Octopus Go review (November 2026)
A cheap overnight electricity rate for a fixed window, with a higher day rate.
Live tariff data
Octopus Go prices for your area
Current prices for Southern England. Rates and standing charges vary by electricity region.
Showing prices for Southern England
Today’s price bands
Southern England
- Average today
- 29.52p
- Cheapest today
- 9.40p
- Most expensive today
- 34.81p
- Standing charge
- 47.47p
weighted by how long each price lasts
per day
Daily schedule
Today’s price bands
Octopus Go repeats a daily shape. The times below are the complete schedule in local time.
Lowest rate
9.40p/kWh
Highest rate
34.81p/kWh
| From | To | Duration | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 00:00 | 00:30 | 0.5 hours | 34.81p/kWhHighest |
| 00:30 | 05:30 | 5.0 hours | 9.40p/kWhBest price |
| 05:30 | 00:00 | 18.5 hours | 34.81p/kWhHighest |
What the daily bands add up to
Calculated from the complete band schedule shown above. It describes the tariff, not how much of your electricity will land in each period.
- Time at the cheapest rate
- 5 hours
- 20.8% of the schedule
- Time-weighted band average
- 29.52p/kWh
- Assumes constant use or export through the day
- Highest-to-lowest spread
- 25.41p/kWh
- A price difference, not a saving or battery profit
When to use electricity
- Cheapest 3-hour run starts 05:30, averaging 34.81p per kWh.
- Cheapest half hour today is 00:30 at 9.40p.
- Most expensive is 00:00 at 34.81p, so it is worth avoiding heavy use then.
Use your own figures
What could a month on Octopus Go cost you?
Enter your expected usage for a simple 30-day illustration using the displayed average unit rate and standing charge.
Enter the electricity you expect to use over 30 days.
Enter a number of kWh to see what it would cost at today’s average price.
Cost your home EV charging
The lowest currently displayed rate is 9.40p per kWh (00:30–05:30); the highest displayed rate is 34.81p per kWh. Tell us how much charging you can actually move into the lower-rate period rather than assuming it is all overnight.
Enter all of the figures above to see the calculation.
The short answer
Who Octopus Go is most likely to work for
Go is the simplest of the EV tariffs: a fixed cheap window overnight, a higher rate the rest of the time, and nothing to schedule beyond setting the car to charge in the window.
In its favour
- Very cheap overnight rate at a time you can predict
- No hardware compatibility list to satisfy
- You keep control of when charging happens
- No exit fees
Against it
- Day rate is higher than a standard tariff
- Only pays if you can move a lot of load overnight
- The window is fixed, so it does not follow cheap prices
- Needs a smart meter on half-hourly readings
Read the fuller verdict and trade-offs
Go requires an EV or plug-in hybrid that you charge at home. Once that requirement is met, a battery or other schedulable load can increase the share used overnight; the full household calculation still decides whether the higher day rate is worthwhile.
- The day rate is higher than a standard tariff. A household without a large overnight load will usually lose money on Go.
- The window is fixed. If your car is not plugged in during it, you get no benefit that night.
- Heating, cooking and laundry mostly happen outside the window, so they cost more here than elsewhere.
Tariff facts at a glance
- Current version
- Octopus Go
View product code
GO-VAR-22-10-14- Price changes
- By time band
- The same scheduled price periods repeat each day
- Today’s full-day rate vs cap
- 3.05p per kWh above today
- A full-day regional average is needed for today’s comparison
- Annual illustration from history
- £860
- Based on 31 days of prices and 2,500 kWh a year, spread evenly. Includes the 47.47p daily standing charge; not a forecast.
Key tariff facts
- Variable-rate tariff
- No exit fee on the selected offer
- Monthly Direct Debit · Single-register meter
- Compatible smart meter required
- Electricity tariff
Against the price cap in Southern England
3.05p
above the price cap
- Tariff today
- 29.52p/kWh
- Ofgem cap
- 26.47p/kWh
Unit rates only. The cap also has a 47.81p/day standing charge; your cost depends on when you use electricity. Cap period: 1 Oct 2026–31 Dec 2026.
Estimated annual cost
£860
a year
- Usage
- 2,500 kWh
- Average rate
- 27.45p/kWh
Uses 31 days of Octopus Go prices and the 47.47p/day standing charge in Southern England. Timing affects the actual cost.
