Indra Smart PRO vs Sync Energy Wall Charger 2: the £237 question

The £237 question

On the wall, these two look like rivals. On the invoice, they barely overlap. The Sync Energy Wall Charger 2 is £362 and aims squarely at buyers who want a smart charger and don't want to overpay for one. The Indra Smart PRO is £599 and asks you to believe that what's inside the box — not just on the wall — is worth the difference.

The shortest version:

• Sync Energy Wall Charger 2 — £362, 7.5-metre cable, PEN fault protection built in, solar diversion included. The budget pick that doesn't feel like one.
• Indra Smart PRO — £599, British-made, surge protection device in the box. Only cheap after install extras are counted.

What the Indra's £237 actually buys

Not the charger. The SPD. The Indra Smart PRO includes a surge protection device that an electrician would otherwise add to your quote at £100–£150, plus a CT clamp for solar that saves another £50 or so. Count those in, and the real gap to the Sync Energy Wall Charger 2 shrinks — not to zero, but to something closer to £80.

Whether that's worth it depends entirely on your installer. Get a quote. If the SPD is a line item, the Indra is closer to fair value than its sticker suggests. If it isn't — plenty of domestic installs skip one — you're paying £237 more for British manufacturing, dynamic load balancing, and an RFID lock. All real, none transformative. The Easee One at £405 does load balancing for less, and the Tesla Wall Connector does more for £478.

Where the Sync Energy Wall Charger 2 pulls its weight

For £362, the Sync Energy Wall Charger 2 delivers the longest cable on the site — 7.5 metres, beating even the Tesla's 7.3 — plus IP65 and IK10 ratings that are above average. Built-in PEN fault protection usually removes the need for an earth rod, which is another £80–£150 off the install bill depending on ground conditions. Solar diversion is included. OCPP 1.6J is there if you ever want to move to a third-party backend.

What you're giving up is polish. The app moved from Monta and some early buyers noticed; Wi-Fi reliability has been mixed in user reports, which is why the 4G variant exists for anyone with a charger more than a few metres from the router. The three-year warranty is average. And tariff scheduling is schedule-based rather than API-driven — fine on Octopus Go or EDF GoElectric, where the off-peak window is fixed, but no match for Octopus Agile where rates move every half hour.

Solar, tariffs, and the inconvenient truth

Both chargers include a CT clamp. Both will divert solar. Neither is a Zappi. If solar is your primary reason for buying, the myenergi Zappi GLO is the charger built around it, and solar-first buyers will get more from the Zappi GLO vs Indra Smart PRO comparison.

On tariffs, neither has a supplier API. The Indra Smart PRO's app handles Octopus Intelligent Go and OVO Charge Anytime through scheduled integration; the Sync Energy's TariffSense is a schedule you set yourself. If you're on a fixed-window tariff, that distinction doesn't matter — you pick the slot, the car charges, the bill is the same. If you're on Agile, buy neither. Buy the Ohme Home Pro and let it chase the half-hour rates.

The verdict

Buy the Indra Smart PRO if:

• Your installer's quote includes a £100+ surge protection device
• You want British design and manufacturing and value that at £80–£100
• You're already on Intelligent Go or Charge Anytime and want the scheduled integration

Buy the Sync Energy Wall Charger 2 if:

• You want the cheapest credible smart tethered charger on the market
• Cable reach matters — 7.5 metres beats everything else here
• Your tariff has a fixed off-peak window, so schedule-based charging is plenty

For most readers, it's the Sync Energy Wall Charger 2. You get a longer cable, PEN fault protection, and solar diversion for £237 less, and the compromises — average app, no supplier API — aren't ones a typical Octopus Go household will ever notice. The Indra Smart PRO is the right answer for a specific install with a specific quote attached to it. Without that quote in hand, the cheaper charger is the defensible choice.