Octopus Go

Octopus Go is the simpler Octopus EV tariff. Instead of asking Octopus to smart-charge a compatible car or charger, it gives your whole home a fixed five-hour cheap window overnight. At the time of writing, the off-peak rate shown by the current rate feed is 9.5p/kWh, though the exact unit rate and standing charge vary by region. Check Octopus's Go page for your postcode before treating any example as your own price.

How it works

Between 00:30 and 05:30, the electricity you use at home is charged at the Go off-peak rate. Outside that window, you pay the Go daytime rate. That daytime rate can be higher than a standard tariff, so the cheap overnight use needs to be large enough to outweigh the rest of the household's electricity pattern.

Octopus says Go is for customers with an electric car they charge at home and a compatible smart meter that can send half-hourly readings. Its current Go page says a dedicated home EV charger is not required. Existing Octopus customers may need to wait while Octopus connects to the meter, then accept the smart-tariff terms by email before the tariff changes.

The appeal is predictability. You can set the car, dishwasher, washing machine or immersion heater to run inside the same overnight window without watching half-hourly prices or waiting for a charging schedule.

What does it actually cost to charge?

Using the current rate feed, a 60kWh charge inside the Go window would cost about £5.70 before charging losses. That is a useful illustration, not a promise about your bill. Real costs depend on your region, standing charge, charger losses, battery size, home mileage and how much of the household's non-EV use can be moved overnight.

For most EV households, the key question is not whether Go has a cheap headline window. It is whether you charge at home often enough for that window to beat the higher daytime rate and any fixed-term conditions. Use the EV charging calculator with your own mileage rather than relying on a generic annual saving.

The main checks before switching

• Smart meter fit. Octopus needs a compatible smart meter and half-hourly readings for Go. Its smart-tariff terms say billing cannot rely on third-party charger, car or app data if the meter data is missing or disputed.
• EV and home-charging evidence. Octopus describes Go as for households with an electric car they charge at home. Its live page says a dedicated home EV charger is not required, but the EV, home-charging routine and smart-meter setup still need to fit.
• Daytime usage. If most of your electricity use stays outside 00:30 to 05:30, the daytime rate matters as much as the overnight rate.
• Solar export pairing. Octopus says Go can only be paired with certain export tariffs, so solar homes should check export options before moving.
• Fixed-rate details. Check the current term, local rates and any switching conditions on the live Octopus page before accepting the tariff.

Go vs Intelligent Octopus Go

Intelligent Octopus Go is usually the first comparison if your car or charger is compatible. It gives a longer guaranteed whole-home overnight window from 23:30 to 05:30 and can add smart-charging slots at the cheap rate when Octopus schedules your car. Go is simpler because the cheap period is fixed and does not depend on a supported vehicle or charger integration.

That makes Go a sensible fallback for some EV households: compatible smart meter, home charger, regular overnight charging, but no supported car or charger for Intelligent Go. If you are eligible for Intelligent Go and happy with smart charging, compare both before choosing.

Bottom line

Octopus Go is best treated as a steady overnight EV tariff, not as a universal cheapest-energy answer. It can work well when you charge at home regularly, can shift useful household load into the five-hour window and want a fixed schedule. If your EV charging is occasional, mostly public or better suited to Intelligent Go's smart scheduling, the comparison is less clear.