Octopus Energy: £1,044/year. Different basis; not directly comparable.
Price history
How Octopus Go prices have moved
The line is the average price for each day; the shaded range shows the cheapest and most expensive prices within it.
Choose one history view
Use a rolling period to look back from today, or open one calendar year. Selecting either view replaces the other.
Last 30 days: 31 days from 06 Oct to 05 Nov. Average prices range from 25.30p to 29.52p per kWh. The shaded band shows the cheapest and most expensive price in each period.
Show these 31 figures as a table
| Period | Average | Cheapest | Most expensive |
|---|---|---|---|
| 06 Oct | 25.30p | 8.21p | 29.80p |
| 07 Oct | 25.30p | 8.21p | 29.80p |
| 08 Oct | 25.30p | 8.21p | 29.80p |
| 09 Oct | 25.30p | 8.21p | 29.80p |
| 10 Oct | 25.30p | 8.21p | 29.80p |
| 11 Oct | 25.30p | 8.21p | 29.80p |
| 12 Oct | 25.30p | 8.21p | 29.80p |
| 13 Oct | 25.30p | 8.21p | 29.80p |
| 14 Oct | 25.30p | 8.21p | 29.80p |
| 15 Oct | 25.30p | 8.21p | 29.80p |
| 16 Oct | 25.30p | 8.21p | 29.80p |
| 17 Oct | 25.30p | 8.21p | 29.80p |
| 18 Oct | 25.30p | 8.21p | 29.80p |
| 19 Oct | 25.30p | 8.21p | 29.80p |
| 20 Oct | 25.30p | 8.21p | 29.80p |
| 21 Oct | 29.52p | 9.40p | 34.81p |
| 22 Oct | 29.52p | 9.40p | 34.81p |
| 23 Oct | 29.52p | 9.40p | 34.81p |
| 24 Oct | 29.52p | 9.40p | 34.81p |
| 25 Oct | 28.71p | 9.40p | 34.81p |
| 26 Oct | 29.52p | 9.40p | 34.81p |
| 27 Oct | 29.52p | 9.40p | 34.81p |
| 28 Oct | 29.52p | 9.40p | 34.81p |
| 29 Oct | 29.52p | 9.40p | 34.81p |
| 30 Oct | 29.52p | 9.40p | 34.81p |
| 31 Oct | 29.52p | 9.40p | 34.81p |
| 01 Nov | 29.52p | 9.40p | 34.81p |
| 02 Nov | 29.52p | 9.40p | 34.81p |
| 03 Nov | 29.52p | 9.40p | 34.81p |
| 04 Nov | 29.52p | 9.40p | 34.81p |
| 05 Nov | 29.52p | 9.40p | 34.81p |
View history coverage and range
Combined across 1 version of this tariff, each shown for the period it was on sale. We hold prices from Oct 2022. A gap means no version of this tariff was on sale then.
What this selected history can show
30 of 30 days are represented in the stored history. The figures below use complete daily or monthly periods only, so a partial period cannot create a false low or high.
This summary remains at daily or monthly level. Any separate statistics panel uses the complete daily distribution fields supplied by the rollup rather than inferring them from this chart.
- Lowest complete-period rate
- 8.21p/kWh
- Highest complete-period rate
- 34.81p/kWh
- Mean of complete-period averages
- 27.45p/kWh
Regional comparison
How prices differ across Great Britain
Octopus Go unit rate and standing charge by region
The average price per unit on 5 November 2026, including VAT. The table also shows the daily standing charge.
Selected region
Southern England
- Unit rate
- 29.52p/kWh
- Standing charge
- 47.5p/day
Hover a region for its figure, or select one to load its prices.
Tap a region to load its prices.
View all regional prices
| Region | Per kWh | Standing charge per day |
|---|---|---|
| East Midlands | 28.11p | 50.7p |
| Yorkshire | 28.13p | 60.9p |
| North East England | 28.34p | 60.7p |
| West Midlands | 28.35p | 56.6p |
| Southern Scotland | 28.44p | 61.4p |
| North West England | 29.08p | 44.9p |
| Northern Scotland | 29.23p | 55.3p |
| South Wales | 29.28p | 54.4p |
| London | 29.29p | 42.3p |
| South West England | 29.43p | 55.5p |
| Eastern England | 29.44p | 51.7p |
| Southern England | 29.52p | 47.5p |
| South East England | 29.59p | 52.2p |
| Merseyside and North Wales | 30.26p | 66.7p |
Northern Ireland has a separate electricity market and is not covered by these regions.
