What does a charging card really cost? Subscription, start fee and surcharge explained

Short answer: a charging card is not a price but a contract with a charging card provider, and that provider decides what you pay per session. According to the NAL (the Dutch National Charging Infrastructure Agenda), most charging cards use a kWh rate as the basis: either the charge point operator’s rate or the provider’s own kWh rate. If the provider passes on the operator’s rate, it tops it up with a monthly subscription, a surcharge per session or a surcharge per kWh. On top of that there can be one-off card costs, roaming costs and occupancy fees. As a result, the same charge point can cost something different with two charging cards. Which structure works out best for you depends on how many kWh you charge and in how many sessions.

Who charges what? Operator, card provider and roaming

Two companies are involved in public charging:

• The operator manages the charge point and sets the ad hoc price: what you pay when you charge without a charging card, for example with your bank card or via a QR code. Your rights there are explained in Charging without a charging card: your rights under AFIR.
• The charging card provider (in AFIR: mobility service provider) sells you the charging card or app and sends you the bill.

According to the NAL price transparency action plan, about 99% of charging sessions in the Netherlands were started and paid with a charging card in 2024. The money then moves in two steps: the operator bills the charging costs to the card provider, and the card provider bills you. That exchange of data and payments between operator and card provider is called e-roaming in AFIR (Art. 2 point 25).

An important detail from the NAL memo on price transparency: operators and card providers agree commercial prices between themselves. That purchase price does not have to equal the ad hoc price. So when a provider talks about “the operator’s rate”, it may mean its purchase price rather than the price you would pay at the charge point without a card.

The building blocks of a charging card price

Building block	What it is	How it works out
Operator’s rate	The charge point’s kWh rate, passed on by the provider	Differs per charge point and per network; for many public AC chargers the municipality or province agrees the rate in a concession
Provider’s own kWh rate	A rate the provider sets itself, separate from the operator’s price	According to the NAL, sometimes one fixed rate for all charge points in the Netherlands
Subscription	A fixed amount per month	Weighs more heavily the less you charge
One-off card costs	Purchase or shipping costs, if the provider charges them	One-off; according to the ACM the costs must be clear from the moment you buy the charging card
Start fee or transaction fee	A fixed amount per session	Weighs more heavily the more often and the shorter you charge
Surcharge per kWh	An amount or percentage on top of the kWh rate	Grows with the number of kWh
Roaming costs	Costs the provider charges for charging at another company’s charge point	Must be shown separately beforehand (AFIR Art. 5(5))
Occupancy fee (also blocking or idle fee)	An amount per minute if you stay at the charge point for a long time	Depends on how long you stay, not on how much you charge

Two building blocks need extra explanation.

Occupancy fees differ per operator and per charging card. For the ad hoc price at charging points of 50 kW or more, AFIR names an occupancy fee per minute as the only component the operator may charge besides the kWh price (Art. 5(4)). According to the European Commission, such a fee applied from the start of the session does not prima facie appear proportionate (Q&A 5.18). In practice the rules vary. Two examples, as of 27 September 2026: Allego charges €0.25 per minute at fast chargers from 45 minutes once the car has stopped charging, and €0.05 per minute at AC chargers in the Netherlands from 5 hours after the start (only between 07:00 and 23:00, up to 16 hours, not in some public tenders). TotalEnergies states that it charges no blocking or idle fees at its public charge points. According to the NAL memo, some card providers pass occupancy fees on one to one, others build them into their kWh price or apply their own time blocks, and some providers even charge an occupancy fee where the operator does not.

Roaming abroad. Card providers may not add extra charges for cross-border e-roaming (AFIR Art. 5(5)). According to the Commission, this means you pay the same roaming fees whichever EU country you charge in (Q&A 5.24). The price of the charge point itself can still differ between countries.

What is not in the charging card price: parking costs. If a charge point is in a paid parking area, the Municipality of Utrecht says you pay parking fees or need a permit, just as for an ordinary parking space. According to the Commission, parking fees fall outside AFIR (Q&A 5.11).

