Intelligent Octopus Go: Rates, Timings & How It Works

Intelligent Octopus Go rates

The Intelligent Octopus Go off-peak rate is the same across regions, but your daytime electricity rate and standing charge depend on where you live. Use the checker above to see the current prices for your area.

How much does it cost to charge an EV on Intelligent Octopus Go?

A typical home EV charger is rated at around 7kW. Over Intelligent Octopus Go’s six-hour smart-charging allowance, that means your EV could theoretically draw up to around 42kWh of electricity.

At an off-peak rate of 8.4p/kWh, 42kWh would cost about £3.53.

The amount that actually reaches your car’s battery will usually be slightly lower because of charging losses, and charging speeds can vary depending on your car, charger and home electricity supply.

What are the Intelligent Octopus Go off-peak times?

There are two different timings you need to understand.

1. Your home gets cheap electricity from 11:30pm to 5:30am

Every night, electricity used by your home between:

23:30 and 05:30

is charged at the Intelligent Octopus Go off-peak rate.

That is a guaranteed six-hour whole-home cheap period.

It isn’t just your car that gets the lower rate.

You can therefore use the overnight period for things such as running a dishwasher, washing machine, tumble dryer or charging a home battery, provided those appliances are suitable for unattended use.

2. Your EV gets up to six hours of smart charging

Your electric car has a separate allowance of up to six hours of smart charging per day.

Octopus chooses when those charging periods happen.

They might all fall inside the normal 11:30pm–5:30am window, but they don’t have to.

For example, Octopus could schedule part of your charging between 9pm and 11pm and then finish the charge later overnight.

When Octopus schedules your EV to smart charge outside the normal overnight window, the smart charging is still charged at the cheaper rate.

Even better, your whole home also receives the cheaper rate during those additional scheduled half-hour periods, provided they fall within your smart-charging allowance.

This is one of the main advantages of Intelligent Octopus Go over a simple fixed overnight EV tariff.

How Intelligent Octopus Go works

Once your compatible EV or charger has been connected to Octopus, you tell the system:

how much charge you want and when you need the car ready.

Octopus then creates a charging schedule.

Rather than immediately charging the car when you plug it in, Intelligent Octopus Go can delay or split the charging into periods when electricity is expected to be cheaper and often when there is more renewable generation available.

You can see the planned charging periods through the relevant app.

The exact setup depends on whether Octopus connects directly to your vehicle or through your charger.

How does the 6-hour smart charging limit work?

Intelligent Octopus Go gives your EV up to six hours of managed charging at the off-peak rate during each 24-hour period.

Octopus measures this allowance from midday to midday, rather than midnight to midnight. If your EV needs more than six hours of smart charging during that period, any additional charging can be billed at the higher daytime rate.

Your home and EV are treated separately

The most important distinction is that your home’s cheap period and your EV’s smart-charging allowance are separate.

Your home always keeps its 11:30pm–5:30am off-peak period, while your EV has its own six-hour smart-charging allowance.

This means your home can still be receiving cheap electricity overnight even if your EV has already used its six hours of cheaper smart charging.

For example, if Octopus smart charges your EV for six hours between 1pm and 7pm, you have used the full EV allowance for that midday-to-midday period.

If the car starts charging again at midnight, electricity used elsewhere in your home would still be charged at the cheaper overnight rate. However, the additional EV charging could be billed at the daytime rate because the six-hour smart-charging allowance has already been used.

This is particularly important if your EV regularly needs large top-ups.

Does being plugged in count towards the six hours?

No. Only the time your EV is actually smart charging counts towards the six-hour allowance.

Leaving your car plugged in while it waits for a scheduled charging slot does not use any of your allowance.

In fact, Intelligent Octopus Go generally works best when your EV is plugged in regularly, giving Octopus more flexibility over when to schedule charging.

What is Charge Cap?

Charge Cap can help prevent your EV continuing to charge once it would move beyond the six-hour cheaper smart-charging allowance.

Where the feature is available, you can enable it through your device settings in the Octopus app. With Charge Cap switched on, Octopus can stop the vehicle before further charging would be billed at the higher daytime rate.

Without Charge Cap, Octopus may continue trying to reach the battery target you requested, which could mean some charging takes place at the daytime rate.

This can make Charge Cap useful if keeping your charging costs as low as possible is more important than always reaching a particular battery percentage.

Octopus can also notify you when your requested charge is likely to exceed the six-hour allowance.

Want to understand the limit in more detail? Read our Intelligent Octopus Go Charge Cap guide for a full explanation of the six-hour allowance, Charge Cap and what happens when your EV needs longer to charge.

What if Octopus schedules charging outside 11:30pm–5:30am?

This is normal.

