Hypervolt Home 3 Pro vs Wallbox Pulsar Max: UK All-Rounder vs Compact Contender

The All-Rounder vs the Compact Contender

At £690 and £699 respectively, the Hypervolt Home 3 Pro and Wallbox Pulsar Max are about as close on price as two EV chargers can get. Both are OZEV-approved, both use a Type 2 tethered cable, and both promise smart features that go well beyond simply plugging in and hoping for the best. So why would you pick one over the other?

The answer comes down to priorities. The Hypervolt is a proudly British-built all-rounder that bundles smart tariff support, solar integration and exceptional build quality into a single package — no extras required. The Wallbox, meanwhile, is one of the smallest chargers you can buy, offers a generous five-year warranty out of the box, and is the only one of the pair that can deliver 22kW on a three-phase supply. If you are weighing up these two, you are really asking: do I want the charger that does the most straight out of the box, or the one that fits the tightest space and future-proofs me for three-phase power?

In a nutshell:

• Hypervolt Home 3 Pro (£690): The best all-rounder in the UK market — smart tariffs, solar diversion via included CT clamp, and IP66 weatherproofing all built in.
• Wallbox Pulsar Max (£699): The most compact charger available, with a five-year warranty and three-phase 22kW capability for homes that can use it.

Spec Comparison

Smart Tariff Integration

This is where the Hypervolt pulls clearly ahead. The Home 3 Pro has built-in smart tariff integration, which means it can talk directly to time-of-use tariffs like Octopus Go, Octopus Intelligent Go and Octopus Agile. Set your departure time in the app, and the charger will automatically shift your charging into the cheapest overnight slots — potentially as low as 7p/kWh on Intelligent Go versus a daytime rate north of 24p/kWh. Over a year of typical UK mileage (~7,400 miles), that difference can save you well over £100 annually without you lifting a finger.

The Wallbox Pulsar Max, by contrast, has no built-in smart tariff integration. You can schedule charging windows manually through the myWallbox app — setting it to start at 00:30 and stop at 04:30 to catch an Octopus Go window, for example — but it will not dynamically respond to half-hourly price changes on Agile or automatically optimise around your energy tariff. If you are on a variable-rate smart tariff, this is a genuine limitation. As viablepower.co.uk notes, smart tariff integration is increasingly what separates a good charger from a great one, and the Hypervolt delivers here where the Wallbox does not.

Solar Integration

Both chargers offer solar diversion, but the implementation differs significantly. The Hypervolt Home 3 Pro includes a CT clamp in the box, which clips around your meter tails and allows the charger to see how much surplus solar energy your panels are producing. It then diverts that excess into your car rather than exporting it to the grid. No additional hardware, no extra cost — it works from day one. According to heatable.co.uk, the Hypervolt offers three solar modes — Boost, Eco and Super Eco — giving you granular control over how aggressively it prioritises solar self-consumption.

The Wallbox Pulsar Max supports solar charging through its Eco-Smart feature, but here is the catch: you need to purchase a separate Wallbox Power Meter to enable it. That is an additional cost on top of the £699 unit price, which narrows the value gap between the two chargers further. If you already have solar panels or are planning an installation, the Hypervolt's included CT clamp is a genuine money-saver. That said, it is worth noting that the Hypervolt's solar diversion, while effective, is not quite as sophisticated as what you would find on a dedicated solar-first charger like the myenergi Zappi, as topcharger.co.uk highlights in its review.

Build Quality and Design

Both chargers share an IK10 impact-resistance rating, meaning they can handle a stray football or a clumsy reversing manoeuvre without cracking. But the Hypervolt takes weatherproofing more seriously with an IP66 rating — fully dust-tight and protected against powerful water jets. The Wallbox Pulsar Max sits at IP54, which handles rain and splashes perfectly well but is not in the same league if your charger is exposed to particularly harsh conditions or direct spray from a pressure washer.

