EDF Standard Variable review (August 2026)
EDF’s default tariff for electricity and gas, priced at the Ofgem cap, with no exit fees.
Updated for August 2026
Tariff snapshot
The important details in one place
- Current tariff issue
- Standard Variable
- EDF_STANDARD_VARIABLE
- Price changes
- One unit rate
- The price does not change during the day
- Against the price cap
- Choose a location
- Compares today’s regional average unit rate with the applicable cap rate
- Estimated annual cost
- Choose a location
- Shown after an electricity region is selected
Key tariff facts
- The price does not change during the day
- Variable-rate tariff
- No specialist smart tariff meter requirement stated
- Electricity and gas are covered on this page
- Regional unit rates and standing charges
The short answer
Who EDF Standard Variable is most likely to work for
Standard Variable is the flexible baseline: its rates are limited by the price cap, it has no fixed end date and you can leave without an exit fee.
That flexibility can matter mid-move, mid-renovation or when you do not want a fixed term. Whether another tariff is cheaper depends on its current rates and how you use energy.
Standard Variable is EDF’s open-ended tariff for electricity and gas. Customers may move onto it when a fixed deal ends; a household that has just moved into an EDF-supplied property may initially be on a separate deemed contract.
It is also the tariff every other page on this site measures itself against. When a smart tariff claims to beat the cap, this is the number it is beating.
In its favour
- No exit fees and no term, so you can leave at any time
- Falls automatically when the price cap falls
- No smart meter or equipment required
- Available for both electricity and gas
Against it
- Rates can change when the price cap changes
- Rises automatically when the cap rises
- No reward for using electricity at cheaper times
- Full standing charge regardless of how little you use
How it works
How EDF Standard Variable sets its prices
One unit rate and one standing charge, both limited by Ofgem’s price cap for your region, meter and payment method. There is no time-of-use element, so a single-rate customer pays the same unit rate at three in the morning as at six in the evening.
The price cap limits unit rates and standing charges; it does not cap the total bill. It is recalculated quarterly from wholesale, network and policy costs, and EDF’s Standard Variable prices can move when it changes.
Prices differ by how you pay. Direct Debit, prepayment and pay-on-receipt versions are capped separately, so compare the current rate for your own payment method.
There are no exit fees, so you can move to any other tariff at any time. That is the tariff’s main practical virtue.
Things to watch
The main trade-offs
A capped tariff is not a capped bill: using more electricity or gas still increases what you pay.
The standing charge applies every day even if you use nothing, which makes this an expensive tariff for a second home or a very light user.
Prices change quarterly with no action from you, so a budget set in one quarter can be wrong in the next.
Live tariff data
EDF Standard Variable prices for your area
Electricity rates and standing charges differ by distribution region. Enter your postcode or choose your electricity region before local figures are shown.
Household fit
Who EDF Standard Variable might be good for
The right answer depends on your equipment, routine and tolerance for changing prices—not just how much electricity you use.
Likely to suit
- Households that want no term, no exit fee and no decisions
- Anyone about to move house or change circumstances, where flexibility is worth more than a small saving
- Homes without a smart meter, which rules out most of the alternatives
- People who expect the cap to fall and would rather follow it down
Less likely to suit
- Anyone who could shift usage into cheap hours, since a time-of-use tariff would pay them for it
- Households wanting a predictable annual bill — a fixed tariff does that and this does not
- Very light users, who are paying a full standing charge for very little electricity
- Anyone offered a fixed deal whose live total cost and terms are a better fit
Before switching
Check the requirements and what will affect the result
What you need
- No requirements at all — no smart meter, no vehicle, no generation
- Available for electricity, gas or both
- Direct debit, pay on receipt of bill, and prepayment versions all exist, at different prices
- No exit fees, no term
What drives what you pay
- How much you use, which is the only lever this tariff gives you
- Ofgem’s price cap, which resets quarterly and sets both the unit rate and the standing charge
- Your region, since network costs differ across Great Britain
- How you pay, because prepayment and pay-on-receipt are capped separately from direct debit
Match the tariff to your home
Your largest electrical loads can change the answer
A specialist tariff can be better aligned with one large device, but its eligibility and expensive periods still matter. These are comparisons to make, not automatic recommendations.
