Best UPS for a Wi-Fi router and fibre ONT in South Africa (2026)

Prices checked 27 October 2026. Prices and stock change often – always confirm on the retailer's page before buying.

We have not tested these units ourselves. This guide uses the manufacturers' and retailers' own product pages on the date above: Gizzu's South African store, ComX and Loot for the Mecer unit, and EcoFlow ZA. Where we work something out ourselves, such as runtimes, we show the sum and say so.

Quick answer

Best for most homes: Gizzu SURF Simple 18W 55Wh LiFePO4 Mini DC UPS (R549, in stock at Gizzu). 55 Wh of LiFePO4 battery rated for 2000 cycles to 80%, 12 V, 9 V and 5 V DC outputs, and 744 J of surge protection, according to Gizzu.
Most runtime and PoE: Gizzu 60W 69Wh Mini POE DC UPS (R629, out of stock at Gizzu today). 69 Wh LiFePO4, four 12 V outputs plus a selectable 9/12 V port, and a passive PoE port for a camera or VoIP phone.
Cheapest on paper: Gizzu 30W 38Wh Mini DC UPS (R389, out of stock at Gizzu today). Smaller lithium-ion (not LiFePO4) battery, but the same multi-output layout as the 60 W model.
Single 12 V alternative: Mecer DC UPS-5200 (R714 at ComX). One 12 V output at up to 24 W, shipped with a 2-way DC splitter for a router and ONT.
If you also want a laptop or TV on backup: EcoFlow RIVER 3 (10 ms UPS), R5,399. A full power station with a 230 V outlet, not a mini DC UPS – see the last section.

Mini DC UPS or a normal UPS?

Most routers and fibre ONTs run from a small plug-in adapter that turns 230 V into low-voltage DC, often 12 V. A mini DC UPS replaces that adapter: it plugs into the wall, and its DC cable plugs straight into the router or ONT. Because there is no step back up to 230 V, a small battery goes a long way. Before buying, read the label on your router's and ONT's adapters for the voltage (for example 12 V) and current (for example 1 A), and check the plug size. Gizzu warns that connecting a device to the wrong voltage output may damage it.

Side-by-side specifications

Spec	Gizzu SURF Simple 18W	Gizzu 60W 69Wh PoE	Gizzu 30W 38Wh	Mecer DC UPS-5200
Price (27 Oct 2026)	R549 (Gizzu, in stock)	R629 (Gizzu, out of stock)	R389 (Gizzu, out of stock)	R714 (ComX, in stock); R829 (Loot)
Capacity	55 Wh	69 Wh	38 Wh	Listings conflict (see below)
Battery	LiFePO4, 4 × 4350 mAh	LiFePO4, 12 × 1800 mAh	Li-ion, 4 × 2600 mAh	Li-ion, 7.4 V nominal
Rated cycle life	2000 cycles to 80%	Not stated	Not stated	Not stated
Max output	18 W	60 W	30 W	24 W (12 V, 2 A)
12 V outputs	1 × 12 V (1.5 A max)	4 × 12 V + 1 × 9/12 V selectable	4 × 12 V + 1 × 9/12 V selectable	1 × 12 V, with 2-way splitter
Other outputs	9 V (2 A), 5 V (2.4 A)	2 × 5 V/USB, passive PoE 24/48 V	1 × 5 V/USB	None listed
Extras	744 J surge protection	Solar input (2 A), PoE converter, DC splitter and adapters in box	DC splitter and adapters in box	Manual off switch, auto start
Weight	0.55 kg	1.11 kg	450 g	720 g (CCF Security listing)

Gizzu specs and prices from Gizzu's South African store on 27 October 2026. Mecer specs from SA retailer listings (ComX, Loot, CCF Security Systems).

How long will it keep the internet on?

Gizzu publishes its own runtime estimates using a 10 W router and a 3 W ONT:

SURF Simple 18W: router “for up to 6 hours”.
60W 69Wh: ONT up to 23 hours, router up to 6.9 hours, router and ONT together up to 5.3 hours.
30W 38Wh: ONT 12.6 hours, router 3.8 hours.

