Did you know that you do not have to buy your EZ Pass packet from your own state? Each state has a different fee structure and it pays to know what the fees are. Some states charge a monthly maintenance fee while others do not.
I had been wondering which state was the most economical so I set about to do a little research.
Looking up in Wikipedia, I found this handy chart:
Delaware – $0 for email/web statements, $8/year for quarterly paper statements $15 per internal or external transponder (non-refundable) $10 minimum balance (Account charged a replenishment amount based on monthly toll usage.) 50% off cash rates for Delaware SR‑1 when 30 or more qualifying trips are made by a two-axle passenger vehicles within a 30-day rolling period.
Illinois (I-PASS)[52] $0 per month $10 per internal transponder (refundable) automatic replenishment; $20 (refundable) manual replenishment $10 minimum balance (Account charged a minimum replenishment amount of $40 or an amount 10% of average monthly usage, whichever is higher.) 50% off cash rate for all transponders (ISTHA tolls and passenger cars only)
Indiana (formally i‑Zoom) $1 per month/transponder $10 per internal transponder (refundable) $2.50 minimum balance (first 90 days), then $2.50 minimum balance or 25% of average monthly usage, whichever is greater. (Account is charged a minimum replenishment amount of $10 in the first 90 days, after which the minimum replenishment amount is based on the previous three months of usage on your account and is recalculated on the first of each month, the minimum amount being $10.) Discounts available to all transponders. Percentage varies by exit.
Maine – $0 per month $10 per internal transponder (non-refundable); $17 per external transponder (non-refundable) $15 minimum balance (Account is charged a minimum replenishment amount of $20 when your account drops below minimum balance.) Discounts based on travel volume: 30-39 account trips per month will equal a 25% discount applied to monthly account trips. 40+ account trips per month will equal a 50% discount applied to monthly account trips.
Maryland – $1.50 per month (waived if 3 Maryland E‑ZPass tolls incurred within a given month) $9 per internal transponder (non-refundable), $33 per external transponder (non-refundable), $40 per internal FUSION CVO (PrePass & E-ZPass all-in-one) transponder, $18 per internal E-ZPass Flex transponder (For use on I-495 Express Lanes) $10 minimum balance (Account is charged a minimum replenishment amount of $25 or an amount equal to you average monthly usage, whichever is higher.) Discounts available to Maryland E‑ZPass users only. 10% discount off the passenger vehicle cash rate at all Maryland toll facilities except the InterCounty Connector (Maryland State Highway 200). Various other plans available for bridges and regions.
Massachusetts – $0 per month if monthly statements by are sent by e-mail; $0 per internal transponder; $20 minimum balance. Account is charged a replenishment amount whenever the balance falls below $10, replenishing the account to a balance of $20. If usage exceeds $20 in any given month, the account is charged $40. 25¢ discount at Allston-Brighton tolls, 50¢ discount at Sumner and Ted Williams tunnels and Tobin Memorial Bridge.[57]
New Hampshire – $0 per month $8.90 per internal transponder (non-refundable)$15.19 per external transponder (non-refundable) $30 minimum balance. Account is charged a minimum replenishment amount of $30 in the first 35 days, after which the minimum replenishment amount is based on the previous three months of usage on your account, the minimum amount being $30. 30% off cash rate for NH transponders only. Other transponders pay cash rate.
New Jersey – $1 per month membership fee + $1 bimonthly for print/email statements $10 per internal transponder (refundable) or $0 if credit or direct debit replenishment. $10 or 25% of your replenishment threshold, whichever is greater. Account is charged a minimum replenishment amount of $25 in the first 90 days, after which the minimum replenishment amount is based on the previous three months of usage on your account, the minimum amount being $25. Various discounts for NJ transponders only. Other transponders pay cash rate.
New York – $1 per month PANYNJ account service fee (no fee for MTA, Thruway, or Bridge Authority accounts) + $6/yr for monthly paper statements (bimonthly statements are free) $10 per internal transponder (refundable) or $0 if auto-replenish $10 minimum balance Account is charged a minimum replenishment amount of $25 or an amount equal to your average usage in a 90‑day period, whichever is higher. At all Port Authority facilities, E‑ZPass discounts are available. At MTA Bridges and Tunnels, $1.70 off cash tolls. $3.40 off round-trip at the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge and $1.45 discount at the Marine Parkway-Gil Hodges Memorial and Cross Bay Veterans Memorial Bridges. At all New York State Thruway and New York State Bridge Authority facilities, E‑ZPass discounts apply.
North Carolina (Quick Pass) – $0 per month, $1 per month after 12 consecutive months of no toll transactions. $20 per internal (hard case) transponder $20 minimum balance for first two transponders, $10 for each additional transponder, up to five transponders total. Account is charged a minimum replenishment amount of $10 or when account balance is 25% of your replenishment threshold, based on the previous three months of usage, whichever is greater.
Ohio – 75¢ per month $0 per internal transponder ($25 replacement fee within first four years) $25 minimum balance per transponder. Account is charged a minimum replenishment amount based on the previous three months of usage, or the amount needed to return the account balance to $25.00 per transponder, whichever is greater. Ohio discount available to all transponders. Percentage varies by exit.
Pennsylvania – $3 per year/transponder $10 per internal transponder (refundable) or $0 if credit or direct debit replenishment $10 per transponder. Account is charged a minimum replenishment amount of $35 whenever the balance reaches a total value of $10 or less ($15 or less for manual replenishment accounts) per transponder. If your account requires more than the allowed replenishments in a one-month cycle (2 times for credit cards and 3 times for ACH), the amount of replenishment will switch to average usage. 25% discount off cash rate to all transponders.