Intelligent Octopus Go can schedule your EV to charge outside the standard overnight period. When Octopus creates one of these smart-charging slots, your EV receives the off-peak rate during that scheduled period, subject to the six-hour allowance.

Electricity used elsewhere in your home also receives the cheaper rate while the scheduled smart charge is taking place.

For example, if Octopus schedules your EV to charge between 9pm and 10pm, electricity used elsewhere in your home during that hour can also benefit from the off-peak rate.

You cannot manually create these extra cheap periods yourself. They only apply when Octopus schedules the smart charging.

What happens if I use Bump Charge?

If you need to charge immediately instead of waiting for your scheduled smart charge, you can override the schedule using Bump Charge.

This gives you more control when you urgently need the car, but EV charging started this way is normally billed at the daytime rate rather than the smart off-peak rate.

Regularly using Bump Charge can therefore reduce the savings available from Intelligent Octopus Go.

Intelligent Octopus Go eligibility and compatibility

Eligibility

Intelligent Octopus Go is for households that have an electric vehicle or plug-in hybrid that is primarily charged at the home supplied by Octopus.

You also need:

• an Octopus Energy electricity account
• a smart meter that can provide half-hourly readings
• a compatible EV or compatible smart charger
• the latest version of the Octopus Energy app
• a reliable internet connection with your car or charger

After joining the tariff, a compatible device needs to be registered in the Octopus app within seven days. You must also maintain a compatible connected device to remain eligible for Intelligent Octopus Go. If Octopus can no longer communicate with your car or charger for an extended period, you may eventually be moved onto another tariff.

Octopus can connect either to certain electric vehicles directly or to supported smart chargers.

Compatible EV chargers

Chargers compatible with Intelligent Octopus Go include:

• Andersen A3 and Quartz
• Hypervolt Home 3 Pro
• Indra Smart PRO
• Myenergi Zappi
• Ohme Home Pro and ePod
• Octopus Charge
• Sync Energy
• Selected VCHRGD models

Compatible electric vehicles

Cars compatible with Intelligent Octopus Go include:

• Audi
• BMW and MINI
• Cupra
• Ford
• Hyundai
• Jaguar
• Kia
• Nissan
• Porsche
• Renault
• SEAT
• Škoda
• Tesla
• Volkswagen
• Volvo

If your vehicle and charger aren’t compatible with Intelligent Octopus Go, Octopus Go is worth considering instead as it does not require you to integrate a device.

Intelligent Octopus Go with solar panels and home batteries

Intelligent Octopus Go can work alongside both solar panels and home batteries, although there are a few important things to understand about how they interact with smart EV charging.

Solar panels and Intelligent Octopus Go

Having solar panels does not prevent you from using Intelligent Octopus Go.

You are only charged for electricity imported from the grid through your smart meter. If your solar panels are supplying some or all of the electricity being used to charge your EV, you are not charged for energy that comes directly from your solar panels.

Importantly, if your EV is charging entirely from solar and your home is not importing electricity from the grid, that charging time does not count towards your six-hour cheaper smart-charging allowance.

If you export surplus solar electricity back to the grid, you will also need a compatible export tariff. Intelligent Octopus Go can be combined with certain Octopus export tariffs, including:

• Outgoing Octopus
• Prime Outgoing
• Agile Outgoing

Compare Octopus export tariffs →

Home batteries and Intelligent Octopus Go

A home battery can also work well with Intelligent Octopus Go.

Your home receives the cheaper rate during the guaranteed 11:30pm–5:30am period, which means you can charge a home battery overnight and use the stored electricity later when the daytime rate applies.

The six-hour smart-charging allowance applies to your EV, not your home battery, so charging your battery during the overnight cheap period does not use any of your EV charging allowance.

However, your battery settings are important. You may want to prevent the battery from discharging into your EV when the car starts charging, particularly if you would rather use cheap grid electricity for the car and preserve your stored energy for the daytime.

Your battery manufacturer or installer may provide settings that allow you to control when the battery charges and discharges.

Can I have more than one EV on Intelligent Octopus Go?

It is possible to connect multiple EVs in some setups.

However, the exact combinations Octopus supports depend on the vehicle integrations involved.

Some manufacturers can be combined freely, while other integrations have restrictions on using multiple vehicles from the same brand.

If you have two or more EVs, check the current Octopus multi-car compatibility rules before joining.

How do I switch to Intelligent Octopus Go?

How you join depends on whether you’re already an Octopus Energy customer.

If you’re already with Octopus Energy

If your electricity supply is already with Octopus, you can apply to move onto Intelligent Octopus Go once you have:

• a compatible smart meter sending half-hourly readings
• a compatible electric car or smart charger
• the Octopus Energy app

You’ll then need to connect your car or charger in the app, accept the tariff terms and authorise Octopus to control your charging. Depending on your setup, you may also need to complete a test charge before the switch is fully set up.