For a more cautious figure, here is our own estimate, not a manufacturer claim or test result. We allow 15% for conversion losses (the same 0.85 factor we use in our other guides, taken from Jackery's published runtime formula) and use Gizzu's example load of 10 W + 3 W = 13 W:

Runtime ≈ capacity (Wh) × 0.85 ÷ watts.
SURF Simple: 55 × 0.85 ÷ 13 ≈ 3.6 h · 60W 69Wh: 69 × 0.85 ÷ 13 ≈ 4.5 h · 30W 38Wh: 38 × 0.85 ÷ 13 ≈ 2.5 h

Your router may draw more or less than 10 W, so the real answer depends on your hardware. All three Gizzu units should comfortably cover a typical 2 to 4 hour outage for a router and ONT on these numbers, with the 30 W model the tightest.

Gizzu SURF Simple 18W 55Wh – best for most homes

55 Wh LiFePO4 battery (four 4350 mAh cells, 17400 mAh total) rated for 2000 cycles to 80%, 18 W maximum output, one 12 V (1.5 A max), one 9 V (2 A) and one 5 V (2.4 A) output, 744 J surge protection, auto on/off, and short-circuit, over/under-voltage, overload and temperature protection, according to Gizzu. Gizzu says it switches to battery automatically in an outage and recharges when power returns. It weighs 0.55 kg.

Check before buying: it has one 12 V output limited to 1.5 A. If your router and ONT both need 12 V, check that their adapters together are rated at 1.5 A or less and that you have a splitter, or use the 9 V output only if one device's adapter says 9 V.

Price: R549 at Gizzu, in stock (checked 27 Oct 2026).

Check price at Gizzu

Gizzu 60W 69Wh Mini POE DC UPS – most runtime

69 Wh LiFePO4 battery (twelve 1800 mAh cells, 21600 mAh), 60 W output, two 5 V/USB ports, one selectable 9/12 V port, four 12 V (5 A) outputs, a 2 A solar input and a 24/48 V passive Gigabit PoE port, according to Gizzu. In the box Gizzu lists two DC cables, a DC splitter cable, three DC plug adapters and a PoE converter. It weighs 1.11 kg. Gizzu says the combined load must not exceed 60 W.

Price: R629 at Gizzu, but listed as out of stock in Cape Town, Johannesburg and Durban on 27 Oct 2026.

Check stock at Gizzu

Gizzu 30W 38Wh Mini DC UPS – cheapest

38 Wh lithium-ion battery (four 2600 mAh cells), 30 W output, one 5 V/USB port, one selectable 9/12 V port and four 12 V (2 A) outputs, 450 g, with a DC splitter cable and three plug adapters in the box, according to Gizzu. Unlike the two models above it uses lithium-ion rather than LiFePO4, and Gizzu does not state a cycle rating.

Price: R389 at Gizzu, listed as out of stock on 27 Oct 2026.

Check stock at Gizzu

Mecer DC UPS-5200 – single 12 V output

SA retailers list a 12 V DC output (±5%) at up to 24 W (2 A), a 7.4 V lithium-ion battery, auto start when plugged in, a manual off switch, a multi-colour indicator, and overload, short-circuit, over-charge and over-discharge protection, with a 2-way DC splitter for a router and ONT. It only has 12 V, so it suits setups where both adapters say 12 V.

Listings disagree on two points, so check with the seller: ComX's title says 5200 mAh while Loot and CCF Security list 10400 mAh, and ComX says a 6-month warranty while Loot says 1 year limited. Because the capacity is unclear we have not estimated its runtime.

Price: R714 at ComX, in stock; R829 at Loot (checked 27 Oct 2026).

Check price at ComX

When a power station makes more sense

A mini DC UPS only runs low-voltage DC gear. If you also want to keep a laptop, monitor or TV going, a small power station with a fast switch-over is the step up. The EcoFlow RIVER 3 (10 ms UPS) was R5,399 at EcoFlow ZA on 27 October 2026 (regular R5,599; the standard RIVER 3 was R5,199). It has 245 Wh of LiFePO4 battery and a 10 ms switch-over, according to EcoFlow. See our under R10,000 guide for its full specs, and our home office guide for bigger setups.

Check price at EcoFlow ZA

Other SA retailers

Takealot and other stores also list these units, but we could not load Takealot's pages to check prices today, so we are not quoting any.

Verdict

For a typical fibre router and ONT, the Gizzu SURF Simple 18W 55Wh is the pick right now: it is in stock at Gizzu for R549, uses LiFePO4 with a stated 2000-cycle rating, and Gizzu rates it for up to 6 hours on a router. If your devices draw more, you want PoE, or you need several 12 V outputs, wait for the Gizzu 60W 69Wh to come back into stock. Check your adapter labels first, whichever you choose.