Tapo vs Meross Smart Plugs UK: App Reliability, Energy Tracking & Socket Fit

Editorial & Affiliate Disclosure: SmartPlug UK Lab is an independent British review publication. When you purchase through outbound links on this page (marked rel="sponsored nofollow"), we may earn a small affiliate commission from Amazon UK at no extra cost to you. See our Affiliate Disclosure and BS 1363 Testing Methodology.

TP-Link Tapo and Meross dominate the UK smart plug charts, and both offer Matter-certified 13A energy monitoring sockets (the Tapo P110M and the Meross MSS315 UK). However, a 15-millimetre difference in casing width makes a decisive difference when plugging them into a standard British twin wall socket. See how both brands compare in our best smart plugs UK benchmarks.

Technical comparison diagram of TP-Link Tapo P110M versus Meross MSS315 UK smart plugs
Technical comparison diagram of TP-Link Tapo P110M versus Meross MSS315 UK smart plugs — SmartPlug UK Lab Benchmark (230V / 50Hz)

At-a-Glance UK Specification & Price Comparison

All models below feature a native UK Type G three-pin plug or socket conforming to BS 1363 (230V–240V AC, 50Hz) and have been evaluated for British double wallplate clearance, standby wattage, and local network reliability:

Comparison Criteria TP-Link Tapo (P110 / P110M) Meross UK (MSS315 / MSS210) Advantage
Casing Width (UK Twin Socket Fit) 52 mm (Two fit side-by-side easily) 67 mm (Can crowd adjacent wide plugs) TP-Link Tapo
Energy Data Export In-app graphs + Home Assistant API In-app graphs + Direct CSV Export Meross
Outdoor & Extension Lead Range P304M 4-Way Strip + P400M Outdoor MSS425F 4-Way + MSS620 IP44 Outdoor Tie
Single Unit UK Price £8.99 – £11.99 (Amazon UK) £16.99 – £19.99 (Amazon UK) TP-Link Tapo

1. Physical Casing Width: 52 mm (Tapo) vs 67 mm (Meross)

On a standard British BS 1363 double socket, the centres of the two three-pin outlets are spaced roughly 70 mm apart. Because the Tapo P110/P110M is only 52 mm wide, you can plug two Tapo units next to each other with room to spare. The square 67 mm body of the Meross MSS315 fits alongside a standard moulded appliance plug, but two MSS315 units cannot always sit side-by-side on tighter faceplates.

2. Where Meross Fights Back: CSV Export & Outdoor Hardware

Meross remains a strong contender if you want native spreadsheet CSV export of your kWh history without running a home server, or if you need their popular Meross MSS620HK IP44 outdoor dual socket (view on Amazon UK).

How We Test (UK BS 1363 Workbench Protocol)

Our evaluation protocol is specifically designed around British domestic electrical standards rather than generic international spec sheets:

  • Twin Wall Socket Clearance (BS 1363-2): We fit each plug into a standard UK MK Logic Plus and BG Nexus double switched wall socket to verify that a casing width of 52–57 mm leaves the adjacent socket and individual rocker switches completely unobstructed.
  • True-RMS Standby & Relay Wattage: Using a calibrated 230V/50Hz inline wattmeter (0.1W resolution), we log 24-hour parasitic power consumption both with the relay open (Wi-Fi/Thread listening) and with the relay closed (energised coil + status LED).
  • Thermal Pin & Load Verification: While a BS 1363 fuse is rated to 13A (2,990W at 230V), we monitor brass pin temperature after 60 minutes under sustained 2,200W resistive load and verify over-current auto-shutoff behaviour in the companion firmware.
  • UK ISP Router & Offline Timer Resilience: We test 2.4 GHz onboarding on merged SSIDs (BT Smart Hub 2, Sky Max Hub, Virgin Media Hub 5) and disconnect the WAN fibre cable to confirm whether scheduled timers and local Matter/Thread automations still execute on time.

Related UK Smart Home Guides

2 thoughts on “Tapo vs Meross Smart Plugs UK: App Reliability, Energy Tracking & Socket Fit”

  1. That 70mm centre-to-centre spacing note on UK double sockets saved me a return! Bought a 4-pack of the 52mm Tapo P110M for my home office desk.

    Reply
    • Glad it helped Peter! Having 52mm width makes a huge difference when you need two smart plugs side by side on a double wallplate.

      Reply

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