Zaptec Go 2 vs Ohme ePod

£139 buys you a future — but which one?

Two untethered socket chargers, both compact, both OZEV-approved, both requiring you to supply your own Type 2 cable. The Zaptec Go 2 costs £638 and bets on V2G — the ability to push energy back from your car to the grid. The Ohme ePod costs £499 and bets on smart tariff integration — the ability to pull energy at the cheapest possible rate, automatically, tonight.

• Zaptec Go 2 — V2G-certified, MID-approved meter, three-phase capable up to 22kW, five-year warranty. Pays off if V2G arrives and you're ready.
• Ohme ePod — direct supplier API links, half-hourly tariff chasing, solar diversion modes, 1.48 kg on the wall. Pays off now, every charge session.

The Ohme ePod's tariff advantage is immediate

The ePod inherits the same tariff brain as the Ohme Home Pro. It has direct API integration with Octopus, including Intelligent Go and Agile, plus British Gas Electric Drivers. On Intelligent Go, the ePod slots your charging into the cheapest half-hour windows across the 23:30–05:30 off-peak band at 8p/kWh — no manual timer, no guesswork. On Agile, it chases the variable 30-minute rates automatically, often landing sessions well below the 5p/kWh average.

The Zaptec Go 2 has scheduled charging through its own app, but no supplier API. You set a start and stop time. On a fixed-window tariff like Octopus Go — 00:30 to 05:30 at 8.5p/kWh — that manual schedule works fine. On anything variable, you are on your own. The ePod's £139 saving over the Zaptec compounds further every time it catches a rate the Zaptec's timer misses.

When V2G readiness is worth paying for

The Go 2 is the only AC home charger in the UK certified V2G-ready. That is a real distinction — but it is a distinction waiting for infrastructure. V2G trials exist; widespread commercial V2G tariffs and car-side firmware support are still patchy. If your car supports bidirectional AC charging today and your supplier offers a V2G export rate, the Go 2 is the only socket charger that can participate. If neither condition is met yet, you are paying £139 for a feature that sits dormant.

The Go 2's MID-approved energy meter is more immediately useful. Legally certified readings matter if you charge a company car at home and reclaim the electricity, or if you share a charger across a small business fleet. The ePod tracks energy through the app, but those readings are not MID-certified — fine for personal budgeting, not for HMRC.

Three-phase support is the other concrete differentiator. On a three-phase supply, the Go 2 delivers up to 22kW. The ePod is single-phase only, capped at 7.4kW. Fewer than 5% of UK homes have three-phase, but if yours does — or if you are installing one for a heat pump — the Go 2 makes sense in a way the ePod cannot match. Buyers weighing the Zaptec against another V2G contender might find the Zaptec Go 2 vs Indra Smart PRO comparison useful; the Indra Smart PRO takes a different approach to bidirectional charging at £395.

Size, weight, and the cable question

Both chargers are small. The ePod is extraordinarily so — 1.48 kg, roughly the weight of a bag of sugar. The Go 2 is 3.2 kg, still light by any standard. Neither has a display; both rely on their respective apps for status and control.

Neither includes a cable. Budget £100–£200 for a decent 5-metre Type 2 lead on top of the unit price. That narrows the real-world gap slightly — the ePod at perhaps £600–£700 all-in versus the Go 2 at £740–£840 — but the ePod remains the cheaper package.

One practical note: the ePod uses cellular connectivity only, with no Wi-Fi fallback. The Go 2 offers Wi-Fi, 4G (subscription-free), and Bluetooth. If your mounting position has weak mobile signal, the Go 2 is the safer bet. Check signal strength at the wall before committing to the ePod.

Warranty and long-term confidence

The Go 2 carries a five-year warranty. The ePod has three. That two-year gap matters on hardware you expect to outlast the car. If warranty length is a deciding factor and the ePod's tariff smarts appeal, the Ohme Home Pro — same software, tethered cable, and a display — might be worth the step up at £539, though it too carries a three-year term.

The verdict

Buy the Zaptec Go 2 if:

• You have or plan to install a three-phase supply and want up to 22kW
• You need MID-certified energy readings for business reimbursement
• You want V2G hardware in place for when the ecosystem catches up

Buy the Ohme ePod if:

• You are on a smart tariff — or plan to be — and want automated half-hourly optimisation
• You want the smallest, lightest charger on the market
• You would rather save £139 today than invest in a feature that may not mature for years

For a single-phase home on a variable tariff, the ePod is the stronger choice. It costs less, it saves more per session, and it does not ask you to wait for the energy market to catch up with its hardware. The Go 2 is a serious piece of kit — but it is a serious piece of kit for a future that has not quite arrived.