Ohme Home Pro vs EO Mini Pro 3: A Smart Tariff Specialist Against the Tiniest Charger Around
These two sit within £15 of each other, both tethered, both single-phase, both with 5-metre cables and 3-year warranties. On paper they look like near-identical propositions. They're not.
The Ohme Home Pro exists to save you money on electricity — its deep smart tariff integration is the entire reason to buy it. The EO Mini Pro 3 exists to solve an installation problem — its A5-sized footprint fits where nothing else will. That's the decision in front of you.
In a nutshell:
- Ohme Home Pro (£535): The UK's best charger for automated smart tariff charging, with built-in 4G and a colour display
- EO Mini Pro 3 (£550): The smallest home charger you can buy, with bundled solar CT clamp and Ethernet connectivity
Does the Ohme Home Pro's Smart Tariff Integration Actually Matter?
It matters a lot — if you use it. The Ohme doesn't just let you set a timer for off-peak hours. It talks directly to your energy supplier, pulls in live pricing data, and works out the cheapest slots to charge your car before your departure time. Pair it with Octopus Intelligent Go and you're looking at around 7p/kWh without lifting a finger.
The EO Mini Pro 3 has "smart tariff presets" for Octopus Go, EDF Go Electric, and others. That sounds comparable but it isn't. Presets are essentially pre-configured timers — you're still telling the charger when to charge rather than letting it figure it out. On a flat-rate off-peak tariff like Octopus Go that's fine, because the cheap window is fixed. But on variable tariffs like Octopus Agile, the Ohme's live integration is in a different league. If you're serious about minimising charging costs, the Ohme is the clear pick. Our smart tariff guide breaks down which tariffs work best with which chargers.
Is the EO Mini Pro 3's Size Advantage Real?
Absolutely. At 215mm × 140mm × 100mm and 2.5 kg, the EO is genuinely tiny — roughly the size of a hardback book. The Ohme is compact too, but the EO is noticeably smaller and a full kilogram lighter. If you're mounting on a narrow pillar, inside a cramped garage, or on a wall where aesthetics matter and every centimetre counts, the EO might be your only viable option.
It's also the better-connected charger in one specific way: it has an Ethernet port. Wi-Fi in garages and driveways can be patchy, and a wired connection eliminates that problem entirely. That said, the Ohme counters with built-in 4G and a 3-year SIM included in the box — no Wi-Fi needed at all. If your charger is outdoors and far from your router, the Ohme's 4G is arguably the more practical solution since running an Ethernet cable outside isn't always straightforward.
Solar Diversion: A Draw With a Small EO Edge
Both chargers support solar diversion, which is increasingly important as more UK homes add panels. The EO includes a CT clamp as standard — that's the sensor your installer fits to your consumer unit to measure surplus generation. With the Ohme, solar diverting is built in too, but check with your installer whether additional hardware is needed for your setup.
Neither charger matches a dedicated solar solution like the Zappi for granularity and control. But if you have panels and want basic surplus-to-car diversion without buying a separate charger, both handle it competently. Our solar charger guide covers the options in more detail.
The British Gas Angle
One thing the EO has that the Ohme doesn't: British Gas Power+ integration through the Hive ecosystem, which credits back 25% of your charging costs. That's a meaningful saving — but only if you're already a British Gas customer using Hive. It's a niche advantage, not a universal one. Most Tesla owners will save more overall with the Ohme on an Octopus smart tariff than they would with 25% cashback on a standard British Gas rate.
Which Should You Buy?
Buy the Ohme Home Pro if:
- You're on (or switching to) a smart energy tariff — especially Octopus Intelligent Go or Agile
- You want fully automated cheapest-rate charging with zero daily effort
- Your charger location has poor Wi-Fi and you need built-in 4G
- You want a colour display showing live charging status
Buy the EO Mini Pro 3 if:
- You have a tight or awkward installation space where size is the deciding factor
- You're a British Gas/Hive customer who can use the 25% Power+ cashback
- You prefer a wired Ethernet connection over wireless
- You have solar panels and want the CT clamp included at no extra cost
For most Tesla owners, the Ohme Home Pro is the smarter buy. Its automated tariff integration will save you more money over the charger's lifetime than any other single feature either unit offers. The EO Mini Pro 3 is a solid, well-made charger — but its headline selling point is physical size, and unless that's a genuine constraint for your install, the Ohme earns its keep more convincingly. Check our best Tesla home charger guide if neither quite fits what you're after.