If you’ve landed here because “Blink” keeps showing up on a rebate-eligible charger list — it appears on both our PNM and SRP rebate breakdowns — here’s the honest version before you buy one for your own garage. Blink is best known as a public charging network operator, not a home-hardware company, and that shows in how the home chargers are supported after the sale.
Blink’s home chargers, by the numbers
- F rating — Blink Charging Co.’s current Better Business Bureau rating, with 8 complaints closed in the last 3 years on its BBB profile, several citing chargers that stopped working within months and unresponsive support.
- 1 year — Blink’s standard hardware warranty, versus 3 years from ChargePoint and Wallbox and 4 years from Tesla on their home chargers.
- $599 / $749 — list price for the HQ 150 (32A/7.7kW) and HQ 200 (50A/12kW) respectively, both J1772-only with no native NACS option as of this writing.
- Owner reviews on Best Buy and Trustpilot repeatedly flag the Blink app for failing to log energy usage per session and for “error, try again” loops when reporting a fault — a recurring complaint across multiple charger generations, not a one-off bug.
HQ 150 vs HQ 200 vs what we actually recommend
| Charger | Output | Price | Warranty | App status | Buy it if |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blink HQ 150 | 32A / 7.7 kW | $599 | 1 year | Frequent complaints | It's the only rebate-qualified option in your program |
| Blink HQ 200 | 50A / 12 kW | $749 | 1 year | Frequent complaints | Same, and you need load-sharing for 2 EVs |
| Emporia Classic | Up to 48A / 11.5 kW | from $449 | 3 years | Active, well-supported | You want the 32-50A range for less, with a better-run app |
| ChargePoint Home Flex | 50A / 12 kW | ~$549-649 | 3 years | Active, most mature ecosystem | You want the longest track record among connected-charger brands |
Feature-for-feature, Blink’s specs aren’t the problem — both units deliver the amperage they claim, support scheduling, and install the same way any other J1772 smart charger does. The gap is entirely in what happens after you plug it in: a company whose own home-charging complaints describe support tickets going unanswered and an app that some owners say doesn’t reliably record how much power was actually delivered.
Emporia Classic
- Field-adjustable from 16A up to 48A, so it covers both the HQ 150's and HQ 200's output range in one unit.
- Already this site's default pick across the best home EV charger and best Level 2 charger guides.
Managing chargers across a fleet of rental units or a commercial lot instead of one home garage? A free Amazon Business account unlocks quantity discounts and tax-exempt purchasing if you end up buying several chargers at once, Blink or otherwise.
Why Blink still shows up on rebate lists
Utility Qualified Product Lists exist to confirm a charger meets certification requirements — UL listing, sometimes OCPP compatibility, sometimes a specific connectivity standard the utility’s demand-response program needs — not to vouch for the manufacturer’s customer support. That’s how a charger with an F-rated parent company can sit on the same eligible list as a ChargePoint or Emporia unit we actively recommend. If your utility’s rebate specifically requires a Blink model by name and no substitute qualifies, the HQ 150 or HQ 200 will still charge your car and still get you the rebate — just budget for the possibility that support is slow if something goes wrong after the 1-year warranty window (or even during it, per the complaint pattern above).
The bottom line
Blink’s home chargers work as basic Level 2 hardware, and the HQ 150/HQ 200 pricing sits in line with the rest of the category. What sets them apart is the company behind them: an F BBB rating, a 1-year warranty that’s shorter than every other brand we review, and owner complaints centered on the same app-reliability and support-responsiveness issues, repeated across multiple product generations. If a rebate program specifically requires Blink, buy with your eyes open. Otherwise, an Emporia Classic or ChargePoint Home Flex covers the same amperage range for close to the same money, backed by a 3-year warranty and a materially better support track record. Check our EV charger installation cost guide before you buy, since confirming your circuit fits whichever charger you pick matters more than the brand name on the case.