Agile Octopus review (August 2026)
Half-hourly electricity prices that follow the wholesale market, published a day ahead.
Updated for August 2026
Tariff snapshot
The important details in one place
- Current tariff issue
- Agile Octopus
- AGILE-24-10-01
- Price changes
- Every half hour
- Normally 48 rates; 46 or 50 when the clocks change
- 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
- Normally 48 rates; 46 or 50 when the clocks change
- Variable-rate tariff
- Compatible smart meter required
- Electricity tariff
- Regional unit rates and standing charges
The short answer
Who Agile Octopus is most likely to work for
Agile suits a flexible household and rewards active management. With an electric vehicle, a home battery, or simply the discipline to keep heavy appliances out of the 4pm to 7pm window, it can beat the price cap comfortably — though never guaranteed, because the saving depends on prices nobody controls.
It is not for everyone. If your routine has you cooking, washing and drying in the early evening, Agile will cost you more than a flat tariff would. It also removes the predictable monthly bill, so you have to be comfortable watching costs move with the wholesale market.
Agile Octopus prices electricity in half-hour blocks, and every block can cost something different. Instead of one rate that holds for months, you normally get 48 prices a day (46 or 50 when the clocks change), published before use from day-ahead wholesale data.
That makes it one of Octopus's most volatile tariffs and, for a sufficiently flexible household, it can also be one of the cheapest. The prices above are the real ones for the region you have selected — Agile is priced regionally, so a household in Yorkshire and one in London are not on the same rates.
In its favour
- Access to genuinely cheap overnight rates
- Negative prices pay you to use electricity
- No exit fees
- Electricity matched to zero-carbon generation
Against it
- Expensive between 4pm and 7pm
- Needs a smart meter on half-hourly readings
- Monthly bills fluctuate
- Poor fit for a household that cannot shift usage
- Leaving locks you out of smart import tariffs for 30 days
How it works
How Agile Octopus sets its prices
Each afternoon Octopus takes the next day’s wholesale prices and converts them into a retail price for each half hour, adding network costs and margin and applying VAT. Once the result is published, the page shows the following day's prices before they take effect.
Prices are capped, so a bad day has a ceiling. They can also go below zero: when there is more generation than demand — typically windy nights — the wholesale price goes negative and so does the Agile rate, meaning you are credited for the electricity you use rather than charged.
Because the price changes every half hour, the tariff rewards moving consumption rather than reducing it. The cheapest continuous window shown above is the stretch of the day when running the dishwasher, the washing machine or a car charger costs least.
Things to watch
The main trade-offs
Prices peak on cold, still winter evenings, which is exactly when most homes want heat and light. That is the main risk of the tariff.
The saving is not automatic. If your usage pattern does not change, Agile can cost more than a standard variable tariff.
Checking prices daily suits some people and becomes a chore for others. Consider which you are before you switch.
Live tariff data
Agile Octopus 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.
Practical advice
Getting the most out of Agile Octopus
Use the delay timers you already have
Load the washing machine or dishwasher in the evening and set the delay so it runs after 11pm. This is the single change that moves the most consumption for the least effort.
Move the oven, not the lights
Lighting and televisions draw very little. It is the heat-generating appliances that matter: a slow cooker through the day, or a microwave between 4pm and 7pm, uses a fraction of what an electric oven does.
Automate the car
If you have an electric vehicle, set the car's app or a smart charger to draw power only below a price you choose. Charging is usually the largest single load in the house, and it is the easiest to schedule.
Watch for plunge pricing
On windy nights the rate can go below zero, and you are paid to use electricity. Those are the hours to run the tumble dryer, heat the water and charge everything at once.
Household fit
Who Agile Octopus 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 can move heavy use — washing, charging, heating water — into cheaper half hours
- Electric vehicle owners who charge overnight
- Homes with a battery that can be filled when prices are low
- People comfortable watching prices change every day
Less likely to suit
- Households whose usage is fixed by work or care patterns and cannot shift
- Anyone who would find a day of high prices stressful rather than manageable
- Homes without a smart meter sending half-hourly readings
- People who want a rate they can budget against months ahead
Before switching
Check the requirements and what will affect the result
What you need
- A smart meter capable of half-hourly readings, since the tariff cannot bill without them
- Your meter sending readings at half-hourly rather than daily granularity, which Octopus can switch on
- Available across Great Britain, though the prices differ by distribution region
What drives what you pay
- How much of your usage you can move into cheaper hours — the single biggest factor
- The shape of your day: a household out from nine until six is already avoiding the expensive early evening
- Wholesale market conditions, which is why a windy week and a still cold snap look nothing alike
- The standing charge, which is unaffected by any of the above and applies every day regardless
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.
