Emporia vs EVIQO Level 2 Chargers

These two chargers occupy the same slot in the market: a full 48 amps, WiFi with an app, ENERGY STAR certification and a 25-foot cable, at a price that undercuts ChargePoint and Wallboxby a clear margin. If you have shortlisted both, you have already made the important decision correctly — the value tier at 48 amps is where most of the sense is in this category.

What remains is a narrow comparison, and it comes down to two specifications: how they install, and how far they reach. Everything else is close enough to be a coin toss.

Charging speed: a genuine tie

Both publish 48 amps and 11.5 kW. At 240 volts that is 11,520 watts, and at our standard reference of about 3.5 miles of range per kWh it works out to roughly 40 miles of range per hourfor either. Across a ten-hour night that is around 400 miles into the car — comfortably more than any normal day removes.

Both also require the same thing to get there: a 60-amp circuit, because the NEC treats EV charging as a continuous load and sizes the circuit at 125% of the charger’s current. If your panel cannot spare 60 amps, this comparison is academic and you should read our small-panel roundup instead.

Difference one: the install route

This is the bigger of the two differences, and it is the one most likely to decide your purchase.

The Emporia is dual-mode by design. The same unit can be hardwired for 48 amps or plugged into a NEMA 14-50 receptacle at 40. That flexibility is worth real money in three situations: you want Level 2 charging this weekend from an existing outlet but may hardwire later; you rent and need the charger to leave with you; or you are not yet sure whether the panel will support a 60-amp circuit and would rather not find out after buying. It also ships with a remote holster, which is a small thing until you own 25 feet of cable.

The EVIQO 48A is hardwired only. That is not a defect — it is the honest consequence of 48 amps, since no residential plug is rated for a 60-amp circuit, and it is why every genuine 48-amp charger hardwires. But it does mean an electrician, a permit in most jurisdictions, and a fixture that stays with the house. If you want EVIQO’s build in a plug-in package, the company’s 40-amp Gen 2 unitis the answer — same body, same app, 14-50 plug, eight amps less.

The full trade-off is in hardwired vs plug-in, and it is worth settling before you compare brands at all.

Difference two: total reach

Both publish a 25-foot charging cable, which is effectively the top of the market. EVIQO then adds a 40-inch input cable, and that is the spec we think is under-appreciated.

An input lead means the charger body does not have to sit exactly where the conductors terminate. Three extra feet of freedom sounds trivial; in a real garage it is the difference between mounting the box on the useful wall and mounting it behind a workbench because that is where the supply happened to arrive. Combined with the 25-foot output cable, EVIQO has the longest total usable span of anything we track — see our long-cable roundup for the measuring method.

If your garage is generous and the charger will sit near the car anyway, this difference evaporates and the Emporia’s dual-mode install wins on flexibility.

The apps, honestly assessed

Neither of these is ChargePoint. Both are perfectly adequate for the thing a charger app actually needs to do, which is start charging inside a cheap off-peak windowand stop when it’s done.

Where they diverge is emphasis. Emporia leads on energy monitoring— per-session kilowatt-hours you can check against a utility bill, which slots into the company’s broader home-energy ecosystem. For anyone genuinely curious about what the car costs to run, that turns our cost-to-charge arithmetic from an estimate into a measurement. EVIQO covers scheduling and output adjustment competently without that depth.

Both are smaller companies than ChargePoint, with correspondingly smaller support organizations. That is the honest cost of the value tier, and it is a fair trade for most buyers — but if long-term software support is the thing you worry about, that worry points at the premium brands rather than at either of these.

Build and certification

Emporia publishes a watertight NEMA Type 4enclosure rated from -22°F to 122°F. EVIQO publishes IP66 / NEMA 4. Both are strong outdoor ratings; NEMA Type 4 covers windblown dust, splashing and hose-directed water, and IP66 under IEC 60529 means dust-tight and protected against powerful water jets. Either will live on an exposed wall.

On paperwork, Emporia publishes UL listing and ENERGY STAR; EVIQO publishes UL, ETL, FCC and ENERGY STAR. Both carry three-year warranties. The ENERGY STAR certification on both is worth more than the electricity it saves, because it is a common eligibility filter for utility rebate programs — see our ENERGY STAR roundup.

The verdict, by situation

• You want one charger that can plug in now and hardwire later: Emporia. Nothing else at this price is genuinely dual-mode.
• Your install is hardwired and reach is tight: EVIQO 48A. The 40-inch input lead buys placement freedom no other unit here offers.
• You want to see what each session costs: Emporia, for the energy monitoring.
• You rent, or cannot hardwire: neither 48-amp unit. Look at the EVIQO 40A or the Emporia on a 14-50 plug, and read our renter roundup.
• You want the best app and the deepest support: neither. That is ChargePoint, and you will pay for it.

Whichever you choose, do the panel arithmetic first — our panel capacity guide and wire and breaker guide will tell you whether 48 amps is even on the table, which is a more consequential question than which of these two boxes you bolt to the wall.