# PlugShare EV Charging Station Scraper (`parseforge/plugshare-scraper`) Actor

Scrapes EV charging station listings from PlugShare by search query or geographic coordinates. Returns each station as a flat row with address, connector types, power output, and optional reviews and photos.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/parseforge/plugshare-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [ParseForge](https://apify.com/parseforge) (community)
- **Categories:** Travel, Automation, Other
- **Stats:** 66 total users, 4 monthly users, 88.8% runs succeeded, 1 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $5.00 / 1,000 results

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.
Since this Actor supports Apify Store discounts, the price gets lower the higher subscription plan you have.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

Actors are web data automations that power AI and operations. They run on the Apify platform to scrape websites, process data, connect APIs, and automate workflows.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.
Actors are written with capital "A".

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.
The best way to integrate Actors is as follows.

- **AI agents and MCP clients** — the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/integrations/mcp.md) at `https://mcp.apify.com` (remote, streamable HTTP, OAuth on first use).
- **Agentic workflows and local Actor development** — [Agent Skills](https://apify.com/.well-known/agent-skills/index.json) with the [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): `npm install -g apify-cli`, then `apify login`.
- **JavaScript/TypeScript projects** — the official [JS/TS client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md): `npm install apify-client`.
- **Python projects** — the official [Python client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md): `pip install apify-client`.
- **Any other language** — the [REST API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2.md).

For usage examples, see the [API](#api) section below.

For more details, see Apify documentation as [Markdown index](https://docs.apify.com/llms.txt) and [Markdown full-text](https://docs.apify.com/llms-full.txt).

# README

[![ParseForge](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ParseForge/apify-assets/main/banner.jpg)](https://apify.com/parseforge?fpr=vmoqkp)

### PlugShare EV Charging Station Scraper

**Scrape EV charging station data from PlugShare by location, connector type, or network, up to a million stations per run.** Every station comes with its address, plug types, power output, and user ratings. No API key required. Export to CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML.

PlugShare's map is the largest crowd-sourced directory of EV charging stations, but manually collecting data across regions is slow. This actor reads the public station feeds directly, searching by place name, coordinates, or network, and filters by connector type and charging speed. You get a clean dataset of stations matching your criteria, ready for analysis.

| Who uses it | What they scrape PlugShare for |
|---|---|
| EV infrastructure planners | Mapping charger density and coverage gaps in a target region. |
| Fleet managers | Finding compatible fast chargers along planned delivery routes. |
| Market researchers | Tracking network expansion and connector type availability by city. |
| App developers | Building a database of station locations and attributes for a trip-planning tool. |

### What it does

This Actor collects EV charging station listings from PlugShare by search query or geographic coordinates and returns each station as a flat row.

- 🔍 **Search by location:** Enter a place name, network, or address like 'Tesla Supercharger' or 'ChargePoint San Francisco'.
- 📍 **Search by coordinates:** Provide a latitude, longitude, and radius in kilometers to scrape all stations in a circular area.
- 🔌 **Connector type filter:** Limit results to CCS1, CHAdeMO, J1772, Tesla, NACS, Type 2, or CCS2 plugs.
- ⚡ **Fast charger filter:** Return only DC fast charging stations delivering 50kW or more.
- 📋 **Full detail mode:** Optionally fetch reviews, photos, hours, and pricing for each station.

Results export to CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML, or straight from the API.

### What you can do with PlugShare data

**🗺️ Map regional charger availability.**

An infrastructure planner enters a city's coordinates and a 100 km radius to collect every public station, then analyzes connector type distribution to identify underserved neighborhoods.

**🚛 Plan EV fleet routes.**

A logistics manager searches for 'CCS1' fast chargers along a highway corridor to ensure their electric trucks can complete a new delivery route without range anxiety.

**📊 Monitor network growth.**

A market analyst runs the scraper monthly for 'Tesla Supercharger' across a state to track new station openings and measure the pace of network expansion.

