Ohme ePod vs CTEK Chargestorm Connected 3

£587 and a phase apart

The Ohme ePod costs £499. The CTEK Chargestorm Connected 3 costs £1,086. That is a £587 gap — wider than the price of many complete chargers on the market. Both are untethered Type 2 units. Both are OZEV-approved. On a single-phase supply, both deliver roughly 7.4kW. The difference is what each one is for.

• Ohme ePod — the smallest smart charger in the UK at 1.48 kg, with direct links to Octopus and British Gas tariffs. £499 plus a separate cable.
• CTEK Chargestorm Connected 3 — a three-phase-native unit with built-in MID metering, Type B RCD, and OCPP 2.0.1. Built for commercial-grade use cases that happen to live on a house wall. £1,086.

Why the ePod wins on a single-phase supply

Most UK homes have a single-phase supply. On single-phase, the CTEK delivers the same 7.4kW as the ePod — and then the comparison becomes lopsided.

The ePod talks directly to Octopus Intelligent Go at 8p/kWh, Octopus Go at 8.5p/kWh, and British Gas EV Power at 9p/kWh. Set a "ready by" time, and the charger chases the cheapest slots. The CTEK has no first-party tariff integration at all. Scheduling relies on third-party OCPP platforms like Monta — functional, but a step removed, and without the half-hourly price-chasing that Ohme's API provides on variable tariffs like Octopus Agile. If your reason for buying a smart charger is to cut your electricity bill, the ePod does that job out of the box. The CTEK does not.

The ePod also includes dynamic load balancing as standard. On the CTEK, that requires a separate NANOGRID Air gateway — another purchase, another box on the wall.

When the CTEK earns its £1,086

Three-phase supply. That is the CTEK's territory. At 22kW on three-phase 32A, it charges roughly three times faster than any single-phase unit. If you have a three-phase home — or are planning an upgrade — and you want a domestic charger that behaves like light commercial infrastructure, the CTEK is one of a small handful of options. Its built-in MRCD Type B protection saves your electrician from fitting an external device (often £100–£200 on other installs). The MID-approved energy meter is useful if you need auditable billing — landlords, shared driveways, business mileage claims. And the five-year warranty is two years longer than the ePod's three.

The OCPP 2.0.1 and ISO 15118 support also matter for future-proofing. The CTEK is not locked to any vendor back-end, which appeals to a particular kind of buyer — one who wants to choose their own charge management platform and may swap it later. That is a legitimate preference, but it is an infrastructure preference, not a household one.

For three-phase buyers who also want the CTEK's open-protocol approach, the natural comparison is the Zaptec Go 2 at £638 — considerably cheaper, also three-phase capable, and with OCPP support of its own.

The cable question

Neither charger ships with a Type 2 cable attached to the wall. The ePod's £499 is a unit-only price — budget £100–£200 for a decent cable, bringing the real outlay to £600–£700. The CTEK includes a 4-metre fixed tail to its Type 2 socket, so the cable cost is already baked in, but the unit is £1,086 before you consider install. CTEK installs tend to run £900–£1,300 owing to the unit's 24 kg weight and wiring complexity, versus £300–£600 for the ePod. All-in, you could be looking at £800–£1,300 for the ePod and £1,986–£2,386 for the CTEK.

Both are OZEV-approved, so grant-eligible renters and flat owners can knock £500 off. For the ePod, that grant covers the unit outright and chips into the install costs too.

The solar angle

The ePod offers Solar Boost and Solar Only modes via a CT clamp — a meaningful feature if you have panels and want to divert surplus generation into the car. The CTEK has no equivalent built-in solar diversion. If solar is a priority and you want something more capable still, the myenergi Zappi GLO at £599 is the specialist — but the ePod holds its own for lighter solar use.

Which to buy

Buy the Ohme ePod if:

• Your home is single-phase — which is almost certainly the case
• You want direct smart tariff integration with Octopus or British Gas
• You value small size, low cost, and solar diversion over commercial-grade metering

Buy the CTEK Chargestorm Connected 3 if:

• You have or are installing a three-phase supply and want 22kW charging at home
• You need MID-approved metering for billing or business use
• You prefer an open OCPP platform over a supplier-locked app

For most readers arriving at this page, the ePod is the right charger. It is less than half the price, smarter on tariffs, lighter to install, and identical in output on single-phase. The CTEK is a fine piece of engineering aimed at a narrow audience. If you are in that audience — three-phase, OCPP, auditable metering — you already know. Everyone else: buy the ePod, pair it with Intelligent Go, and spend the £587 you saved on electricity.