Wallbox Pulsar Max vs NexBlue Point 2: compact specialist or V2G gamble?

Six pounds apart, two different bets

The Wallbox Pulsar Max at £536 and the NexBlue Point 2 at £530 sit almost on top of each other on price. The £6 gap is a rounding error. What you're choosing between is a compact Spanish charger with a five-year track record, or a newer UK entrant that has loaded the hardware sheet with everything the next decade of charging might ask for.

• Wallbox Pulsar Max — the small one. Tethered, three-phase optional, manual scheduling, known quantity.
• NexBlue Point 2 — the forward-looking one. Untethered, V2G-ready, tariff automation built in, brand still proving itself.

What the Wallbox does that the NexBlue can't

Two things, mainly. First, size: the Pulsar Max is 198 × 201 × 99mm — small, and it comes in six colours if the wall is visible from the kitchen window. If your only mounting option is a narrow brick pier or the side of a garage door frame, this is often the only charger that fits without looking apologetic.

Second, three-phase. The Pulsar Max has a 22kW variant for properties with three-phase supply; the NexBlue Point 2 is single-phase only. Most UK homes won't care — three-phase is rare in domestic settings — but if yours has it, that option matters. Power Boost is also useful on older supplies where the main fuse is modest: it throttles the car rather than tripping the house.

The Pulsar Max is tethered with a 5-metre cable. No longer option, no untethered variant if you prefer tidy walls. It is what it is.

What the NexBlue does that the Wallbox can't

More, on paper, and by a wide margin. OCPP 2.0.1 and ISO 15118 mean the hardware is bi-directional and standards-ready — if V2G becomes a consumer reality in the UK, this charger is already specified for it. EcoPilot handles tariff optimisation natively, so on Octopus Agile or Octopus Intelligent Go the NexBlue chases rates without you doing anything; the Wallbox, on the same tariffs, needs you to set schedules by hand.

The CT clamp is included — both for dynamic load balancing and for solar surplus charging — where the Pulsar Max needs the separate Wallbox Power Meter to do the solar side. And the built-in 4G eSIM with lifetime-free connectivity means the NexBlue keeps talking to its app even if your router has one of its bad weeks. The Wallbox is Wi-Fi and Bluetooth only.

The honest caveat: NexBlue is a new UK brand. Hardware specs are promises; long-term reliability is data, and there isn't much of it yet. Wallbox has a few hundred thousand chargers in the field; NexBlue does not. The five-year warranty on the NexBlue is reassuring, but a warranty only helps if the company is still around to honour it.

Where each one stops being the right answer

If you want Wallbox's compactness but the NexBlue's tariff brain, the Ohme Home Pro at £535 is the sensible middle path — not as small as the Pulsar Max, not as bi-directional as the NexBlue, but the most proven tariff integration on the market and a UK brand you can ring up. Solar-led buyers are better served by the myenergi Zappi GLO, whose Eco+ diversion is more refined than either option here. And if V2G specifically is what's drawing you to the NexBlue, it's worth reading the NexBlue vs Indra Smart PRO comparison — Indra has been doing V2G in UK homes for longer.

The verdict

Buy the Wallbox Pulsar Max if:

• Your wall space is tight and the small footprint actually matters
• You have three-phase supply and want the 22kW option on the table
• You prefer a known brand with a mature installer network

Buy the NexBlue Point 2 if:

• You want V2G-ready hardware without paying to swap in a few years
• You're on a half-hourly tariff like Octopus Agile and want automation, not schedules
• Built-in 4G and included solar hardware appeal more than brand pedigree

If forced to put one on a wall today, the Wallbox Pulsar Max is the lower-risk buy — proven, compact, three-phase capable. The NexBlue Point 2 is the more interesting charger, and probably the more future-proof one, but it's a bet on a brand. Place that bet with your eyes open, or take the Wallbox and get on with your evening.