**📱 Populate a trip-planning app.**

A developer scrapes all J1772 and CCS1 stations in a metro area to seed a mobile app's database with accurate location, plug type, and power output data.

### Why choose this scraper

|  | What you get |
|---|---|
| **No official API needed** | Access PlugShare's public data without registering an application or managing API keys. |
| **Flexible search** | Find stations by name, network, or geographic bounding box with a radius up to 500 km. |
| **Hardware-level filtering** | Target specific connector types and exclude slow Level 2 chargers when you only need DC fast charging. |
| **Scalable collection** | Collect up to a million stations in a single run for large-scale infrastructure analysis. |

### How it compares

This actor focuses on flexible search and hardware-level filtering for EV infrastructure analysis, while other PlugShare scrapers emphasize user-generated content extraction.

| Feature | ParseForge | PlugShare EV Charging Station Scraper | PlugShare Scraper |
|---|---|---|---|
| Search by coordinates and radius | Yes | Not listed | Yes |
| Filter by connector type | Yes | Not listed | Yes |
| Fast charger only filter (50kW+) | Yes | Not listed | Yes |
| User check-ins and live status | Not listed | Yes | Not listed |
| User reviews and photos | Yes | Yes | Not listed |
| Station pricing data | Yes | Yes | Yes |

### Configure the run

Drive the Actor with a search query or a latitude-longitude pair and radius, and filters run as each station is read so only matches reach your dataset. The Input tab lists every parameter.

A first run with the defaults:

```json
{
  "searchQuery": "Tesla Supercharger",
  "maxItems": 10
}
```

A larger pull:

```json
{
  "searchQuery": "Tesla Supercharger",
  "maxItems": 200
}
```

### Pricing

Pay-per-result: **$0.0055 per result** collected. You pay only for the results written to your dataset.

| Results collected | Approximate cost |
|---|---|
| 100 results | $0.55 |
| 1,000 results | $5.50 |
| 10,000 results | $55.00 |

**Optional full details:** with `includeDetails` on, each station whose detail record comes back adds a `station-detail` event at **$0.005** ($5 per 1,000). Leave it off and you pay only the per-result price above.

New Apify accounts start with $5 in free credit.

### Free users

Free-plan runs return up to 10 results as a preview. [Upgrade your Apify plan](https://console.apify.com/sign-up?fpr=vmoqkp) to collect up to 1,000,000 results per run.

### Run it

1. [Create a free Apify account with $5 in credit](https://console.apify.com/sign-up?fpr=vmoqkp).
2. Open the [PlugShare EV Charging Station Scraper](https://apify.com/parseforge/plugshare-scraper?fpr=vmoqkp).
3. Set your inputs and any filters, then click **Start**.
4. Export the results as CSV, Excel, JSON, or XML from the **Dataset** tab.

Run it programmatically through the [Apify API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2) (`run-sync-get-dataset-items`) or the [ApifyClient](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js) for JavaScript and Python.

### Use with AI agents (MCP)

Give an AI agent live access to PlugShare through the Model Context Protocol. Add the Actor to Claude, Cursor, or any MCP client:

```bash
claude mcp add --transport http apify "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=parseforge/plugshare-scraper"
```

Then prompt it in plain language to run the scraper and read back the results.

### Troubleshooting

**Why am I getting no results?**

Check that your search query is spelled correctly or that your coordinates point to a populated area. Also, try widening the radius or removing connector type and fast-charger filters to see if any stations exist in the area.

**The run is taking a long time. Is that normal?**

If you enabled 'Include Full Details', the actor fetches extra data for each station, which slows it down. For faster runs, disable this option or reduce the maximum number of stations.

**Why do some stations have missing details even with 'Include Full Details' on?**

Not every station on PlugShare has user-submitted photos, reviews, or pricing. The actor returns whatever data is publicly available for each station.

