Octopus Go explained: the EV tariff that works with any car and charger

Octopus Go launched in 2018 as the UK’s first EV tariff, and it is still the one to choose when your car or charger is not compatible with Intelligent Octopus Go.

What you get

A cheap unit rate for everything in your home from 00:30 to 05:30 every night, and a day rate for the other 19 hours. The off-peak rate is the same across the country; the day rate and standing charge depend on your region.

No compatibility list

This is Go’s big advantage. Octopus does not need to talk to your car or charger at all. It simply bills whatever your smart meter records in the cheap window at the cheap rate. So it works with:

• any electric car or plug-in hybrid,
• any wallbox, smart or not,
• a three-pin cable if you have no wallbox.

Setting the timer

Because Octopus does not schedule anything, you need the car to charge during the window. Most EVs and every smart charger let you set a schedule. Set it to start at 00:30 and finish by 05:30, and leave a small margin at each end: some cars take a minute to wake up.

Octopus notes that the window stays at 00:30 to 05:30 UK time all year. Some in-home displays show it an hour out after a clock change; ignore the display, your bill is right.

What you need

1. To be an Octopus Energy customer. New customers join on a standard tariff first.
2. An electric car you charge at home.
3. A SMETS2 or Secure SMETS1 smart meter Octopus can read half-hourly.

Octopus Go or Intelligent Octopus Go?

If you can get Intelligent Octopus Go, it usually costs less: a lower car charging rate and a six-hour home window instead of five. Octopus Go is for everyone else, and for drivers who want to choose their own charging times. Our decision guide walks through it, and we compared the two in detail in Octopus Go vs Intelligent Octopus Go.