Which smart tariff should I choose? A simple guide
This page was last reviewed on 23 October 2026
At Octopus, we’ve been saying for years that smart energy tariffs are a genius way to bring down bills, and a major new IFS report has just backed us up. Why? Because being smart about when you use electricity can unlock much cheaper prices. The key is making sure your home's biggest power guzzlers are running on the lowest rates. Did you know our smart tariffs have saved Octopus customers almost £1 billion?
A smart tariff is just an energy plan that offers cheaper rates at certain times of the day. This means you can save money by switching when you use energy to the cheaper times. It's just like buying an off-peak train ticket: you get the exact same service, but it costs a lot less because you avoided rush hour. Smart tariffs are NOT just for techy types: anyone can benefit if they're prepared to shift their energy use.
So, how do you pick the right smart tariff? It mostly comes down to the tech you have. Anyone who can shift power away from peak hours could benefit, but if you’ve got an EV, heat pump, solar panels or a battery, there’s usually a clear best-fit tariff.
Once you've got two or more of solar, battery, an EV or a heat pump, the choice gets more interesting. This is where it's worth a closer look rather than defaulting to the single-tech recommendation. I'm Phil Steele and I've advised thousands of customers on conundrums exactly like these. I'm here to share what I've learnt.
Quick tips
Avoid decision paralysis with my simple smart tariff picks for most homes.
Or skip on to dig deeper.
| Your tech | Smart pick |
|---|---|
| Solar panels | Outgoing Octopus |
| Solar + battery | Flux |
| Solar + battery + heat pump | Flux |
| Heat pump | Cosy Octopus |
| EV | Intelligent Octopus Go |
| Heat pump + EV | Intelligent Octopus Go |
| EV + solar + battery | Intelligent Octopus Go + Outgoing + Charge Pack |
| Heat pump + EV + solar + battery | Intelligent Octopus Go + Outgoing + Charge Pack |
| No smart tech | Agile or Tracker |
👆 Swipe across to see the full table
How we chose these tariffs: we modelled different combinations of EVs, heat pumps, solar and batteries against typical household electricity use. See our assumptions and methodology below
I have one smart thing
Recommended tariff: Intelligent Octopus Go
Why: It's built specifically for EV charging. You get a guaranteed low-rate overnight window plus smart charging that fills up your car whenever it's cheapest and greenest (bonus: your whole home gets that cheap rate whenever your car is charging).
Works if: Your car or charger is compatible (check your eligibility here). If it isn't yet, Octopus Go is the next best option.
Rate structure:
6 hours of super-cheap smart car charging
plus 6 hours of super-cheap energy every night between 11:30pm and 05:30am for your home.
Day rate varies; get an Intelligent Octopus Go quote here.
Recommended tariff: Cosy Octopus
Why: Offers super-cheap rates, three times a day, every day. These allow you to heat your home for less.
Works if: You have a heat pump, electric radiators or an electric boiler (they don't need to have been installed by us).
Rate structure: Three periods of super-cheap rates every day, 51% cheaper than the day rate in your region.
Recommended tariff: Outgoing Octopus
Why: Pays a flat 12p/kWh rate for the electricity you export back to the grid, on top of whatever you're already saving by using your own generation.
Works if: You have a working export meter (MCS-certified installation, in most cases).
Rate structure: 12p per kWh for every unit you export
Note: We’ve focused on your export tariff because that’s the exciting part of having solar panels: you can get paid for selling energy to the grid! When it comes to pulling energy from the grid, your options are exactly the same as anyone else's. Get a quote
No smart tech but interested in the world of smart tariffs? We still have recommendations for you.
Recommended tariff: Agile Octopus or Tracker
Why: These tariffs both track the wholesale price of energy but in slightly different ways. Agile prices update every half hour and Tracker prices change every day. Agile is generally worth it if you can shift your power use to less busy times of day, for example if you work from home and can put the laundry on in the middle of the day. Tracker may be a good idea if you want to track the wholesale market (for example, if you think prices are likely to drop) but don't want to think about your energy use on a half-hourly basis.
