JOLT Charging: How the Free EV Charging Model Works
Free EV charging that's actually free-ish: JOLT's 7 kWh daily allowance, the advertising business model behind it, and the fees to watch.
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JOLT gives every registered driver up to 7 kWh of free EV charging every day, enough for roughly 45 kilometres of range, delivered in about 15 minutes at its kerbside DC fast chargers. The catch is real, if hard to size: a flat service fee applies to every session, JOLT doesn’t publish what it is, and once you pass the free 7 kWh in a day you pay a per-kWh rate it sets site by site and doesn’t publish either. The app is the only place to see both. The model works because JOLT’s chargers double as digital advertising panels, and the ad revenue subsidises your electrons.
How does JOLT’s free charging work?
Sign up in the free JOLT app (registration takes a couple of minutes) and choose the Daily 7kWh plan. From then on, your first 7 kWh of charging each calendar day is free, with a flat service fee applied to each session. Pull up at a JOLT charger, start the session via the app, and the free allowance applies automatically.
Seven kWh translates to roughly 45 kilometres of driving range depending on your car, and JOLT’s chargers deliver it in around 15 to 17 minutes. For a city driver covering 200 to 300 km a week, disciplined use of JOLT can cover most of your driving for little more than the accumulated service fees.
If you charge past 7 kWh in a day, the remainder bills at whatever that charger’s per-kWh rate is. JOLT doesn’t publish a national one: its own help centre says the rate varies by location and to check the app at the charger, and the same goes for the flat service fee on each session. A minimum fee of 50 cents applies to any paid session. That’s not much help for planning, but quoting you a national rate JOLT has never published would be worse.
There are paid plans if you use JOLT heavily. JOLT Flex costs $14.99 a month and waives the per-session service fee (JOLT calls it the connection fee on its plans page), keeps the free 7 kWh a day, takes 10 per cent off the charging fee past the allowance and 30 per cent off-peak, and lets you reserve a charger. There’s also a JOLT Pro plan aimed at rideshare and delivery drivers. Whether Flex pays for itself depends entirely on how much you charge past the allowance, which, since the rate isn’t published, is a sum you can only do with the app open.
Wondering what else is genuinely free out there? Our guide to whether EV charging stations are free in Australia sorts the real free options from the marketing.
Why would anyone give away electricity?
Because your eyeballs are worth more than your electrons. JOLT chargers are integrated into large digital advertising screens in high-visibility street locations, and advertisers pay for the audience. That revenue decouples the economics of the charger from the electricity it sells, which is exactly what a multi-year Austroads trial of the model set out to test: whether ad-funded charging can stack up without charging drivers full freight.
It’s the same trade as commercial radio or free-to-air TV. You’re not the customer for the free 7 kWh; you’re part of the product being sold to advertisers. As trades go, 45 free kilometres a day is a pretty good one.
JOLT also runs its network on 100 per cent GreenPower-certified renewable electricity, so the free kilometres are clean ones.
Where are JOLT chargers?
JOLT is an urban, kerbside network, not a highway one. As of mid-2026 it operates roughly 100 sites, concentrated in Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide, typically on street corners, outside shops and near transport hubs, places where you’re parked for 15 to 60 minutes anyway.
The footprint is growing quickly in NSW: a state government grant is funding 65 new free kerbside charging sites across seven Sydney council areas, and a separate Transport for NSW partnership is rolling out chargers at transport hubs. JOLT has flagged ambitions of thousands of chargers nationally over the coming decade.
The app’s map shows live status: green for available, black for in use, grey for out of order.
How fast is a JOLT charge, really?
JOLT’s original units are DC fast chargers running at 25 kW, and in April 2025 it launched a 50 kW generation, with the first installed in Melbourne’s Bayside and more following across the country. Both are much faster than any AC kerbside post, but well short of the 150 to 350 kW ultra-rapid sites you’d use on a road trip. The design intent is different: 25 kW delivers the free 7 kWh in about a quarter of an hour and 50 kW in roughly half that, which suits errands.
Don’t plan to fill an empty 80 kWh battery at a JOLT charger; that would take hours and run deep into paid rates. For big charges and intercity travel, you want the fast-charging networks covered in our guide to public EV charging in Australia.
How do you start and stop a session?
Starting a charge, three ways, all via the app:
- Scan the QR code on the charger for your connector (CCS2 or CHAdeMO).
- Type the charger’s 4-digit connector code into the app.
- Pick the station on the map and select the matching connector.
Turn your car off, start the session, then plug in. To finish: end the session in the app, then unplug. There’s also a physical stop button on the charger near the cables.
One fee deserves bold type: the idle fee starts 10 minutes after your charging session ends, whether or not you’re back at the car. JOLT publishes the grace period but not the amount, so check it in the app. Treat a JOLT stop like a quick errand with a timer, not a parking spot. Set a reminder for when your session should finish, end it in the app, and move the car.
Who is JOLT actually for?
The model fits one group of drivers almost perfectly: people without off-street parking. If you live in an apartment or a terrace with street parking, home charging may be impractical or impossible, and kerbside chargers near where you already park are the next best thing. Getting most of your weekly kilometres free while you do the groceries changes the ownership maths for exactly the drivers public charging usually punishes hardest.
It also suits anyone whose errands orbit a JOLT site: school pickups, gym sessions, the weekly shop. The discipline is simply remembering to plug in for 15 minutes each visit rather than waiting until the battery is low and needing a long paid session somewhere else.
Is JOLT worth it?
If you live or work near one: emphatically yes. Free is free, a 7 kWh top-up costs you nothing but the service fee, and 45 daily kilometres covers the median Australian commute. The honest limitations are coverage (three cities, around 100 sites), speed (top-ups, not fills), and how much of the pricing JOLT keeps to the app: not the service fee, not the idle fee, and not the per-kWh rate past the free allowance. Those are prices you check at the charger rather than ones you plan around. As a supplement to home charging or your regular network apps, JOLT is still the easiest money in Australian EV ownership right now.
Sources: JOLT: charging costs, fees and the daily free 7 kWh and JOLT Plus plans, both verified August 2026. JOLT publishes the free allowance, the 50c session minimum and the plan pricing, but not its per-kWh rate or its idle fee.
Frequently asked questions
Is JOLT charging really free?
Mostly. Every registered driver on JOLT's Daily 7kWh plan gets 7 kWh of free energy each day, roughly 45 kilometres of range, but a flat service fee applies to each charging session unless you are on a paid plan. Past the free 7 kWh you pay a per-kWh rate that JOLT doesn't publish: its help centre says rates vary by location and to check the price in the app at the charger.
How can JOLT afford to give away free charging?
Advertising. JOLT chargers are built into digital advertising panels in high-traffic street locations, and ad revenue subsidises the electricity. The model was studied in a multi-year Austroads trial as a way to fund public charging without relying solely on energy sales.
How long does it take to get the free 7 kWh?
Around 15 to 17 minutes on JOLT's original 25 kW chargers, and roughly half that on the 50 kW units JOLT began rolling out in April 2025. Either way it suits a top-up while you grab coffee or shopping, rather than filling a big battery from empty.
Where are JOLT chargers located?
JOLT operates roughly 100 kerbside sites concentrated in Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide as of mid-2026, with more funded and under construction, including dozens of new Sydney sites backed by NSW Government grants and a Transport for NSW partnership.
What happens if I stay plugged in after charging?
JOLT applies an idle fee that starts accruing 10 minutes after your charging session ends. It publishes the grace period but not the amount, which is shown in the app at the charger, so end your session and move on promptly. Paid sessions also carry a minimum fee of 50 cents.