Household fit
Who Octopus Go 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
- Electric vehicle owners who can charge inside the overnight window
- EV homes that can also fill a battery cheaply overnight
- EV households able to move other loads into the overnight window
Less likely to suit
- Households that cannot move much use into the overnight window — the day rate is higher than a standard tariff
- Anyone without an electric vehicle or plug-in hybrid charged at home
- Drivers whose charging happens at work or in public rather than at home
Before switching
Check the requirements and what will affect the result
What you need
- A smart meter sending half-hourly readings
- An electric vehicle or plug-in hybrid that you charge at the home supplied on this tariff
- Available across Great Britain, priced by distribution region
What drives what you pay
- The proportion of your usage that falls inside the overnight window
- How much you charge, and whether your charger can be scheduled reliably
- Daytime consumption, which is billed at a premium rate
- The standing charge, which applies regardless
How it works
How Octopus Go sets its prices
Electricity used inside the overnight window is billed at the cheap rate. Everything outside it is billed at the day rate, which is higher than you would pay on a standard variable tariff.
Read the full pricing explanation
The window is fixed and the same every night, so unlike Agile there is nothing to check and nothing to time beyond setting a charger to run overnight.
Whether Go saves you money depends on how much of your electricity you can move into the window. Below a certain point, the higher day rate costs you more than the cheap nights save.
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
Octopus Go is already designed around electric-vehicle charging. Compare its cheap window, daytime rate, automation and compatibility with the alternatives before choosing.
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.
Intelligent Octopus Go
Intelligent Go gives a similar cheap window but lets Octopus schedule your charging, extending the cheap rate to slots it chooses outside the standard window.
More detail
If your car or charger is compatible, Intelligent Go is usually the better version of the same idea. Go is the fallback when it is not.
Agile Octopus
Go gives one guaranteed cheap window; Agile gives cheap periods that move.
More detail
Go is simpler and more certain for overnight charging. Agile has more upside for a household that can shift usage across the whole day, and more downside if it cannot.
Cosy Octopus
Both are banded tariffs, but they are shaped for different loads: Go for a big overnight draw, Cosy for a heat pump running in blocks through the day.
More detail
Choose by what you are actually trying to run cheaply.
Current product options
Current versions of Octopus Go
View current tariff versions
The prices above use Octopus Go. Other versions may have different rates or terms, so check the name and code on your quote.
Octopus Go 12M Fixed
GO-FIX-12M-26-10-30
12-month fixed term
- Unit rate
- Check current quote
- Standing charge
- Check current quote
- Payment
- Monthly Direct Debit
- Exit fee
- £50
- Rates shown
Octopus Go
GO-VAR-22-10-14
Variable rates
- Unit rate
- See full schedule below
- Standing charge
- 47.47p/day
- Payment
- Monthly Direct Debit
- Exit fee
- None
How to switch
Moving to Octopus Go
- 1
Available to new and existing Octopus customers with a smart meter on half-hourly readings. New customers join Flexible Octopus first and move across once on supply.
- 2
The switch is requested from the online dashboard or the app, and the cheap overnight window applies from the day the tariff starts.
- 3
No exit fees, but leaving locks you out of smart import tariffs for 30 days, so try it for long enough to see a full billing cycle.
Frequently asked questions
When is the Octopus Go cheap window?
Use the band schedule above for the current times and regional rates. Octopus has changed this window before, so older descriptions may no longer apply.
Do I need an electric vehicle for Octopus Go?
Yes. Octopus's current smart-tariff terms require an electric vehicle or plug-in hybrid that you charge at the property supplied on Go.
Is Octopus Go cheaper than Intelligent Octopus Go?
Usually not, if your vehicle or charger is compatible with Intelligent Go. Intelligent Go extends the cheap rate to slots Octopus schedules, so it tends to deliver more cheap hours for the same behaviour.
What happens if I use electricity outside the window?
It is billed at the day rate, which is higher than a standard variable tariff. That is the main trade-off to weigh up.
