The software stack dilemma: what you need to know about TCO in EV charging

​​Building an EV charging operation is complex, with many moving parts. Your software stack serves as the backbone; connecting physical infrastructure with your people and cash flow to keep everything running smoothly.

In an e-mobility market that’s still considerably complex and fast-moving, your software decisions are more than purely backend choices. They actively shape how fast your EV charging business can scale, how reliably you operate, and how much profit you actually keep. Your software choice impacts your entire operation; from onboarding and billing to the first charge, the next, and every touchpoint in between.

This means that tracking software-related costs has become an essential task for all CPOs, solution providers and network operators looking to establish their EV charging company as a long-term and successful player in the market. Whilst some of the more visible expenses appear obvious – such as licencing, hosting, and development fees – these will only show you the tip of the iceberg. To understand your Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) two additional layers need to be calculated that lie beneath the surface and more often than not, carry the biggest share of your cost base.These hidden costs are: ongoing operational costs; and missed revenue opportunities. 

Every business will face hidden costs, but your ability to scale and build a profitable charging operation long-term depends on managing all three key drivers of Total Cost of Ownership: hardware, operations, and software. The right software helps you reduce inefficiencies, unlock new revenue streams, and future-proof your business as you grow.

That’s why we wrote this blog and hosted this webinar to help break down:

• what drives the TCO of EV charging software,
• how different software strategies impact your TCO, and
• how we can help optimise your TCO here at Monta.

Because whether you're building your own software platform in-house, buying off-the-shelf, or blending both: understanding your TCO isn’t just a cost exercise. It’s a growth strategy.

The three drivers of software TCO

Driver #1: Direct software costs

When it comes to choosing the different solutions for your software stack, these visible, upfront expenses are directly connected to the software itself. But even here, surprises may happen: many software vendors bury costs in custom integrations, support fees, or limitations that will require expensive updates or workarounds later on. The key to avoiding these pitfalls?

Whether you're using a third-party software platform or building your own, it's critical to fully understand the true cost of your setup - both now and in the future.

Many software vendors present attractive pricing models upfront, but hidden or variable fees can add up quickly. Similarly, developing your own solution in-house can seem cost-effective at first, but often comes with significant long-term investment. Typically up to 50% of your original build cost per year just to maintain and evolve the system.

To avoid common pitfalls, keep these tips in mind:

• Clarify all vendor fees: 0% transaction fees might sound appealing, but can lead to higher charging prices over time as vendors look to recoup costs elsewhere.
  
• Account for build and run costs: If developing in-house, factor in ongoing maintenance, updates, and scalability needs; not just the initial setup.
  
• Choose a future-friendly cost structure: Work with a vendor whose pricing model improves as you scale. A lower cost base over time gives you the flexibility to grow faster, compete on price, and stay ahead of the market.

Driver #2: Operational costs

The first, and often largest, layer beneath the surface is your operational cost base. It’s important to understand that this isn’t just one type of cost, but a mix of multiple interconnected elements that keep your charging business running day to day.

This layer includes:

• People operations: The human resources needed to onboard customers, manage commercial roaming agreements, commission charge points, and run your sales and support teams.
  
• Financial operations: Working capital requirements, fraud prevention, and reconciliation processes.
  
• Supporting assets: Essentials like RFID cards and connectivity plans that keep your network online and accessible.
  
• Electricity costs: A core part of your ongoing operational expenses, often variable and hard to forecast.
  

Together, these components form the backbone of your operation—so getting visibility and control over this layer is essential to building a profitable, scalable business.

Driver #3: Missed revenue opportunities

We’ve identified three key factors that signal missed revenue opportunities: growth potential, time-to-market (T2M), and churn. These aren’t abstract metrics—they reflect tangible risks to your bottom line.

There are a range of underlying factors that influence each:

• Growth can be impacted by how quickly you’re able to onboard new customers and charge points, as well as how effectively you maintain a high-quality, reliable network.
  
• Time-to-market reflects how fast you can launch in new geographies or deliver new use cases to existing markets. In today’s land and grid grab, speed matters.
  
• Churn is driven by your ability to meet evolving customer needs and keep pace with innovation as new players enter the market.
  

By using these three lenses, it's easier to assess areas that are traditionally difficult to quantify, like a poor user experience, inefficient internal workflows, or compliance gaps, and understand how they can silently erode your profitability.

From a long-term perspective, the lost opportunities across these dimensions can easily outweigh your software’s direct and operational costs, potentially leading to millions in unrealised revenue.

Different software strategies = different impact on your TCO

The dilemma of “build vs. buy” is not new, and it’s fundamental for companies with products or services with a foundational software element. Conventional wisdom suggests that you should "build for scale and buy for speed" – this presents two choices for businesses:

1. Make a large initial investment in a custom platform designed to grow with your company

2. Make a lower initial but ongoing investment in less customized software that may have future limitations but significantly accelerates your market entry

Conventional wisdom: Build is for scale, buy is for speed

It’s often believed that building your own software is the only way to truly scale. You own the roadmap, control the experience, and avoid vendor lock-in. Meanwhile, buying software is seen as a shortcut; great for getting to market quickly, but eventually limiting once you want to scale.

