChargePoint was widely considered as the face of first-gen charging solutions. Now, with a more evolved landscape and competitive pricing, it’s important for buyers to evaluate other options and find a provider with the most suitable functionality.

Below, we’ll dive into the key differences between Flipturn and ChargePoint for multifamily charging. Owner-operators looking to cater to the modern EV driver should especially optimize for high charger utilization via positive driver and operator experiences. Whether you’re an asset manager planning for your properties’ first EV chargers, or an experienced property owner refreshing your first-gen hardware, it’s important to understand what modern charging looks like compared to legacy solutions like ChargePoint.

ChargePoint history

Founded in 2007, ChargePoint originally sold charging stations, focusing solely on hardware. They later developed software as a means to manage their chargers / monitor hardware issues. Today, they provide a vertically-integrated solution with chargers exclusively networked by their software, and have a strong presence in public charging.

Flipturn, in contrast, has always been a charging management software company. By specializing in software and partnering with top-tier hardware providers, we’ve built best-in-class modern EV charging and can leave hardware to those who are best at it -- optimizing reliability of every part of the solution.

Flipturn key differentiators

Our platform prioritizes giving the operator control and maximizing charger utilization. In doing so, we can unlock larger financial and sustainability gains from EV charging for multifamily owners.

Operational experience: high configurability & quick customer support

Customizability is essential for the multifamily operator — every property is different, and each operator has unique needs when it comes to charger access management, pricing, and maintenance.

ChargePoint’s dated software has limited configurability. Simple setup of resident-exclusive access and pricing is possible, but further customization (e.g. different resident groups, varying rules based on time-of-day, more complex pricing tiers) often requires direct communication with customer support.

Flipturn’s platform is designed for easy customization. Operators can limit charging to specific groups (e.g. residents, visitors, maintenance employees), customize pricing for each group by the hour, and even set up PIN codes for temporary visitors.

If issues arise for operators, Flipturn’s real-time charger dashboard and 15-minute average customer support response time allow them to easily pinpoint which charger is experiencing issues and who is charging. Meanwhile, ChargePoint users frequently express frustration with long customer support delays (days to weeks for issue resolution), and charger visibility is somewhat limited to retrospective reporting.

Hardware compatibility: open vs. closed ecosystem

ChargePoint is vertically integrated and operates in a closed ecosystem, meaning ChargePoint chargers are only compatible with ChargePoint software. While a closed ecosystem may seem convenient as it’s all from one vendor, it locks in operators long-term, creating two issues:

1. Operators cannot benefit from better, more cost-effective technology on the competitive market and are limited to ChargePoint’s (slower) pace of innovation.
2. ChargePoint can hike up prices far beyond market averages: if an operator has mostly ChargePoint chargers, they’re likely to pay for price increases in ChargePoint software (it’s like Salesforce — they know it’s inconvenient for you to switch, so they’ll make you pay more and more).

Meanwhile, Flipturn operates in an open ecosystem and is compatible with most chargers. Buyers still purchase their entire EV charging solution in one simple package, thanks to our partnerships with top hardware providers and installers.

By specializing in software, we can focus solely on improving the modern driver and operator experience; we leave hardware manufacturing and install to partners who are the best in their fields.

The open ecosystem also enables Flipturn to offer competitive pricing, with hardware 2-5x cheaper and software 50% cheaper than ChargePoint.

Resident experience: no-app plug & charge

Most EV charging providers, including ChargePoint, require drivers to download an app to pay for charging. EV drivers often experience app fatigue (having to download multiple apps just to charge at different stations at home / in public), and guests cannot simply access restricted chargers without contacting support.

Using Flipturn, drivers get seamless, no-app charging with flexible payment options (Apple Pay, Google Pay, etc.) A no-app interface creates a better driving experience as residents don’t need to worry about app updates or managing payments across several apps just to be able to charge both at home and in public (possibly with another provider.)

If drivers experience issues, navigating to customer support is simple and intuitive, and your maintenance teams can immediately spot where issues occur to proactively help tenants.

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At the end of the day, while legacy providers like ChargePoint have a strong reputation, multifamily owner-operators should evaluate their options. Choose solutions that provide long-term flexibility and a great experience for drivers as EV adoption continues to rise.

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Have a particular pain point with ChargePoint that we didn’t address above? Want to learn how you can modernize your EV charging? Let’s chat!

About Flipturn

Flipturn is a leading EV charging management platform, helping organizations maximize charger uptime, process charging payments, and scale operations efficiently. Backed by leading investors including CRV and Accel, Flipturn serves Fortune 500 companies, commercial property owners, and major fleet operators across North America.