Octopus Tracker
Both follow wholesale costs, but Tracker moves once a day and Agile moves every half hour. Tracker suits someone who wants wholesale pricing without timing anything; Agile suits someone who will actually shift usage. If you would not change when you run appliances, Tracker is the better fit of the two.
Review Octopus TrackerFlexible Octopus
Flexible is the standard variable tariff, tracking the Ofgem cap. It is the safe comparison: if Agile’s average sits below the cap line on the chart above and you can shift usage, Agile is ahead. If you cannot shift usage, Flexible is more predictable for similar money.
Review Flexible OctopusOctopus Go
Go gives one guaranteed cheap window overnight and a higher rate the rest of the time. Agile gives cheap periods that move around. For overnight EV charging Go is simpler and more certain; for a household that can shift usage across the whole day, Agile has more upside.
Review Octopus GoEDF FreePhase Dynamic
EDF’s wholesale-linked alternative publishes three green, amber and red prices each day rather than 48 independent half-hour rates. Compare its bands, daily charge and free-electricity sessions.
Review EDF FreePhase DynamicOther Octopus Energy tariff reviews
Browse every other Octopus Energy tariff covered on Energy Review. Availability, eligibility and price structure are explained on each review.
Regional comparison
How prices differ across Great Britain
Agile Octopus unit rate and standing charge by region
The average price per unit on 2026-08-10, including VAT. The table also shows the daily standing charge.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| London | 24.24p | 39.5p |
| Yorkshire | 24.37p | 66.3p |
| East Midlands | 24.50p | 54.8p |
| West Midlands | 25.55p | 61.6p |
| North East England | 25.55p | 70.0p |
| North West England | 25.55p | 50.0p |
| Southern England | 25.55p | 62.2p |
| Eastern England | 25.68p | 48.8p |
| Southern Scotland | 25.68p | 62.1p |
| South East England | 26.86p | 55.8p |
| South Wales | 26.86p | 62.1p |
| Merseyside and North Wales | 26.99p | 65.8p |
| South West England | 28.03p | 66.1p |
| Northern Scotland | 29.47p | 59.9p |
Northern Ireland has a separate electricity market and is not covered by these regions.
How to switch
Moving to Agile Octopus
- 1
Both new and existing Octopus customers can take Agile. You need a smart meter sending half-hourly readings; if you do not have one, Octopus can arrange an installation, and you wait on the standard tariff until it is fitted.
- 2
A domestic switch should take up to five working days, though the timing varies. Octopus then checks your meter is sending half-hourly data, emails you to accept the Agile terms, and moves you across automatically.
- 3
There are no exit fees. If dynamic pricing does not suit you, you can leave at any time without penalty — but leaving locks you out of every smart import tariff for 30 days, so it is not a decision to reverse on a whim.
Frequently asked questions
Is Agile an electricity and gas tariff?
Electricity only. If your home uses gas you need a separate gas tariff, which you can still hold with Octopus — only the electricity is priced half-hourly.
Do I need an electric vehicle or solar panels to benefit?
No, though they help most. A household that can move the dishwasher, washing machine and tumble dryer out of the 4pm to 7pm peak can still come out ahead. How far ahead depends on your region and how much you can shift, and it is not guaranteed — at times a flat tariff works out cheaper.
Am I locked in if prices surge?
There are no exit fees, so you can move back to a flat tariff whenever you like. Leaving does lock you out of Agile and every other smart import tariff for 30 days, so it is worth being sure before you go.
What happens if my smart meter loses signal?
Agile is billed from half-hourly readings, so it needs them. Octopus may estimate short gaps; if it cannot obtain or estimate the readings, it can charge the affected consumption on Flexible Octopus using typical consumption patterns instead.
Can I get Agile on a prepayment meter?
Agile is built around half-hourly credit billing, which does not translate cleanly to pay-as-you-go top-ups. If you are on prepayment, check with Octopus before applying rather than assuming.
When are Agile prices published?
Prices for the following day normally start appearing from 4pm, but Octopus's terms allow publication later in the evening. Until they are actually present, this page says they are not yet published rather than showing an empty chart.
Can Agile prices really go negative?
Yes. When wholesale prices fall below zero, usually on windy nights with low demand, the Agile rate can too. During those periods you are credited for electricity you use rather than charged for it. The page counts how many such periods there are today.
Is there a cap on how high Agile can go?
Yes, the unit rate is capped, so there is a ceiling on any individual half hour. The cap does not stop a whole day being expensive, though — it stops a single half hour being unlimited.
Do I need to change my behaviour to save money on Agile?
In practice, yes. Agile rewards moving usage into cheaper half hours. A household that uses electricity at the same times regardless of price may well pay more than on a standard tariff.
Why are Agile prices different where I live?
Electricity distribution costs differ across the fourteen regions of Great Britain, and Agile prices reflect that. Use the region selector above to see the prices that apply to you.