A Better Routeplanner (ABRP)

Analysis by All-app

I judge an EV route planner by what it helps me decide before I leave: whether a journey looks practical, where charging breaks fit, and how much confidence I can place in the estimates. A Better Routeplanner (ABRP) is built around those questions rather than simply drawing a line between two places. That makes it especially useful when a trip involves several charging stops or unfamiliar roads, though it is more involved than the basic navigation app many drivers already use.

What to expect when planning a route

For a straightforward trip, entering a vehicle, a starting point, and a destination gives the app the essentials for building a plan. The interesting part is that the route is considered in EV terms: the journey is broken into legs, with charging stops and estimated charging time factored into the overall picture. I find that more useful than looking at distance alone, because the practical question is not just how far away the destination is, but how the drive and charging fit together.

That extra calculation can also mean there is more to review than in a conventional maps app. Drivers who want immediate turn-by-turn directions with minimal setup may find a simpler navigator quicker to get going. ABRP makes more sense when I have a specific trip to plan and want to examine the charging pattern before setting off. It is a planning tool first, rather than a replacement for every map-related task.

Why ABRP Stands Out

First off, the thing that really caught my attention about A Better Routeplanner is its focus on electric vehicles. Unlike most navigation apps that mostly cater to gas-powered cars, ABRP is tailor-made to help EV drivers find the most efficient routes with charging stations along the way. It's like having a co-pilot who knows all the best charging spots!

The app is pretty intuitive. You input your vehicle model, starting point, and destination, and it does the rest. It calculates the best route, factoring in things like battery capacity, weather conditions, and even your driving habits. I mean, who knew planning a trip could feel this personalized?

Features That Make It Shine

One of the standout features is its real-time data integration. ABRP pulls in live data from your car, if it's supported, to give you up-to-the-minute updates on your route. This means you get super accurate range predictions and charging times. Trust me, it's a lifesaver when you're in an area with fewer charging stations.

Another cool feature is the ability to customize your route preferences. Whether you want a scenic drive or the fastest route, ABRP lets you tailor your journey to your liking. Plus, it gives you a detailed breakdown of each leg of your trip, so you know exactly where and when to charge up.

Making a plan useful on the day

A worthwhile habit is to treat the route as a plan to check, not a promise to follow blindly. Before leaving, I would look through every leg and make sure the proposed stops suit the shape of the day: a convenient break, a familiar area, or a place where stopping is comfortable. A route with a theoretically efficient charging stop may be less appealing if it breaks up the drive awkwardly. The ability to inspect the legs makes that trade-off visible before it becomes a roadside decision.

For example, imagine a weekend drive to visit family in another town. I can set the destination at home, review where the charging breaks fall, and decide whether the suggested rhythm works with meal or rest stops. If I would rather stop earlier or avoid a particular stretch, adjusting the route preferences gives me a way to explore alternatives instead of improvising after the battery estimate becomes important. That is a more valuable use of the app than opening it only once the car is already low on charge.

For a daily commute on familiar roads, that level of planning may be unnecessary. A standard maps app is usually faster for checking traffic or getting a quick direction, while ABRP earns its place when charging logistics affect the journey. I would use it for a longer drive, an unfamiliar route, or a trip where the spacing of charging opportunities deserves attention—not automatically for every short errand.

Things to Keep in Mind

While the app is packed with features, it does have a bit of a learning curve. If you're new to electric vehicles or not tech-savvy, it might take a little time to get the hang of all the settings and options. But once you do, it's smooth sailing—or should I say driving?

Also, some of the more advanced features require a subscription. It's not a deal-breaker, but it's something to be aware of if you're looking for a fully free experience.

Limits, alternatives, and who will benefit most

The main trade-off is the attention ABRP asks for at setup. Vehicle selection and route preferences matter because the app is trying to model an EV journey, not merely select a road. If I enter details casually and never review the resulting plan, the extra sophistication has little value. I would take a moment to check that the selected vehicle and preferences reflect the trip I am actually making, then examine the stops rather than assuming the first route is automatically the best one.

