Easee One vs EO Mini Pro 3: Best Value vs Smallest Charger

The Lightweight Champion vs the Tiny Powerhouse

If you're shopping for a home EV charger that won't dominate your garage wall or driveway, you've probably stumbled across both the Easee One and the EO Mini Pro 3. These two chargers share a philosophy — keep it small, keep it smart — but they take remarkably different routes to get there. One is the cheapest smart charger on the UK market; the other is physically the smallest. And the nearly £300 price gap between them makes this a genuinely interesting decision.

Both are OZEV-approved, both carry IP54 weatherproofing, and both will charge any Tesla or Type 2 EV on a standard UK single-phase supply. But the similarities start to thin out quickly once you dig into connectivity, solar support, and how each one handles smart tariff integration. If you're torn between saving money upfront and squeezing every feature into the tiniest possible box, read on.

In a nutshell:

• Easee One (£405): The best-value smart charger in the UK, with built-in lifetime 4G and an incredibly light 1.5 kg design that makes installation a breeze.
• EO Mini Pro 3 (£699): The smallest charger on the market at just A5-sized, with solar diversion and smart tariff presets baked in as standard.

Spec Comparison

Smart Tariff Integration

This is where the two chargers diverge in approach. The EO Mini Pro 3 comes with built-in smart tariff presets for popular UK energy deals like Octopus Go (7.5p/kWh between 00:30 and 04:30) and EDF Go Electric. That means you can select your tariff from a list and the charger automatically schedules charging during the cheapest window — minimal fiddling required. There's also a British Gas/Hive Power+ integration that credits back 25% of your charging costs, which is a genuinely attractive perk if you're already in the Hive ecosystem.

The Easee One takes a more manual approach. You can schedule charging through the Easee app to target off-peak hours, but there's no direct tariff integration of the kind you'd find on an Ohme or even the EO's preset system. If you're on Octopus Go, you'd simply set a schedule for 00:30–04:30 yourself — perfectly doable, but less elegant. For drivers on variable tariffs like Octopus Agile, where prices shift every 30 minutes, neither charger offers the fully automated slot-by-slot optimisation that the Ohme Home Pro is famous for. But the EO's presets do give it a clear edge over the Easee in this department.

On a practical level, charging overnight on Octopus Go at 7.5p/kWh versus the current daytime average of around 24p/kWh saves you roughly £350–£400 a year based on average UK mileage of 7,400 miles. Both chargers can achieve this — the EO just makes it slightly easier to set up.

Solar Diversion

This is straightforward: the EO Mini Pro 3 supports solar diversion with a CT clamp included as standard, while the Easee One does not offer solar integration at all. As warmzilla.co.uk notes in their charger roundup, the Easee One is listed without solar readiness, which is a genuine limitation if you've got panels on your roof.

The EO's solar diversion means the charger can detect surplus energy from your solar array and divert it to your car rather than exporting it back to the grid. It's not as sophisticated as the MyEnergi Zappi's dedicated eco modes, but it's a welcome inclusion at this price point — and the fact the CT clamp comes in the box rather than as a costly add-on is a real plus. If you have solar panels or plan to install them, this alone could justify the EO's higher price tag. For a household generating 3,000–4,000 kWh of solar annually, diverting even a portion of that surplus to your EV can save £150–£250 a year depending on your export tariff.

App and Connectivity

Connectivity is one area where the Easee One genuinely shines. Its built-in eSIM provides lifetime 4G at no ongoing cost — a feature that topcharger.co.uk highlights as a standout in their review. If your Wi-Fi signal doesn't reach your driveway or garage (a surprisingly common problem in UK homes), the Easee will simply fall back to 4G without you lifting a finger. There's Wi-Fi backup too, giving you dual connectivity out of the box.

The EO Mini Pro 3 counters with the broadest connectivity suite in this comparison: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and — unusually — Ethernet. A wired Ethernet connection is the most reliable option of all, completely immune to Wi-Fi dropouts or signal issues. If your charger is installed inside a garage with an Ethernet port nearby, this is genuinely the gold standard for connectivity. The EO also offers optional 4G, but unlike the Easee, it's an add-on rather than included.

Both apps allow scheduled charging, remote monitoring, and basic controls. The Easee app is generally well-regarded for its simplicity, as noted by mcnallyev.uk, while the EO app benefits from those smart tariff presets. Neither app is class-leading, but both are perfectly competent for everyday use.

Installation and Design

At just 1.5 kg, the Easee One is featherweight — your installer will thank you. It's compact at 256 × 193 × 106 mm and includes integrated RCD Type-B and open PEN protection, which means fewer additional components in your consumer unit and potentially lower installation costs. The untethered design keeps the wall mount clean and minimal, though it does mean you'll need to carry your own Type 2 cable (included with most Teslas as standard).

The EO Mini Pro 3 is even smaller in footprint — just 215 × 140 × 100 mm, roughly A5-sized — making it the smallest charger on the UK market. At around 2.5 kg it's still very light. Its tethered 5-metre cable means you simply grab and plug in, which is undeniably more convenient on a dark, rainy evening. The trade-off is a cable permanently attached to your wall, which some homeowners find less aesthetically pleasing.

Both chargers carry standard installation costs of £400–600, and both are OZEV-approved for the £350 grant available to eligible renters and flat owners.

Price and Value

The price gap here is significant. At £405, the Easee One is comfortably the cheapest smart charger available in the UK — nearly £300 less than the EO Mini Pro 3. That's a meaningful difference, especially when both chargers deliver broadly similar charging speeds (7.4kW vs 7.2kW) and carry the same 3-year warranty.

The EO justifies its premium through solar diversion, smart tariff presets, and Ethernet connectivity. If you have solar panels, the EO's included CT clamp could pay back that price difference within a couple of years through reduced energy exports. But if you don't have solar and you're happy setting your own charging schedule, the Easee One represents outstanding value for money with the bonus of free lifetime 4G.

Who Should Buy Which?

Buy the Easee One if:

• You want the lowest upfront cost for a genuinely smart charger
• Your Wi-Fi doesn't reach the driveway — the built-in lifetime 4G solves this instantly
• You prefer a clean, untethered wall mount and already have a Type 2 cable
• You might add a second or third EV charger later (expandable up to 3 on one fuse)
• You want integrated RCD Type-B protection to simplify installation

Buy the EO Mini Pro 3 if:

• You have solar panels and want to divert surplus energy to your car without buying extra hardware
• Your installation space is extremely tight — nothing else this small exists
• You want plug-and-play smart tariff presets for Octopus Go or EDF Go Electric
• You're in the British Gas/Hive ecosystem and want 25% cashback on charging costs
• You prefer a tethered cable for grab-and-go convenience

Our recommendation: For the majority of UK Tesla owners and EV drivers, the Easee One at £405 is the smarter buy. It delivers reliable 7.4kW charging, lifetime 4G connectivity, and dynamic load balancing at a price that's hard to argue with. The EO Mini Pro 3 earns its place if you have solar panels or genuinely need the smallest possible unit for a cramped installation — but at £699, you're paying a hefty premium for those specific advantages. Unless solar diversion or the Hive cashback scheme applies to you, the Easee One's combination of value and features makes it the charger we'd recommend to most buyers.

Read our full Easee One review or EO Mini Pro 3 review.

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