This logic holds appeal. In theory, building gives you tailored control and long-term savings, while buying delivers speed and simplicity.

But the reality is more nuanced.

Reality: Build is hard to scale and do really well, buy offers improving unit economics

In practice, building often introduces hidden complexities and spiraling long-term costs. What looks like a cost-effective custom solution early on tends to bump into unpredictable investments over time; new integrations, security updates, compliance adjustments, and maintenance of legacy architecture.

Even mature in-house solutions rarely achieve low run-costs due to the ongoing need for technical resourcing, cross-team coordination, and upkeep. And those costs don’t necessarily shrink with scale.

On the flip side

Partnering with Monta means the vendor shoulders the cost and complexity of evolving the product. As Monta grows, unit economics improve for customers; they benefit from innovation at scale without needing to invest directly in development.

In short, buying doesn’t just offer speed to market. It can also offer long-term scalability with lower risk and more predictable costs.

Choosing to build: full control, full responsibility

A custom-made software stack that perfectly fits your specific requirements may sound like a dream come true, but don’t forget: the associated costs (and necessary trade-offs) are usually much steeper than they initially seem. As you can see from our example below, even a basic CPO setup for 10.000 charge points typically requires high upfront costs (€2.85M+), as well as high maintenance costs (50% of previous year's cost) plus hosting fees.

Compared to other players in the EV charging industry, this may look like a relatively modest build. But the reality is that once you add custom features, integrations, or compliance layers, your costs can spike rapidly. And that’s before factoring in the internal bandwidth needed for ongoing updates, testing, and troubleshooting.

Here’s the big consideration: industry benchmarks show that up to 50% of your initial build cost will need to be re-invested every year just to keep things running. So, while building in-house might seem scalable on paper, the long-term operational burden often tells a different story.

Choosing to buy: lower risk, faster time-to-market

To make this the truly rewarding choice for your charging operations, however, you need to be absolutely sure that your bought solution can adapt to your business model and/or regional compliance needs. Flexibility, in short, really is essential – in practice as well as theory.

What about the traditional hybrid approach?

On a practical level, this contains benefits from both the “build” and the “buy” side of the dilemma – however, drawbacks such as added complexity in maintenance and upgrades can also occur, resulting in a tangled ecosystem of mismatched modules, third-party integrations, and coordination challenges. 

This, of course, increases the risk of vulnerabilities and inefficiencies – after all, every time a vendor upgrades their solution, or a new compliance rule comes into effect, the entire software stack may start getting shaky. And while flexibility is definitely a key asset, untested interfaces and stack combinations are not particularly attractive to any EV charging business looking to establish themselves in the electric mobility universe.

Fundamentally, it comes down to this: whichever software strategy you choose, you will encounter hidden costs (directly and indirectly) as well as operational trade-offs. So instead of considering short-term financial gain, the big question needs to be: “what will this decision cost us to scale, support, and evolve over the next five years?”.

How do we optimise your EV charging software TCO at Monta?

Here at Monta, our goal is for all of our partners to realise their individual EV charging business goals. Our technology is designed to help you achieve three key goals: scale your business faster, simplify your charging operations and unlock growth opportunities.

With Monta, you're not locked into rigid solutions or weighed down by complexity. Our platform gives you the flexibility to scale at your pace, with powerful, end-to-end features that are constantly evolving in the background, so you can stay focused on what matters: growing your business. Whether you're getting your first charge points online or expanding across multiple markets, Monta gives you the tools and integrations to build a charging experience that fits your business today - and is ready for what’s next.

As we’ve supported EV charging businesses on their journey to scale, we’ve built in five unfair advantages that give our customers the edge; helping them move faster, simplify operations, and unlock new paths to growth.

Together, these advantages do more than lower costs: they reduce friction, unlock new revenue streams, and give your business the room to grow on your own terms. Add to this the fact that your TCO will also become lower (and more transparent) with Monta’s technology, and the road towards electric mobility success will seem shorter than ever before.

Take control of your EV software TCO today

The EV charging industry is showing no signs of slowing down. And as competition increases on a global scale, your software strategy is a core business driver, something with direct impact on your company’s profitability. It’s not only about tangible, one-time costs any more: 

It’s not about choosing Monta versus the wrong solution. It's about ensuring your software strategy matches the scale of your ambition. What you risk losing in speed, scalability, and long-term opportunity if your stack can’t keep up will impact your bottom line just as much as the visible costs. Businesses need a clear understanding of the total cost of ownership tied to each option to make the right strategic call.

Whether you're debating between building, buying, or trying to strike a balance with a hybrid solution, we can agree on one thing: the most successful operators are those who choose platforms that reduce complexity, adapt quickly, and unlock growth from day one.

Here at Monta, we want to help you do exactly that. This is why we’ve created our flexible, end-to-end platform – to keep your operations lean and your revenue streams open.