It is also sensible to keep a second source of directions available for the drive itself. ABRP can be the place where I work out the charging strategy, while a familiar navigation app may be more convenient for local streets or a quick detour. These tools answer slightly different questions: ordinary maps are strong for getting from one address to another, whereas ABRP is most compelling when energy use and charging stops shape the route. Neither approach has to exclude the other.

Drivers who regularly travel beyond their usual range are the clearest audience. New EV owners may also appreciate seeing a journey divided into manageable legs rather than guessing how a long drive will work. On the other hand, someone who rarely leaves a familiar area and wants only basic directions may find ABRP’s planning detail more than they need. I would also avoid relying on a projected plan without checking real-world conditions as the trip unfolds; an estimate is a planning aid, not a guarantee that every stop or timing will fit perfectly.

Reliability and real-world judgement

Live vehicle information, when the car is supported, can make a plan feel more responsive than a route based only on initial assumptions. Still, support is conditional, and I would not build a trip around live integration until I had confirmed that my own vehicle connection works as expected. If it is unavailable, the route-planning purpose remains useful, but the experience is less hands-on and relies more on the information entered and the estimates shown.

That distinction matters most on a route with fewer convenient charging options. I would review the plan before departure and keep enough flexibility to respond if the day differs from the assumptions behind it. For an everyday drive with many alternatives, a small mismatch is easy to work around. In a less familiar area, checking the charging legs in advance is a practical safeguard, not needless fuss.

ABRP is a free Maps & Navigation app from Iternio Planning AB, with in-app purchases listed from $4.99 to $49.99 per item. It is rated for Everyone, has an average rating of 4.7 from around 20K ratings, and has over 1M installs. Version 6.1.9 is the current version, and the app was released on December 20, 2019. Those figures give a sense of its established audience, but what matters more to me is whether its EV-specific planning solves a real problem in your own driving.

Performance and device expectations

In practical terms, I would expect the most noticeable difference in speed to come from how much planning I ask the app to do, rather than from treating it like a simple address search. A short, familiar route needs little investigation; a longer trip with several legs deserves more time to review. I would not judge the experience by how quickly a route appears alone, because a useful result is one whose charging pattern makes sense for the journey.

As with any app used while travelling, keeping the task focused helps. I would enter the trip and inspect the plan before setting off, then avoid fiddling with preferences while driving. If I need to revise the route, a safe stop is a better moment to do it. This is not a special performance trick; it is simply a sensible way to use a detailed planner without letting route adjustments distract from the road.

I also would not assume every phone will feel identical. The app’s value depends more on the quality of the trip details and, where applicable, whether the vehicle can provide supported live information than on any claim that it will run the same way on every device. If a route takes longer to review than expected, I would simplify the preferences first and focus on the key decision: where the charging breaks belong. That keeps the planning useful even when I do not need every option.

Who should make room for it

I would recommend ABRP to EV drivers who plan occasional long-distance trips, travel through areas they do not know well, or simply want to understand charging stops before committing to a route. Its strongest contribution is not replacing all navigation, but making the energy side of a journey easier to reason about. A driver who likes to compare route choices and prepare in advance is more likely to appreciate the detail than someone who wants one tap and no decisions.

If you are deciding whether to pay for additional capabilities, I would start with the free app and see whether the planning workflow fits your habits before considering in-app purchases. The paid options are a reason to check what you personally need rather than assuming every driver must subscribe. If basic route planning already answers your questions, there is no need to buy features just because they exist; if a particular advanced capability would materially improve your own trips, then it is worth weighing that benefit against the cost shown in the app.

A practical performance verdict

ABRP is at its best when I give it a real planning job: a destination that is far enough away for charging choices to matter, a vehicle profile to work from, and a few minutes to inspect the route. It is less persuasive as an all-purpose navigation app for quick local journeys, and the setup can feel like extra work if I do not need EV-specific calculations. I would keep a conventional map handy for simple directions and use ABRP when the charging plan is the part I do not want to guess.

All in all, if you're an electric vehicle owner, A Better Routeplanner (ABRP) is definitely worth checking out. It's packed with features that make planning your trips easier and more efficient. Sure, it might take a bit of time to master all it offers, but once you do, you'll wonder how you ever hit the road without it.

So, next time you're planning a road trip, give ABRP a spin. Who knows, it might just become your go-to travel buddy!