**I got fewer results than my max items setting. Why?**

The actor stops when it has found all matching stations in the search area. If the area has fewer stations than your limit, you will receive all of them. Try expanding your radius or removing filters.

### FAQ

| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Can I scrape stations by a specific network like Tesla or ChargePoint? | Yes. Enter the network name in the search query field, such as 'Tesla Supercharger' or 'ChargePoint', and the actor will return matching stations. |
| How do I scrape stations in a specific city? | You can either enter the city name in the search query field or provide the city's latitude and longitude with a radius to capture all stations within that area. |
| What connector types can I filter by? | The actor supports filtering by CCS1, CCS2, CHAdeMO, J1772, Tesla, Type 2, and NACS connectors. You can select one type per run. |
| Does this actor require a PlugShare account or API key? | No. It reads publicly available station data from the PlugShare map, so no login, account, or API key is needed. |
| What extra data do I get with the 'Include Full Details' option? | Enabling this option fetches additional information for each station, including user reviews, photos, operating hours, and pricing details. It takes longer per station but provides a richer dataset. |
| Can I get only DC fast chargers and skip Level 2 stations? | Yes. Check the 'Fast Chargers Only' box to restrict results to stations with a power output of 50kW or higher. |
| What is the maximum search radius? | You can set a radius up to 500 kilometers from your chosen center coordinates. |
| How many stations can I collect in one run? | You can set the maximum up to 1,000,000 stations. The actor will stop once it reaches your limit or exhausts the matching stations in the search area. |
| What output formats are supported? | You can export your results to CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML from the Apify dataset tab. |
| Can I search by coordinates without a search query? | Yes. Leave the search query field empty and provide a latitude, longitude, and radius to perform a purely geographic search. |

### Related actors

Browse the full [ParseForge collection](https://apify.com/parseforge?fpr=vmoqkp) for more scrapers.

🆘 **Need help?** Email parseforge@protonmail.com with your run ID, your input, and what you expected.

⚠️ **Disclaimer.** This Actor is unofficial and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by PlugShare, LLC. It collects only publicly available data. You are responsible for using the collected data in compliance with the source's terms of service and applicable data-protection laws, including GDPR, CCPA, and PIPL. Do not use it to collect personal data unlawfully.

# Actor input Schema

## `searchQuery` (type: `string`):

Search for EV charging stations by name, network, or location (e.g., 'Tesla Supercharger', 'ChargePoint San Francisco'). Leave empty to search by coordinates.

## `maxItems` (type: `integer`):

Maximum number of charging stations to collect per run.

## `latitude` (type: `number`):

Center latitude for region search (e.g., 40.7128 for New York City). Used when Search Query is empty.

## `longitude` (type: `number`):

Center longitude for region search (e.g., -74.0060 for New York City).

## `radiusKm` (type: `number`):

Search radius in kilometers from the center point. Default is 50 km.

## `connectorType` (type: `string`):

Filter by connector type.

## `fastChargersOnly` (type: `boolean`):

Only return DC fast charging stations (50kW+).

## `includeDetails` (type: `boolean`):

Fetch detailed station info including reviews, photos, hours, and pricing. Slower but much more data.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "searchQuery": "Tesla Supercharger",
  "maxItems": 10,
  "radiusKm": 50,
  "fastChargersOnly": false,
  "includeDetails": false
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `overview` (type: `string`):

Overview of charging stations with key fields

## `fullData` (type: `string`):

Complete dataset with all scraped fields

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "searchQuery": "Tesla Supercharger",
    "maxItems": 10
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("parseforge/plugshare-scraper").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = {
    "searchQuery": "Tesla Supercharger",
    "maxItems": 10,
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("parseforge/plugshare-scraper").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}")
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "searchQuery": "Tesla Supercharger",
  "maxItems": 10
}' |
apify call parseforge/plugshare-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,parseforge/plugshare-scraper"
        }
    }
}

```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/90Gd2X9qBSBuS23lH/builds/QyKmBVQRJ222bvkHx/openapi.json