Easee One vs Pod Point Solo 3S

The real question: total cost, not sticker price

These two chargers look like different price tiers — £489 for the Easee One, £999 for the Pod Point Solo 3S. They are not. The Pod Point's figure includes standard installation. The Easee's does not. Once you add a typical install to the Easee — £400–£600 for most homes — the total lands between £889 and £1,089. The £510 sticker gap could be anything from a £110 saving for Pod Point to a £90 saving for Easee, depending entirely on what your electrician quotes.

That makes this a comparison about how you want to buy, not just what you want on the wall.

• Easee One — £489 hardware, your choice of installer, built-in RCD that trims the sparky's bill, three-year warranty.
• Pod Point Solo 3S — £999 all-in, Pod Point picks the installer, five-year warranty, no quote-shopping required.

What the Easee's install savings actually look like

The Easee One carries a built-in Type B RCD and open-PEN detection. On a straightforward consumer unit, that removes roughly £100–£200 from the installation quote — components the electrician doesn't need to buy or fit. At 1.5 kg, it is also the lightest charger on the market, which means less time on a ladder and less structural fuss.

That built-in protection is the Easee's strongest card against the Pod Point. If your consumer unit is old, full, or awkward — the sort of board that makes electricians suck their teeth — the Easee can sidestep the worst of the extra cost. For a house with a modern board and a short cable run, the saving is smaller but still real.

The trade-off: you have to find that electrician. You compare quotes, coordinate diaries, check accreditation. Pod Point removes all of that. You book, they assign an installer, and the charger appears on your wall. For some buyers, the convenience alone justifies the premium. For others, it feels like paying for a problem they don't have.

Pod Point's captive model — comfort or constraint?

Pod Point sells no hardware-only option. You cannot buy the Solo 3S and hand it to your own sparky. That bundled approach delivers a clean experience: one phone call, one price, one warranty covering both unit and install. The five-year warranty is the longest of any installed package in the catalogue, and for a landlord or a buyer who simply wants the process over, that matters.

The constraint is real, though. Pod Point assigns the contractor — you don't choose them, and you don't negotiate. If your install turns out to be non-standard (long cable run, board upgrade, external trunking), the price moves. And because there is no hardware-only SKU, you cannot walk away and try a different installer if the quote climbs.

Compare that with the Easee route: buy the unit for £489, get three quotes, pick the best. If one electrician says £800 and another says £450, you take the £450. That flexibility is worth money — sometimes more than the Pod Point's convenience saves.

Neither charger talks to your tariff

Both the Easee One and the Pod Point Solo 3S offer scheduled charging through their apps. Neither offers direct tariff integration — the kind of half-hourly rate-chasing that the Ohme Home Pro handles automatically. On a fixed off-peak tariff like Octopus Go, manual scheduling does the job. On Octopus Agile, where rates shift every thirty minutes, both chargers leave money on the table. If tariff automation matters to you, the Ohme Home Pro at £539 is the better spend — and the Ohme vs Easee comparison lays that out in detail.

The Easee does have one connectivity advantage: a built-in eSIM with lifetime 4G, at no recurring cost. If your garage has no Wi-Fi signal, the Easee still runs its schedules. The Pod Point relies on Wi-Fi alone.

The verdict

Buy the Easee One if:

• You are comfortable getting your own install quotes — and want the freedom to pick the cheapest
• Your consumer unit is old or full, and the built-in RCD will save you £100–£200 on the install
• Your garage or driveway has poor Wi-Fi, and the lifetime 4G keeps things running

Buy the Pod Point Solo 3S if:

• You want one price, one call, and no coordination with electricians
• A five-year warranty on both unit and install gives you peace of mind
• You are a renter or flat owner eligible for the £500 OZEV grant — which knocks the installed price to £499

For most buyers with a straightforward home and a willingness to spend twenty minutes on a comparison site for electricians, the Easee One plus a decent installer will cost less than the Pod Point and leave money for a better tariff or a longer cable. The Pod Point earns its keep when the install itself is the obstacle you want removed. That is a legitimate reason to pay more — just make sure it is your reason, not inertia.