Works if: You have a smart meter.
Rate structure: Rates fluctuate based on the wholesale market. Tracker rates are set for the whole day, while Agile rates update every half-hour.
I have a combination
Recommended tariff: Octopus Flux
Why: On Flux, you can store up sunlight in your battery (or charge it up on super-cheap overnight power), use it to power your home, then sell any excess to the grid at peak prices.
Works if:
You have a smart meter providing us with half-hourly readings.
You are on an import and export tariff, both with Octopus Energy. If you're not yet on an export tariff, join Outgoing Octopus. You can then switch to Flux.
Rate structure:
Super-cheap rates between 02:00 - 05:00 every day
A peak rate between 16:00 - 19:00
Recommended import tariff: Intelligent Octopus Go
Recommended export tariff: Outgoing Octopus
Add-on: Charge Pack
Why: Intelligent Octopus Go offers automatic smart charging for your car at super-low rates but its superpower is that your home also gets those low rates for six hours a night, so you can fill your battery with low-cost energy and use it to run your home or sell it at a higher rate. If you're eligible to join Charge Pack, our smart-battery add-on, we'll take care of your battery charging and exporting plus you'll make at least £12 a month.
Works if: You can join Intelligent Octopus Go if your car or charger is compatible (check your eligibility here). If it isn't yet, Octopus Go is the next best option.
You can join Charge Pack if you have a smart meter and a supported battery. Find out more about Charge Pack eligibility here.
Rate structure: Intelligent Octopus Go:
6 hours of super-cheap smart car charging
plus 6 hours of super-cheap energy every night between 11:30pm and 05:30am for your home.
Day rate varies; get an Intelligent Octopus Go quote here.
Outgoing Octopus:
12p per kWh for every unit you export.
Recommended import tariff: Intelligent Octopus Go
Recommended export tariff: Outgoing Octopus
Add-on: Charge Pack
Why: Intelligent Octopus Go offers automatic smart charging for your car at super-low rates but its superpower is that your home also gets those low rates for six hours a night, so you can run your heat pump when it's cheap. You can also use those hours to fill your battery with low-cost energy and use it to power your heat pump or the rest of your home, or sell it at a higher rate.
If you're eligible to join Charge Pack, our smart-battery add-on, we'll take care of your battery charging and exporting plus you'll make at least £12 a month.
Works if
You can join Intelligent Octopus Go if your car or charger is compatible (check your eligibility here). If it isn't yet, Octopus Go is the next best option.
You can join Charge Pack if you have a smart meter and a supported battery. Find out more about Charge Pack eligibility here.
Rate structure
Intelligent Octopus Go:
6 hours of super-cheap smart car charging
plus 6 hours of super-cheap energy every night between 11:30pm and 05:30am for your home.
Day rate varies; get a Intelligent Octopus Go quote here.
Outgoing Octopus:
12p per kWh for every unit you export.
Recommended tariff: Octopus Flux
Why: On Flux, you can store up sunlight in your battery (or charge it up on super-cheap overnight power) and use it to power your heat pump and the rest of your home, plus sell any excess at peak prices. This makes you money and eases pressure on the grid. You can also pre-heat your home by running your heat pump during the super-cheap overnight period.
Works if:
You have a smart meter providing us with half-hourly readings.
You are on an import and export tariff, both with Octopus Energy. If you're not yet on an export tariff, join Outgoing Octopus. You can then switch to Flux.
Rate structure:
Super-cheap rates between 02:00 - 05:00 every day
Peak rates between 16:00 - 19:00
Recommended tariff: Intelligent Octopus Go
Why: Intelligent Octopus Go offers automatic smart charging for your car at super-low rates but its superpower is that your home also gets those low rates for six hours a night, so you can run your heat pump when it's cheap.
Works if: Your car or charger is compatible (check your eligibility here). If it isn't yet, the next best option is Octopus Go.