Rhode Island – $0 per month if monthly statements by e‑mail $20.95 per internal transponder (purchase required); $33.04 per external transponder (purchase required) $25 minimum balance per transponder (Account is charged a minimum replenishment amount based on the previous 45-days of usage and is recalculated every 90-days, or the amount needed to return the account balance to $25.00 per transponder, whichever is greater.)
Virginia – $0 per month for transponders issued before July 9, 2012 and if monthly statements by e‑mail. 50¢ per month for standard transponders and $1 per month for E‑ZPass Flex transponders issued on or after July 9, 2012. The E-ZPass Flex transponder $1 fee will be waived for those months in which the Flex transponder is used only on the 495 Express Lanes with 3 or more in the vehicle and is solely for free HOV usage on the I-495 Express Lanes. $35 per internal transponder $10 minimum balance per transponder (Account is charged a minimum replenishment amount of $35 per transponder or an amount equal to your average monthly usage, whichever is higher.)
West Virginia – $5 per year for “prepaid” plan (Includes free use of the North Beckley ramp on the West Virginia Turnpike.) Flat rate, unlimited use plans range from $5 to $285 for various parts of the West Virginia Turnpike. $10 per internal transponder $10 minimum balance (Account is charged a minimum replenishment amount of $20. No balance needed with annual WV unlimited plan.) 35% off cash rate and use of Beckley WV exit freely for WV transponders only (non-WV transponders pay cash rate)
Based on the information in this chart, I will be making a change from one state to another. The state that I believe has the best rates is Massachusetts. When you get the drop down bar it will say Massachusetts, leave it that way but change your address to your state.
Follow-Up – I did indeed purchase from Massachusetts. They sent me an email before sending out the EZPass transponders to make sure that is what I wanted to do in case there were any discounts from my home state. The transponder is much smaller that what I had from Pennsylvania. Which one did you get?
Air, Land & Sea 
I’ll be driving from MA (outside of Boston) to Philadelphia regularly. The bulk of the tolls on this trip are on the Philadelphia to Boston leg between the NJ turnpike and bridge crossings. Do you think it makes sense to get the pass from NJ for the discount on the turnpike in both directions, or in NY to get a discount on the bridge crossings? Or should I just go with the freebie in MA and not sweat the discounts?
I would try and figure out what the toll and bridge discounts are for each of the state’s EZ Pass. I would then do a comparison and see which makes more fiscal sense taking into consideration what the cost of the EZ Pass in those states would cost.
Do Mass. EZ-pass work in Oklahoma and Texas?
* Gary I do not believe that Oklahoma and Texas has the EZ Pass system in place.
I have used a friend’s NY ez pass in IN and IL and got the 50% on tolls.
This did *not* work for me when I used one EZ-Pass transponder transferred to another car. I got a ticket from Illinois’ I-Pass people! The transponder *is* linked to a particular vehicle. If the transponder doesn’t match the license plate on record, you’re going to get a ticket, and it ain’t cheap. Mine was at least $25 (don’t recall what it was exactly). There’s a way to appeal, but it’s so complicated that it’s easier to just pay.
I do not believe I engined moving a transponder from one car to another. They are indeed linked. My point through this article is that you do not have to have an EZ Pass account in your home state.
You can have multiple vehicles for one EZ-Pass transponder. But you need to login to your EZ Pass account and add the license plate for the 2nd vehicle before you use it.
Don’t waste your time reading any of the comments here. The ONLY place to get a FREE EzPass account, PLUS 4 FREE transponders and mailed to your house FREE is from Mass. (EZPASSMA). The only thing is you have to keep a balance of $20.00 (big deal!) in your account.
Can I switch my PA E-Z Pass to a Mass. pass? And if I can, how do I do it?
Thanks
I totally agree and that is why I have a Massachusetts EZ Pass even though I am a Virginia resident
Can you do a study on the different EZpass rates for CMV’s [commercial motor vehicles]?
Leon – Let me see how much time I have and what how easily I can get the information
I’m a Rhode Islander and kind of torn between getting a MA one or an RI one. The RI one gives residents (only residents) discounts when crossing the Pell Bridge into Newport.,..$0.83 per trip, as opposed to $2/axle, but costs $20.95 for the transponder + $25 initial balance. The MA one is free, requires a $20 initial balance, but gives me discounts on roads I’ve never taken (I mostly take the Mass Pike, which usually gets reimbursed by work anyway). I don’t go to Newport often, but if I’m doing the math right, it would pay for itself after crossing the bridge 7 times (3.5 round trips)…not accounting for the pre-loaded balance, since that’s still my money, just not easily accessible.
So whats the cliffnotes? What state is the cheapest if you can buy from any state?
Really fun post Jane. My state, IN, is paying for us to get a lower rate for a few more years after leasing our toll road for 75 years. I do not know if you have to live in IN to get the discount. I could see, if you can, getting more than one if you travel to other states often. Humm… I would rather fly but good things to think about for those who drive a ton!
It would be interesting to know if Indiana will allow out of staters to purchase the EZ Pass through their state. IF you can find out, let me know and I’ll share it on this blog.
Looks like anyone can online! https://www.ezpassin.com/index.do
Hi Airlandandsea, I actually happen to know that answer as I used to live right on the border between Indiana and Ohio, in Bryan, OH. They will allow out of state people to order from their state, although I drove from Bryan into Indiana to a particular CVS to buy two transponders for my husband’s and my cars. This was the older box style transponder though as it was a while ago when we first purchased ours, so I don’t know how they handle the current transponders…