Agile Octopus

Reviewed 22 May 2026 against Octopus's Agile product page and current smart-tariff framing. Agile prices change every half hour and vary by region, so use this as a decision guide rather than a live price table.

Agile Octopus is Octopus's dynamic electricity tariff. Instead of one fixed day rate or one fixed overnight window, your electricity unit rate changes every 30 minutes and follows wholesale market pricing.

That can work well if you can move meaningful electricity use away from expensive periods. It can also be the wrong tariff if your home mostly uses electricity in the early evening or if daily price-checking would become a chore.

Quick answers

Does Agile have one cheap period?

No. Agile has 48 half-hour electricity prices each day. The cheapest slots move with the market, so it suits homes that can check, automate or shift flexible use.

Do you need a smart meter?

Yes. Agile needs a compatible smart meter and half-hourly readings so Octopus can match each 30-minute block of use to the right price.

What is the biggest risk?

Even with Price Cap Protect, peak slots can be expensive. Check whether your home can avoid 4pm to 7pm before judging Agile by its cheapest overnight prices.

Sources checked 22 May 2026: Octopus Agile and Octopus smart tariff terms.

How Agile pricing works

Octopus normally publishes the next day's Agile prices between 4pm and 8pm, often closer to 4pm. Each price covers a 30-minute slot. Your smart meter sends half-hourly readings, then Octopus matches your usage to the price for each slot.

The unit rate is not the same everywhere. Agile prices are regional, and a daily standing charge still applies. Before switching, check your own postcode on the Agile Octopus page or use a live price tool rather than relying on a national average or an old screenshot.

The useful question is not whether one slot looks cheap. Check the whole pattern for the next day, then compare it with when your home actually uses electricity. A battery, immersion heater, dishwasher or EV charger can help only if the routine is reliable enough to avoid importing heavily during the evening peak.

The 4pm to 7pm peak is the main test

Agile can be cheap at some points of the day and expensive at others. The period to watch most closely is usually the 4pm to 7pm peak, when the grid is under more pressure and many households are cooking, heating water, doing laundry or charging devices.

If your home can avoid that peak, Agile becomes more interesting. If you cannot move much usage out of those hours, a fixed tariff, Flexible Octopus, Go or Intelligent Octopus Go may be easier to live with.

Negative prices and Price Cap Protect

Agile can sometimes go negative. Octopus calls this Plunge Pricing, and it means customers can be paid for electricity used in those specific half-hour slots. It usually happens when the grid has more electricity than it needs, often during windy or low-demand periods.

Negative prices are useful, but they are not guaranteed. Agile also has Price Cap Protect, which currently caps the unit rate at 100p/kWh including VAT. That cap is a safeguard against extreme spikes, not a promise that every Agile day will be cheap.

Who Agile can suit

• Homes with batteries. A battery can charge in cheaper slots and cover the home during expensive ones, though the result depends on battery size, settings, losses and export choices.
• Flexible households. If you can move washing, drying, cooking prep or dishwasher use away from the evening peak, Agile may fit without needing a full smart-home setup.
• Automation users. Home Assistant, smart plugs, battery controls and EV charging routines can make Agile less manual, provided they are configured safely.
• Some EV drivers. Agile can suit flexible charging, but compare it with Go and Intelligent Octopus Go before switching because those tariffs give clearer overnight windows.

Who should think twice

• Heavy peak-time users. Electric showers, cooking, tumble drying and heating between 4pm and 7pm can wipe out the benefit of cheaper periods elsewhere.
• People who want predictable pricing. Agile asks for attention. If that would make the household anxious or annoyed, a simpler tariff may be the better choice.
• Homes without a working smart meter. Agile needs half-hourly smart meter data, so check meter setup and data sharing before treating it as an option.
• Homes relying on app screenshots. Charger apps, battery dashboards and Home Assistant logs are useful diagnostics, but the bill depends on the smart meter readings Octopus receives. Keep that distinction clear before challenging an Agile bill.

What about gas?

Agile is an electricity tariff. If you also have gas with Octopus, gas stays on a separate tariff. The Agile decision is mainly about whether your electricity use can follow half-hourly prices without making the household harder to run.

A sensible way to decide

Do not judge Agile from the cheapest half-hour price. Look at when your home uses electricity across a full week, how much falls into the 4pm to 7pm peak and whether you can automate the bigger loads. If you have a battery, check how it will behave with import prices, export payments and reserve settings.

The tariff comparison tool can help you compare live regional Octopus rates. If you are choosing mainly for an EV, also read the Go and Intelligent Octopus Go guides before switching.

One final caution from the smart-tariff terms: if Agile does not suit you and you switch away from a smart import tariff, Octopus may stop you switching back to a smart import tariff for 30 days. That makes a quick whole-home check more useful than chasing one unusually cheap day.