Rate structure:
6 hours of super-cheap smart car charging
plus 6 hours of super-cheap energy every night between 11:30pm and 05:30am for your home.
Day rate varies; get a Intelligent Octopus Go quote here.
Have you got so much smart tech we've not even thought of your particular combination? Congratulations! You are a green pioneer.
Get in touch and we'll give you a pat on the back, and a personalised recommendation.
Our models, which we ran in September 2026, used the following assumptions:
Battery: Standard 10kWh home battery with a 5kW inverter that charges and discharges up to one cycle per day. Our tests assumed the battery operated between 20% and 80% full. We also factored in an 87.5% efficiency rate, accounting for the normal, small amount of energy naturally lost during the charging process.
Solar: We based our calculations on a home with solar panels that generate 4,500 kWh of electricity over a year. We assumed this power would be generated and used following the typical daily pattern for a standard home.
EV: We assumed the car is plugged in between 6:30pm and 7am, charging three times a week. Each session adds 28 kWh, taking 4 hours on a standard 7kW home charger. We factored in a 93% efficiency rate to cover the energy naturally lost during charging. If the modelled tariff wasn't specifically designed for EVs, we assumed the customer scheduled their charging to hit the cheapest off-peak rates.
Heat pumps: We looked at the standard energy usage patterns for homes with a Cosy heat pump across various tariffs (like Flux, Flexible, and Intelligent Octopus Go). For the calculations, we assumed customers manually adjusted their heating schedules to take advantage of the cheaper rates available on their tariff.
Other household energy use: We based this on data from the energy regulator, Ofgem. We used their benchmark household use of 2,700 kWh of electricity a year, mapping that total against standard daily usage patterns.
Charge Pack: For the Charge Pack tariffs, we based our calculations on two event days taking place each week. We factored in that the customer earns a minimum of £12 a month from taking part in these events.
Frequently asked questions
Intelligent Octopus Go is the best tariff for most electric vehicle owners. It is built specifically for EV charging, offering a guaranteed 6-hour off-peak window for your home every night between 11:30pm and 05:30am, with rates from just 7.6p/kWh, plus six hours of super-cheap charging for your car, which we'll schedule automatically for you.
The biggest bonus with Intelligent Octopus Go is that your entire home gets that same super-cheap rate whenever your car is smart charging (even if it's 2pm and you'd normally be on a higher price). Find out more about smart charging on Intelligent Octopus Go.
If your electric car or EV charger isn't compatible with Intelligent Octopus Go yet, the standard Octopus Go tariff is your next best option. It still provides a reliable, low-cost overnight charging window, ensuring you can charge your car for much less than standard daytime electricity rates. Plus, your whole home gets the cheap off-peak rates (not always the case with other suppliers!).
If you have an electric vehicle and a heat pump, Intelligent Octopus Go is usually the cheapest option. Because your whole house benefits from the low overnight rates (11:30pm to 05:30am), you can automatically smart charge your car while also running your heat pump during those cheap hours, cutting your overall heating and driving costs. If your car or charger isn't compatible with Intelligent Octopus Go get, Octopus Go is your next best option.
Yes, it makes a lot of sense to use Intelligent Octopus Go with solar panels, particularly if you have a home battery. If you have an EV, solar panels and a home battery, the most profitable setup is pairing Intelligent Octopus Go (for cheap overnight electricity for your car and home) with Outgoing Octopus (to get paid 12p/kWh for exporting your excess solar energy). If your battery is compatible, you can also add Charge Pack to automate your battery charging and earn at least £12 a month.
Yes. To take advantage of any Octopus smart tariff, including Intelligent Octopus Go, you must have a working smart meter that sends half-hourly readings. We need the readings to accurately bill you for the cheap electricity periods our smart tariffs offer. You can request a smart meter here (it's free!).
Updated on
Philip Steele
Future Technologies Evangelist
Published on 14th September 2026