Why the same charge point costs different amounts with different cards

At one charge point you can pay different prices depending on the card you start with. That is not an error; it is how the market works:

• According to the ACM, the charge point or charging card provider may set its own tariffs, and the tariff can differ per charging card or contract.
• Vattenfall InCharge states on its tariff page that with another charging card at a Vattenfall charge point you do not pay the Vattenfall tariff but the card provider’s tariff.
• NAL region East notes with its concession tariffs that the price at the charge point can differ depending on the charging card you use.
• The Municipality of Utrecht points out that your card provider may charge extra costs, such as a start fee or transaction costs.

According to the NAL memo, some card providers pass on the ad hoc price one to one and add transaction fees, others use a slightly higher price than the ad hoc price, and still others use their own standard rate unrelated to the operator’s price. If your provider passes on the operator’s rate, your price differs per network and per charge point. If it uses its own fixed rate, you pay the same everywhere, including at a charge point with a low ad hoc price.

Worked example: what do a start fee, surcharge and subscription do to your monthly cost?

Please note: this is an illustrative worked example. The amounts are building blocks to show the effect. They are not the prices of any existing charging card provider.

Assumptions:

• You charge 100 kWh a month at public AC charge points.
• The operator’s rate is €0.41 per kWh, including VAT.
• You charge in 8 sessions a month.
• No occupancy fee, no roaming costs, no parking costs and no one-off card costs.
• Each variant adds exactly one building block on top of the operator’s rate.

Variant	Calculation	Per month	Per kWh
Operator’s rate only	100 × €0.41	€41.00	€0.410
Plus €0.35 start fee per session	€41.00 + 8 × €0.35	€43.80	€0.438
Plus 10% surcharge	€41.00 × 1.10	€45.10	€0.451
Plus €4.99 monthly subscription	€41.00 + €4.99	€45.99	€0.460

With this charging pattern, the start fee costs you €2.80 a month, the surcharge €4.10 and the subscription €4.99. If your charging pattern changes, so does the order:

Variant	100 kWh in 8 sessions	100 kWh in 16 sessions	200 kWh in 8 sessions
Operator’s rate only	€41.00	€41.00	€82.00
Plus €0.35 start fee	€43.80	€46.60	€84.80
Plus 10% surcharge	€45.10	€45.10	€90.20
Plus €4.99 subscription	€45.99	€45.99	€86.99

What this shows:

• A start fee counts per session. If you charge often and briefly, it adds up: from 15 sessions a month, €0.35 per session is more expensive in this example than a €4.99 subscription (€4.99 divided by €0.35 is 14.3 sessions).
• A percentage surcharge grows with your consumption and with the charge point’s price. At €0.41 per kWh, a 10% surcharge is more expensive than a €4.99 subscription from about 122 kWh a month.
• A subscription is a fixed amount. The more kWh you charge, the less it weighs per kWh.

Real charging cards can combine several building blocks, and the operator’s price differs per charge point. In that case, add up every component for your own charging pattern. Current prices per charging card, with source and date, can be compared on compare charging cards. What charge points themselves cost per network and per city is on charging prices and in What does public charging cost in 2026?.

How to know what you will pay before you charge

• Check your card provider’s app or website. Under AFIR Art. 5(5), it must show all price information for that session before the start, with each component listed separately, including roaming costs and its own fees.
• Compare with the ad hoc price at the charge point. It is on a screen or sticker, or available via a QR code or link (Art. 5(4)). According to the Commission, the aim of the rules is that you can compare these two prices beforehand (Q&A 5.27).
• Watch the time. An occupancy fee or parking fee depends on how long you stay, not on how much you charge.
• Check your invoice. According to the ACM, after charging you must be able to see how much electricity you used and what you paid for it. If the bill is higher than the price you were given beforehand, send a complaint by email or letter to your card provider.

In short

• With a charging card you pay your card provider’s price, not automatically the charge point’s ad hoc price.
• The building blocks are the kWh rate (the operator’s or the provider’s own), a subscription, a start fee, a surcharge per kWh, any one-off card costs, roaming costs and occupancy fees. Parking comes on top separately.
• The same charge point can have a different price with each card; according to the ACM, providers may set their own tariffs.
• In our illustrative example (100 kWh, 8 sessions, €0.41 per kWh), a €0.35 start fee adds €2.80 a month, a 10% surcharge €4.10 and a subscription €4.99; with a different charging pattern the order changes.
• AFIR requires card providers to show every price component separately before each session. Use that to compare with the ad hoc price.