Choosing the right tariff

Octopus has more tariffs than any other UK energy supplier. That’s great for finding one that fits your situation, but it can feel overwhelming if you’re not sure where to start. This guide walks through the decision based on your household setup and how much effort you want to put into managing your energy.

Start with what you have

The single most important factor in choosing a tariff is your equipment. Do you have an EV, solar panels, a heat pump, a battery or none of the above? Each piece of technology unlocks a specific tariff that’s been designed around it.

You have an electric vehicle

Your best options are Go or Intelligent Go.

Go gives you a cheap overnight window (8.5p/kWh from 00:30 to 05:30). Any charger works. You schedule charging for the overnight window and save substantially compared to a flat rate.

Intelligent Go extends the cheap window to six hours (23:30 to 05:30) at 7p/kWh and adds smart scheduling that can allocate up to six hours of cheap charging per day, sometimes outside the standard overnight window. You need a compatible charger or EV. If your hardware qualifies, Intelligent Go is almost always the better choice.

Either tariff saves most EV owners £300-400 per year on charging costs. The slightly higher day rate for household usage is easily offset by the cheap overnight charging.

Pick Go if you have any charger and want cheap overnight charging without fuss. Pick Intelligent Go if you have a compatible charger or EV and want the longest cheap window plus smart scheduling.

You have solar panels

Your best options are Flux or Agile.

With a battery: Flux is usually the better choice. The three time bands (cheap overnight import, standard daytime, premium evening export) create a daily cycle of buying low and selling high. The strategy is predictable and the returns are good. A typical 4kW solar system with a 5kWh battery can save £200-500 per year compared to Flexible with standard export payments.

Without a battery: The decision is closer. Flux still gives you better export rates than the standard SEG, particularly during the daytime when your panels are generating. Agile can work well too. Its negative pricing events and very cheap overnight rates benefit solar owners who can time their grid imports. Compare both using the tariff comparison tool to check rates in your area.

You have a heat pump

Cosy is designed for electric heating systems. It gives you three cheap windows (04:00 to 07:00, 13:00 to 16:00 and 22:00 to 00:00) to pre-heat your home before the expensive peak period from 4pm to 7pm.

Cosy is also available to homes with electric boilers or electric radiators. It works best in well-insulated homes with good thermal mass, particularly those with underfloor heating. If your house retains heat for several hours after the heating stops, you’ll save 15-25% on your heating electricity.

If your home loses heat quickly and you end up running the heat pump during peak hours regularly, Flexible’s flat rate might actually work out cheaper. Test Cosy for a month and compare.

You have a battery (no solar)

Agile is your best bet. Charge the battery overnight at 5-8p/kWh, discharge it during the expensive peak slots at 30-40p/kWh. The daily arbitrage adds up to £400-600 per year in savings for a well-managed battery. Automated systems (Home Assistant, GivEnergy cloud, etc.) make this nearly effortless.

You have nothing special

If you don’t have an EV, solar panels, a battery or a heat pump, your main choices are Flexible, Tracker or Agile.

Flexible is the simplest option. One flat rate per kWh, all day. Priced at or slightly below the Ofgem cap. No smart meter required. Set it up and forget about it. This is the right choice for most people who want straightforward billing with no surprises.

Tracker follows the daily wholesale price. You get full transparency on what you’re paying and why. Over the long term, Tracker tends to match or slightly beat Flexible, but it’s bumpier. Good days can be very cheap. Expensive days can exceed the cap rate. Requires a smart meter.

Agile changes price every 30 minutes. Without a battery or solar, the savings come from shifting appliance usage to cheap overnight slots (dishwashers on delay timers, washing machines at midnight). A household that does this consistently can save 10-15% vs Flexible. If you can’t be bothered to schedule appliances around pricing, Agile probably isn’t worth the hassle.

How much effort do you want to put in?

This matters just as much as your equipment. Be honest about it.

I just want it to work (zero effort): Choose Flexible. It’s competitive, simple and you never need to think about it. No smart meter needed, no scheduling, no checking prices.

I’ll set things up once and leave them (minimal effort): Choose Go or Intelligent Go (if you have an EV) or Cosy (if you have a heat pump). Set your charging schedule or heating programme once and you’re done. The savings happen automatically.

I’ll check prices occasionally and shift some usage (moderate effort): Tracker is a good fit. One price per day is easy to track. You can adjust on particularly cheap or expensive days without micromanaging.

I’m happy to optimise and automate (high effort, highest reward): Agile with a battery and home automation gives you the maximum savings. It requires setup time but runs itself once configured. Without automation, Agile rewards daily attention to price schedules.

You can always switch

This is the most important thing to remember. There are no exit fees on Octopus’s variable and smart tariffs. Switching between them takes effect the same day or the next business day. You request it through the app and it just happens. Fixed-rate tariffs may carry an early exit fee, so check the terms if you’re on a fix.

So don’t agonise over the decision. Pick the tariff that looks best for your situation, run it for a month and check the numbers. If it’s not saving you money, switch to something else. The flexibility to experiment is one of the best things about being an Octopus customer.

Quick reference

Tariff	Best for	Effort level	Smart meter needed?
Flexible	Simple, no-fuss billing	None	No
Agile	Batteries, flexible schedules, optimisers	High	Yes
Go	EV owners (any charger)	Low	Yes
Intelligent Go	EV owners (compatible hardware)	Low	Yes
Tracker	Transparency seekers, wholesale optimists	Low-Medium	Yes
Flux	Solar + battery owners	Low	Yes
Cosy	Heat pumps, electric boilers, electric radiators	Low-Medium	Yes

Still not sure? Check the tariff comparison tool to see live rates on each tariff for your area, or try the tariff quiz for a personalised recommendation.