If you’re not with Octopus Energy yet

You’ll need to switch to Octopus Energy first.

New customers initially join Octopus on a standard tariff while the supply transfer is completed and Octopus connects to the smart meter. Once you’re on supply and everything is communicating correctly, you can apply for Intelligent Octopus Go and connect your compatible car or charger through the Octopus app.

Switch to Octopus Energy →

Eligible new customers can also currently receive £50 joining credit when switching through our link.

Is Intelligent Octopus Go right for me?

Intelligent Octopus Go is particularly well suited to EV drivers who charge regularly at home, have a compatible setup and are happy to let Octopus control when the car charges.

The guaranteed 11:30pm–5:30am whole-home period can also make the tariff useful if you can move other electricity use overnight.

However, it will not suit every EV driver.

The daytime rate still matters. A household that uses a large amount of electricity outside cheap periods needs to consider the overall cost rather than looking only at the 8p/kWh EV rate.

The new six-hour charging cap is also important for drivers who frequently arrive home with a nearly empty battery and need more than six hours of charging.

Before choosing this tariff, compare your current electricity costs with the live Intelligent Octopus Go rates above and think about how frequently you would actually need more than six hours of EV charging.

Unsure about the difference between Octopus Go and Intelligent Octopus Go? Read our Octopus Go vs Intelligent Octopus Go comparison to see how the two tariffs compare.

Intelligent Octopus Go FAQs

What time does Intelligent Octopus Go start?

The guaranteed whole-home off-peak period starts at 11:30pm and runs until 5:30am.

Octopus may also schedule your EV to charge at other times.

What are the Intelligent Octopus Go cheap hours?

Your home receives the off-peak rate every day between 23:30 and 05:30.

Your EV can also receive up to six hours of Octopus-scheduled smart charging at the cheaper rate, which can take place inside or outside that window.

Is Intelligent Octopus Go 8p all night?

The current advertised off-peak rate is 8p/kWh.

Your whole home gets that cheaper tariff rate between 11:30pm and 5:30am.

Your EV is subject to its separate six-hour smart-charging allowance, so EV charging beyond that allowance can be charged at the daytime rate even during the home’s overnight cheap period.

Is the Intelligent Octopus Go cheap rate for the whole house?

Yes.

The guaranteed 11:30pm–5:30am off-peak period applies to electricity used throughout your home, not just to your EV charger.

The whole home can also receive the cheaper rate during additional smart-charging periods that Octopus schedules outside the standard window.

How many cheap hours do you get on Intelligent Octopus Go?

Your home gets six guaranteed cheap hours every night.

Your EV can receive up to six hours of smart charging at the off-peak rate per midday-to-midday day.

These are related but separate allowances.

Does Intelligent Octopus Go always charge between 11:30pm and 5:30am?

No.

Octopus may schedule your EV outside the normal overnight period if it expects other times to be better for smart charging.

Those qualifying smart-charging periods are still billed at the off-peak rate within the six-hour allowance.

What happens after six hours of smart charging?

Additional EV charging can be billed at the daytime rate.

This can happen even during the normal 11:30pm–5:30am home off-peak window, because the EV and home are now billed separately.

Does leaving my EV plugged in use the six-hour allowance?

No.

Only the time the car is actually smart charging counts towards the limit.

Can I force Intelligent Octopus Go to charge immediately?

Yes, using the manual/Bump Charge option.

However, manually overridden charging is normally billed at the daytime Intelligent Octopus Go rate.

Do I need an electric car?

Yes.

Intelligent Octopus Go is intended for customers with a battery electric vehicle or plug-in hybrid that is primarily charged at the home supplied by Octopus.

Can Intelligent Octopus Go work with any charger?

No.

Unlike standard Octopus Go, Intelligent Octopus Go requires Octopus to be able to control a compatible EV or charger.

Check live compatibility before joining.

Can I use Intelligent Octopus Go with solar?

Yes.

Intelligent Octopus Go can work with solar panels and certain Octopus export tariffs.

Can I charge a home battery at the 8p rate?

Electricity used by your home during the guaranteed 11:30pm–5:30am period is charged at the off-peak tariff rate, so a home battery can be scheduled to charge during that period.

Is Intelligent Octopus Go fixed or variable?

Octopus’s tariff terms allow both fixed and variable versions of Intelligent Octopus Go.

However, as of 18 September 2026, Octopus says it is currently offering fixed rates only because energy prices are particularly volatile.

Tariff rates, eligibility and terms can change. Always check the prices and tariff terms shown by Octopus Energy before switching.

Last checked: September 2026