Octopus Agile vs Go vs Intelligent Octopus Go
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Agile Octopus charges a different price every half hour, tied to the wholesale market. Octopus Go gives a fixed cheap overnight window for any electric vehicle. Intelligent Octopus Go adds a six-hour off-peak window for the whole home plus automatic smart charging for eligible cars and chargers. Rates change, so the figures below are as published by Octopus on 11 October 2026.
Side-by-side comparison
| Agile Octopus | Octopus Go | Intelligent Octopus Go | |
|---|---|---|---|
| How prices work | Half-hourly prices tied to the wholesale market. New rates for the next 24 hours are published each afternoon or evening. | A fixed cheap rate in a set overnight window, and a standard rate outside it. | A cheap off-peak rate in a set window, plus smart-charging slots that Octopus schedules for you. |
| Cheap period | Changes every day. Prices can go negative when the grid has surplus power. | 00:30 to 05:30, per Octopus. | 23:30 to 05:30 for the whole home, plus smart-charging slots that can fall outside that window. |
| Protection from price spikes | Price Cap Protect: you never pay more than 100p/kWh. | Check the live tariff page for current terms. | Fixed rates only at the moment, per Octopus. |
| Need an EV? | No. | Any EV works. | An eligible car or a supported smart charger. |
| Smart meter | Yes: a SMETS2, or a compatible SMETS1. | Smart tariff: check Octopus's eligibility page. | Yes: it relies on the UK smart meter network. |
| Exit fee | Check the live tariff page. | Check the live tariff page. | £50 early exit fee at the time of writing. |
| Best suited to | People who can shift lots of use away from peak times and accept wholesale price swings. | EV drivers who can charge overnight with any car. | Eligible EV drivers who want automatic, flexible smart charging. |
Agile Octopus in more detail
Agile ties your unit price to the wholesale electricity market. Octopus publishes the rates for the next 24 hours each afternoon or evening, between 4pm and 8pm, usually nearer 4pm, and your smart meter's half-hourly readings are used to calculate your charges.
Prices can be very low or even negative when there is more generation than demand, which Octopus calls Plunge Pricing. At the other end, Price Cap Protect stops the rate going above 100p/kWh. Octopus is clear that Agile is directly affected by wholesale market volatility and suits people who can move a large share of their electricity use away from peak periods, often with an EV, battery or storage heaters.
To join, you need to be an Octopus customer with a compatible smart meter. Octopus says connecting to a meter generally takes around 14 days, and it will email you smart tariff terms to accept before the move completes.
Octopus Go in more detail
Octopus describes Go as its original EV tariff. Any electric vehicle can charge at a cheap rate in a fixed overnight window, which Octopus gives as 00:30 to 05:30. It's the simplest of the three to understand because the cheap period doesn't change.
Intelligent Octopus Go in more detail
You plug in an eligible car or supported charger, connect it in the Octopus app, and tell Octopus how much charge you need and when. Octopus schedules the charge for the cheapest half-hourly periods. You get a six-hour off-peak window for the whole home from 23:30 to 05:30, plus up to six hours of smart charging a day at the cheap rate, which can fall inside or outside that window. At the time of writing the smart-charging rate starts from 7.6p/kWh, and Octopus is only offering fixed rates on this tariff.
Octopus says customers on its fixed Intelligent Octopus Go tariff typically saved £771 between May 2025 and April 2026 compared with its standard variable tariff, Flexible Octopus. Individual results vary with how much you use at home and how much you shift to off-peak. For a worked cost example, see our EV tariffs guide.
Which one suits you?
- Eligible EV or smart charger, and you want it hands-off: check Intelligent Octopus Go first.
- An EV that isn't eligible, or a simple overnight routine: Octopus Go works with any EV.
- Flexible usage and comfortable with price swings: Agile can pay off if you can shift use with a battery, timers or an app.
- No EV, battery or flexibility: a standard tariff may be simpler. Compare rates for your postcode.
This is general information, not financial advice. Rates vary by region and change often, so get a quote for your own postcode before you decide.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a smart meter for Agile Octopus?
Is there a cap on Agile prices?
Can I join Intelligent Octopus Go before I'm an Octopus customer?
What if my car isn't supported by Intelligent Octopus Go?
Do these rates stay the same?
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