Octopus Energy vs British Gas

British Gas still matters because it serves a huge slice of the market and a lot of people start there when they move home, come off an old fixed deal or want boiler cover in the same account as their energy. That does not automatically make it the best fit. It just means the comparison is worth doing properly rather than assuming one supplier wins on name alone.

Pricing

British Gas's standard variable tariff usually sits at or very near the Ofgem cap, which is normal for a large supplier. Its current tariff page also points customers toward fixed, tracker-style and Fix and Fall offers, with the usual need to check the actual quote, term and exit conditions before treating a headline as better value. That makes the old lazy idea that British Gas is always expensive too blunt to be useful, but it does not remove the need to compare the full annual bill.

Octopus Flexible is often pitched a little under the cap and the bigger upside is what happens after that. If you can move demand away from the expensive part of the day, Octopus gives you more ways to cut bills through Go, Intelligent Go, Agile, Tracker or Cosy. For a flat-usage household with no EV or heat pump, the saving may be modest. For a more flexible home, the gap can widen quickly.

Smart tariffs

This is the section where the comparison changes most for EV homes. British Gas is not just standard tariffs plus PeakSave any more. Its EV Power page frames the product as a simple whole-home overnight window for any EV and home charger. Charge Power is separate and is open to homes with a battery, whether or not they also have solar, an EV or other smart technology. Hive Power+ is a compatible-charger add-on that credits part of managed EV charging back to the bill, so compare it as a billing feature on top of a British Gas tariff rather than as a normal household tariff.

The useful distinction is control. British Gas EV Power gives you a fixed midnight-to-5am household window and expects you to schedule the car, charger or battery around that. Hive Power+ adds managed charging for compatible chargers and credits part of eligible EV charging back to the bill during the following month. On a time-of-use tariff, Hive says Power+ keeps charging inside that tariff's off-peak window rather than creating extra discounted periods. Charge Power is the battery-controlled overnight route, while Store&Save and Store&Reward are separate supplier-managed routes for qualifying new battery-only installations without other smart technology. Octopus Go is similarly simple, with a later 00:30 to 05:30 whole-home window. Intelligent Go is the closer smart-charging comparison because Octopus schedules eligible cars or chargers. Confirm the household rate that applies to your account during extra smart-charging slots before treating them as another cheap whole-home window.

Use today's local supplier pages when comparing them, rather than relying on a figure quoted in an evergreen comparison page. The real difference is not just the headline pence figure, it is how the rest of the home is billed once your setup gets more complicated. Battery homes should also check whether they want the supplier tariff to control the pattern, the charger app to control it, or a separate battery/inverter routine to do the work.

PeakSave is still useful to mention, because it can knock money off Sunday daytime use for smart-meter customers. British Gas says its current PeakSave tariff gives eight hours of half-price electricity from 9am to 5pm on Sundays, with extra Green Flex events when supply conditions suit. That can be handy if you can move cooking, laundry, battery charging or other heavy use into the window. It is still not the same thing as being on a fully fledged time-of-use tariff.

EV billing model check

Before comparing British Gas with Octopus, check which part of the bill the EV product actually changes. British Gas EV Power is easiest to understand as a fixed overnight whole-home window, with scheduling handled by the charger or car app. Hive Power+ then sits on top as a compatible-charger bill-credit feature for eligible managed EV charging. It needs a British Gas credit electricity account, a communicating smart meter in credit mode and consent for half-hourly readings. Charge Power is the customer-controlled home-battery route and can also cover an EV or other smart technology in the same overnight period; it does not require an EV or solar.

Octopus Go is also a fixed whole-home window, but starts later and ends later. Intelligent Go is different again because Octopus schedules eligible cars or chargers. The fixed 23:30 to 05:30 window applies to the whole home. For extra slots, check your tariff version and start date against the smart-tariff terms and confirm the household rate with Octopus before shifting appliances or battery charging. Then check the corresponding half-hour periods in your account and bill. For a simple overnight charger, either supplier can be worth pricing up. For an EV plus battery, solar export or flexible household load, Octopus usually gives you more combinations to test before you commit. Whichever route you test, keep app screenshots as evidence rather than the final bill: smart-tariff billing depends on the supplier's meter data and tariff terms.

Check eligibility before moving a heating setup onto an EV tariff. The British Gas EV Power requirements include an EV charged at home, a smart electricity meter and payment by Direct Debit. British Gas says EV Power does not work with Economy 7 and warns that storage heaters would not work properly after a switch. If your heating depends on Economy 7, ask the supplier to confirm the meter and heating arrangements before changing tariff rather than assuming any cheap overnight window will do.

There is also an onboarding step to allow for. British Gas currently tells new EV Power customers to join on an electricity tariff first, wait for the account and smart meter to be connected, then change to EV Power in the online account. The battery route uses a similar British Gas-first sequence for new customers. Do not compare either product as though the specialist tariff necessarily starts on the day the supply moves.

Customer service and day-to-day experience

Both suppliers now score well enough that this is no longer a simple "small modern supplier good, old incumbent bad" story. British Gas reviews are much stronger than they used to be and its scale still matters if you like the reassurance of a familiar national brand. Octopus still has an edge on clarity, tariff explainers and the sense that the energy account is designed around helping you make decisions rather than just paying the bill.

British Gas does have one practical strength that Octopus does not try to match in the same way: HomeCare and the wider engineer operation. If you want boiler cover, annual servicing and emergency help from the same company that sends the energy bill, that convenience can matter. It should not drive the whole comparison on its own, but it is a real reason some households stay put.

Who each supplier suits best

If you are close to a tariff end date, the most useful move is to compare the actual offer in front of you rather than the supplier logo. Look at the full unit rates, standing charges, exit-fee terms and whether the tariff genuinely fits your home routine. That is especially true if you are weighing a British Gas fix against Octopus Flexible or one of Octopus's smart tariffs.

The verdict

Octopus remains the stronger all-round shortlist for many people who want flexibility, smarter tariff options and a cleaner path into EV, heat-pump or solar-friendly energy use. British Gas deserves a fairer hearing than some older comparison pages give it, because it now has more serious smart products and can sometimes put forward a genuinely competitive fixed offer. The reason to shortlist Octopus early is that its range makes more sense once you want to do more than sit on a standard tariff and wait for the next price-cap reset.

If you are coming off British Gas and want to sanity-check your next move, the best next step is to compare the Octopus options that match your home rather than jumping straight to a referral page. Start with the tariff comparison tool, then read the Octopus Go guide or the Intelligent Go guide if an EV is part of the decision.

If you do decide to switch after that, there is a step-by-step switching guide and the referral page is there once you know Octopus is the right fit.

Octopus Energy rates update automatically. Other supplier rates and public charging costs were correct as of October 2026 and may have changed.