If you have an EV
An EV tariff may be simpler if most of your flexible electricity is car charging. Intelligent Octopus Go schedules compatible cars or chargers; Octopus Go and EDF Go Electric use fixed overnight windows.
If you have solar without a battery
The import tariff and the rate paid for exported electricity are separate decisions. A straightforward export tariff can be more useful than a peak-weighted battery tariff when generation is exported as it happens.
If you have solar and a home battery
A paired import/export tariff may fit better because a battery can charge in a cheap period and discharge or export in a more valuable one. The gross rate spread is not the same as profit after losses and degradation.
If you have a heat pump
A heat-pump tariff may align its cheaper periods with space and hot-water heating. Whether it wins depends on insulation, controls and how much heat can move away from expensive periods.
Alternatives
Other smart tariffs from Octopus and EDF to compare
These are other smart-tariff comparisons from the two suppliers, not a claim that every option suits the same household.
Flexible Octopus
The same thing at another supplier: the default variable tariff, priced at the cap, with no exit fees. Differences between suppliers’ standard tariffs are small by design, because the cap sets the ceiling for all of them. Service, billing and how easily you can move to something better matter more than the pence.
Review Flexible OctopusEDF Simply Fixed
The straight trade. Fixing locks your rates for the term, which protects you if capped rates rise and can cost you if they fall. Compare the live annual estimate, standing charges, term and exit fees rather than assuming a fixed deal starts above or below today’s capped tariff.
Review EDF Simply FixedEDF Empower Tracker
Empower uses this tariff’s rate as its base, then takes 10p off in the early hours, adds 10p across the late afternoon and removes the standing charge. It can suit an eligible low user who avoids the peak, but the banded calculation must confirm whether it improves on Standard Variable for that household.
Review EDF Empower TrackerOther EDF Energy tariff reviews
Browse every other EDF Energy tariff covered on Energy Review. Availability, eligibility and price structure are explained on each review.
Regional comparison
How prices differ across Great Britain
EDF Standard Variable unit rate and standing charge by region
The current unit rate and daily standing charge in each distribution region, including VAT.
Hover a region for its figure, or select one to load its prices.
Tap a region to load its prices.
| Region | Per kWh | Standing charge per day |
|---|---|---|
| East Midlands | 26.49p | 62.1p |
| North East England | 26.63p | 73.2p |
| Yorkshire | 26.72p | 73.3p |
| West Midlands | 26.74p | 68.4p |
| Southern Scotland | 27.29p | 72.8p |
| North West England | 27.58p | 55.5p |
| South Wales | 27.80p | 66.2p |
| London | 27.81p | 52.1p |
| Eastern England | 27.85p | 62.7p |
| South West England | 27.85p | 66.9p |
| Southern England | 27.89p | 58.3p |
| Northern Scotland | 27.89p | 65.9p |
| South East England | 28.15p | 63.3p |
| Merseyside and North Wales | 29.20p | 79.6p |
Northern Ireland has a separate electricity market and is not covered by these regions.
How to switch
Moving to EDF Standard Variable
- 1
Existing EDF customers can select Standard Variable, and customers may move onto it when a fixed deal ends. A newly moved household may initially be on EDF’s deemed tariff instead.
- 2
Moving away is equally easy: there are no exit fees and no notice period, so any other tariff is available whenever you want it.
- 3
If you have been on this tariff for a while, compare current alternatives using your region, payment method and consumption rather than assuming a headline national figure applies to you.
Frequently asked questions
Is this the same as the price cap?
It is protected by the price cap. Ofgem limits the unit rates and standing charges for each region, meter and payment method; it does not set a maximum total bill. The comparison card above uses the current regional figures available to the site.
How often do the prices change?
Whenever the price cap changes, currently every three months. EDF writes to you before each change.
Is prepayment more expensive?
It is capped separately from direct debit, and the two are priced differently. The figures on this page are for the single-rate direct debit version unless stated otherwise.
Should I fix instead?
It depends on what you think the cap will do and how much you value certainty. Fixing protects you from a rise and costs you a fall, and most fixed tariffs carry an exit fee where this one does not. There is no answer that is right for everyone.