Switching to the right Octopus tariff can save £200–£500 per year — with no hardware changes required.
Octopus Energy Tariffs Compared 2026: Go vs Agile vs Cosy vs Intelligent
Octopus has more smart tariff options than any other UK supplier — but choosing the wrong one could cost you hundreds per year. Here's exactly which tariff suits your home.
Most people switch to Octopus Energy for the cheap overnight rate and leave it there. That's a mistake. The right Octopus tariff for an EV owner is completely different from the right tariff for a solar household — and getting it wrong means leaving £200–£500 per year on the table.
Here's exactly how every Octopus smart tariff works, who it's designed for, and which one you should be on based on what you have at home.
⚠️ Important update: Octopus Flux was closed to new customers in March 2026. If you're a new customer looking for a solar and battery tariff, see the alternatives in this guide. Existing Flux customers remain on the tariff.
Octopus Energy tariffs compared: At a Glance — Which Tariff for Which Home
Intelligent Octopus Go at 7p/kWh is the cheapest overnight EV charging rate available from any UK supplier.
1. Intelligent Octopus Go — Best for EV Owners
Intelligent Octopus Go is the standout tariff for EV owners. You get 7p/kWh electricity across a smart-managed six-hour overnight window — the cheapest off-peak rate available from any UK supplier. The key difference from standard Go is the intelligence: Octopus's algorithm automatically schedules your EV charging within the cheap window to hit your target charge level by your departure time. You set "80% by 7am" once in the app and it handles everything.
The whole-home cheap rate (not just EV charging) runs from 23:30–05:30 — meaning you can also schedule your battery storage, dishwasher, washing machine and immersion heater to run during this window at 7p instead of the standard rate.
2. Octopus Go — Best Simple Overnight Rate
Standard Octopus Go gives you a fixed four-hour cheap window from 00:30–05:30 at around 8.5p/kWh — slightly more expensive than Intelligent Go but with no EV compatibility requirement. This makes it particularly useful for home battery owners who want to charge the battery cheaply overnight and discharge during expensive daytime hours.
The maths is straightforward: charge your 10kWh battery at 8.5p, discharge at the current 26.32p standard rate — saving roughly 17.8p per kWh, or about £1.78 per full charge cycle. With daily cycling that adds up to over £600 a year, and well over £6,000 across a typical 10+ year battery lifespan.
3. Agile Octopus — Best for Flexible Households
Agile prices your electricity at half-hourly wholesale rates — updated every 30 minutes and published the evening before. Prices can drop below 5p/kWh overnight or during periods of high renewable generation. They can also spike above 30p during peak demand periods, which is why Agile rewards households who can genuinely shift their usage.
For solar and battery households, Agile is powerful — you can charge your battery during the cheapest half-hours and discharge at peak. Battery management software like Fox ESS, Sigenergy and Tesla all support Agile optimisation. The catch: you need to either manage this yourself or have software that does it automatically. Without active management, Agile can cost more than a standard tariff. If you're weighing up export rates too, see our full SEG tariff comparison.
4. Cosy Octopus — Best for Heat Pump Owners
Octopus Cosy's three cheap windows per day are timed specifically around heat pump usage patterns.
Cosy is designed specifically for heat pump households. Instead of a single overnight cheap window, it offers three "Cosy Hours" spread across the day — 04:00–07:00, 13:00–16:00 and 22:00–00:00 — at 13p/kWh. This matches heat pump usage patterns better than Go because heat pumps run more efficiently spread across the day rather than concentrated overnight.
The 13:00–16:00 window is particularly valuable in winter when you can pre-heat the home cheaply before the expensive peak period. Combined with a smart thermostat like Tado or Hive, a heat pump on Cosy can save £200–£350 per year versus the standard variable rate.
5. Octopus Tracker — Best if You Follow Wholesale Markets
Tracker follows daily wholesale electricity prices with a cap and a floor. It has typically run below the Ofgem price cap, though the exact gap moves with wholesale markets — check the current Tracker rate directly on the Octopus website, since it updates daily and any figure printed here would be out of date within days. The catch is volatility: wholesale prices move daily and Tracker can become expensive during cold snaps or periods of low renewable generation.
Tracker works best for households who watch energy prices, can shift usage on expensive days, and are comfortable with a bill that changes month to month. It's not a smart tariff in the traditional sense — there's no cheap overnight window. It's simply a pass-through of wholesale costs.
What About Octopus Flux?
⚠️ Flux closed to new customers in March 2026. If you're a new customer looking for the best tariff for solar and battery, the current recommendation is Agile Octopus paired with Outgoing Agile for export. This combination delivers comparable import savings and strong export rates.
Existing Flux customers remain on the tariff and should stay put unless their usage pattern changes significantly. Check the Octopus website directly for the latest position on Flux availability.
Requirements for Smart Tariffs
All smart tariffs require a smart meter. If you don't have one, Octopus will arrange a free installation — typically within 2–4 weeks. You can't access half-hourly pricing without one.
How to Switch Between Octopus Tariffs
Switching between Octopus tariffs is straightforward and can be done entirely in the app or online account. There are no exit fees on Flexible, Agile or Tracker. Fixed tariffs may have exit fees — check before switching.
- 1Log in to your Octopus account online or in the app
- 2Go to My Tariff — you'll see available tariffs for your account
- 3Select your chosen tariff and confirm — most switches happen overnight
- 4Set up your charging or heating schedules in the app to coincide with cheap hours
Not on Octopus yet? If you have solar panels, a heat pump, a battery or an EV, switching to Octopus and the right smart tariff is one of the highest-return actions you can take — typically saving £200–£500 per year with no hardware changes required. Check the Octopus Energy website for current switching offers.
Once the tariff is right, the next savings usually come from the heating system you already have — a boiler flow temperature that's set too high, an uninsulated cylinder, draughts. We order those by payback in the energy efficiency bundle, starting with two steps that cost nothing.
Switching Octopus tariffs takes minutes in the app — and the right tariff can save £200–£500 per year.
Related Guides
- → Best Home EV Charger UK 2026 — Ohme and Zappi both integrate with Octopus
- → Best Home Battery Storage UK 2026 — which batteries work best with Agile
- → Heat Pumps UK Guide — how Cosy tariff saves heat pump owners money
- → Solar Panels UK Guide — pairing solar with the right export tariff
- → Energy Efficiency Bundle — free-first steps after you’ve picked a tariff
- → October 2026 Price Cap — what changed and why
Published June 2026, updated September 2026. Tariff rates and availability correct at time of publication — Octopus Energy tariffs change frequently. Always check the current rates and availability directly on the Octopus Energy website before switching. Savings estimates are illustrative based on typical UK household usage. Cool Power Co is an independent comparison service and is not affiliated with Octopus Energy.
Make the Most of Your Smart Tariff
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