The fair place to meet is Columbus, OH — the city closest to the midpoint of Charlotte and Cleveland. From the farther side that’s about 7 hr 17 min of driving.
Recommended midpoint
Columbus, OH
From Charlotte
7 hr 17 min
348 mi to Columbus
From Cleveland
3 hr 9 min
126 mi to Columbus
Cleveland has the shorter trip; the split is off by about 4 hr 8 min. The alternatives below can even it out. Charlotte and Cleveland are about 436 miles apart.
Charlotte and Cleveland are about 436 miles apart by road. Split the difference and you arrive near Columbus, the city closest to the halfway point between them. That puts roughly 7 hr 17 min of driving on the Charlotte side and 3 hr 9 min on the Cleveland side — the fairest single meeting point among the cities near the middle.
That's a half-day drive from each side, so Columbus suits an overnight or a weekend rather than a quick coffee — long enough to want a reason to stay, short enough to drive.
If Columbus doesn't have what you're after, Pittsburgh and Cincinnati are also close to the midpoint and worth a look — each keeps the drive reasonably balanced between Charlotte and Cleveland.
Columbus is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Ohio. With a population of 905,748 at the 2020 census, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., second-most populous city in the Midwest, and third-most populous U.S. state capital. Read more →
Charlotte is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. With a population of 874,579 at the 2020 census, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., seventh-most populous city in the South, and second-most populous city in the Southeast. Read more →
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the lake from Ontario, Canada, and is approximately 60 miles west of the Ohio–Pennsylvania state line. Read more →
City descriptions adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA); photos via Wikimedia Commons, credited above.
Estimates use straight-line distance and typical road speeds; real drive times vary with route and traffic.