Size is where the Wallbox fights back. At just 198mm × 201mm × 99mm, it is genuinely tiny — noticeably smaller than the Hypervolt and one of the most compact chargers on the UK market. If you are mounting it in a narrow garage, a tight car port, or beside a front door where aesthetics matter, the Pulsar Max practically disappears into the wall. It is also available in six colours, while the Hypervolt opts for interchangeable covers — a clever approach that lets you swap your charger's look without replacing the unit.

On cable length, the Hypervolt offers significantly more flexibility with 5m, 7.5m and 10m options. The Wallbox comes with a 5m cable only. If your parking spot is more than a couple of metres from the charger, that 5m cable can feel tight, particularly in winter when you would rather not shuffle the car closer to the wall.

Power and Charging Speed

On a standard UK single-phase supply — which covers the vast majority of homes — both chargers deliver an identical 7.4kW. That translates to roughly 25 miles of range per hour, or a full charge of a 60kWh battery (think Tesla Model 3 Standard Range) in about eight and a half hours. Perfect for overnight charging.

Where the Wallbox has a genuine technical advantage is its three-phase 22kW capability. If your property has a three-phase supply (rare in UK homes, but increasingly common in new-builds and commercial conversions), the Pulsar Max can charge at three times the speed — filling that same 60kWh battery in around 2.7 hours. The Hypervolt is single-phase only, so 7.4kW is its ceiling. For the fewer than 5% of UK homes with three-phase power, this could be a deciding factor.

Both chargers include dynamic load management — Hypervolt calls it automatic load management, Wallbox brands it Power Boost — which monitors your home's total electrical draw and dials back the charge rate to prevent your main fuse from tripping. Essential if you are running the oven, tumble dryer and EV charger simultaneously on a typical British evening.

Price and Value

With just £9 separating the unit prices, this is not a decision you will make on cost alone. The real value difference lies in what is included. The Hypervolt bundles smart tariff integration and a CT clamp for solar at no extra cost. To get solar working on the Wallbox, you will need to add a Power Meter — pushing the effective price higher. On the other hand, the Wallbox includes a five-year warranty as standard, while matching that on the Hypervolt costs an additional £100. As electriccarguide.co.uk notes, the Hypervolt's installed price typically lands around £999–£1,300, which aligns closely with the Wallbox once installation variables are factored in.

Who Should Buy Which?

Buy the Hypervolt Home 3 Pro if:

• You want smart tariff integration out of the box to maximise savings on Octopus Go, Intelligent Go or Agile
• You have solar panels (or plan to) and want solar diversion included with no extra hardware cost
• You need a longer cable — the 7.5m and 10m options are genuinely useful for awkward driveways
• You value maximum weatherproofing (IP66 beats IP54 in exposed locations)
• You like the idea of a UK-designed, UK-built product with reportedly excellent customer support

Buy the Wallbox Pulsar Max if:

• Space is tight and you need the smallest possible charger on the wall
• Your property has three-phase power and you want 22kW charging speeds
• You prefer a longer warranty without paying extra — five years comes as standard
• You use Alexa or Google Assistant and want native voice control for your charger
• You want a wider choice of built-in colours (six options vs interchangeable covers)

Our recommendation: For most UK homeowners on a single-phase supply, the Hypervolt Home 3 Pro is the stronger buy. The built-in smart tariff support alone could save you over £100 a year, and the included CT clamp for solar integration means you are not paying extra to unlock features that should arguably come as standard at this price point. The IP66 rating and cable length options are practical bonuses that matter in the real world. However, if you have three-phase power, limited wall space, or simply want the peace of mind of a five-year warranty without add-on costs, the Wallbox Pulsar Max is a well-engineered alternative that will serve you reliably for years.

For the full specs-level breakdown, see our Hypervolt Home 3 Pro vs Wallbox Pulsar Max comparison page.

Read our full Hypervolt Home 3 Pro review or Wallbox Pulsar Max review.

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