Is ABRP Premium worth it?

ABRP’s free tier already plans the route and navigates. Premium adds live charger availability, traffic and CarPlay for €5 a month, so the answer comes down to how you drive.

By Russell Francey and Jakub Stroinski, GYST co-founders · Published October 28, 2026

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What ABRP Premium adds

On its website, checked October 28, 2026, ABRP lists these in Premium on top of the free tier:

Route planning with live data from your connected car
Live charger availability
Real-time traffic and weather forecasts
Apple CarPlay, and Android Auto according to its navigation section
Drive and charge history, and more than one vehicle

The free tier already includes route planning with chargers, in-app navigation, a charger map and live data from a connected car. ABRP lists Premium at €5 a month on its website, with a 14-day free trial on the web. Prices in the App Store depend on your country.

When Premium is worth it

You drive with ABRP on the car’s screen through CarPlay or Android Auto.
You connect your car and want each plan built from its live battery reading.
You take long trips often and want traffic and charger availability in the plan.

When the free tier may be enough

You take a few road trips a year.
You already drive with Google Maps, Waze or Apple Maps.
What you mostly want to know is where to stop and what the trip will cost.

Where GYST fits

GYST is a free iPhone app built around that last point. It plans charging stops for your car and shows food, coffee and washrooms ahead on the route with the detour time, plus an estimated cost before you leave. Our Toronto to Montréal plan in a 2024 Ioniq 5 came out at 550 km with one 26-minute stop.

GYST trip plan from Toronto to Montréal with one charging stop near Napanee

GYST doesn’t cover Premium’s strongest features. It hands each leg to your maps app instead of navigating itself, and it has no CarPlay navigation app. It also doesn’t read your car’s battery live: at a charger, you enter your real battery level and GYST rechecks the next leg.

Price side by side

Planner	Free tier	Paid tier
ABRP	Yes	€5 a month on ABRP’s website
GYST	Yes; free users may see ads	GYST Pro: CA$4.99 a month or CA$44.99 a year

Our take

We built GYST, so weigh this accordingly. If you drive with ABRP in CarPlay or Android Auto, or plan from your car’s live data, Premium earns its price. If you take a few trips a year and drive with the maps app you already use, start with the free tiers. Plenty of drivers keep both: ABRP for the route, GYST for the stops.

Common questions

Is ABRP free?

Yes. ABRP’s free tier includes route planning with chargers, in-app navigation, a charger map and live data from a connected car. Premium adds live charger availability, traffic, weather and in-car apps.

What is a free alternative to ABRP Premium?

For planning stops and cost on iPhone, GYST is free to plan, with optional GYST Pro. For checking a specific charger, PlugShare is free. Neither replaces ABRP’s in-car navigation.

Checked October 28, 2026. ABRP’s features and prices can change. GYST isn’t affiliated with ABRP or A Better Routeplanner.

Official sources: ABRP plans · ABRP help: upgrade to Premium