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octopus go v agile review

Octopus Go v Octopus Agile 

Octopus Go versus Octopus Agile is one of the most popular topics linked to Octopus Energy smart tariffs. We now have the Intelligent tariff thrown into the mix plus the tracker tariff to get our heads around but with energy prices being at an all-time high it’s well worth considering how you can get the best deal for your energy supply at home.

You’ll need a smart meter that sends half-hour readings to access any of the Octopus smart tariffs and a willingness to think outside the box in terms of your energy use.

What’s right for you – Octopus Go v Octopus Agile.

No one can tell you which Octopus smart tariff is right for you. So many influencers seem to hold the answer but they aren’t you and they don’t know how and when you consume energy and your personal preference to invest time in order to save money or access greener energy.

The key thing to remember is that this is all fairly new territory and whatever you do, whichever Octopus tariff you choose you’re making a greener choice that is right for you at this moment in time.

Here’s some information that may help you make up your mind on your Octopus Energy smart tariff.

The Octopus Energy Agile tariff allows you to use energy when consumption is low bringing down prices to a minimum, sometimes even free. Shift your energy use outside the 4-7 pm peak to save money and use cleaner, greener energy when there is less demand on the grid. Plus “plunge” pricing when wholesale prices go negative could even pay you to use energy!

Octopus Agile November version 1 

On the 28 of November 2022 November, version 1 of the Octopus agile tariff was launched.  The new Agile tariff has a cap of £1 per kWh and has an Energy Price Guarantee discount. This discount will end on the 1st July 2023 BUT the £1 cap will remain.

The Octopus Go tariff.

Octopus Go offers a very attractive 4 hours of electricity at 9.0p per kWh between 00.30 and 04.30hrs. You can keep the running costs of your EV down but you can also schedule large home appliances to run during these times, such as your washing machine and dishwasher. When the peak unit price on Octopus Go is 30.52p per kWh this will make a considerable saving on your energy bill!

The new kid on the block is the Intelligent tariff.  I have been on it for a while but you have to either have a compatible EV or charger. The big draw to this tariff is that it’s 2p less off-peak than Octopus Go at 7.5p per kWh and you get 6 hours as standard instead of 4.

I average between 17p and 19p a kWh on the intelligent tariff, based on the old rate of 40.10p per kWh day rate and 7.5p per kWh night rate. I use around 55% of my home energy off-peak even though I am home all day. My mileage isn’t massive but I load shift lots in the evening.

How much does Octopus Agile cost?

The Octopus Agile price per kWh of electricity changes every 30 minutes.  The idea is that you shift your energy usage to a time when there is less demand on the national grid. The prices are displayed the day before on the Octopus Energy website. You can find out more information about the Agile tariff on the Octopus website.

Octopus Agile is usually more expensive than Go between 4 pm to 7 pm peak period but cheaper than Go from 04:30 am to 4 pm.

You can look back at both historical prices and current prices for the Octopus Agile tariff on this official Octopus Energy website. This site isn’t widely known but it allows you not only to see pricing but also compare your existing Octopus tariff to Octopus Agile. You can set a time period and it will show you how much you would have paid if you had been on the Agile tariff.

@sarah_go_green @Octopus Energy #agiletariff #smarttariffs #octopusenergy ♬ Little Things – Tiqta


I haven’t found an official Octopus site that does this for any other Octopus tariff but there are lots of third-party apps you can use.

Octopus Agile tariff price on Tuesday 19th March 2024

This is the December version 1 of the Agile tariff.

Min: 9.5p per kWh (04.30)

Max: 37.8p per kWh (18.30)

Average: 17.2p per kWh.

Av. Excluding Peak times: 14.6p per kWh

Peak Time 1600 – 1900: 34.0p per kWh.

The prices are based on national average prices per kWh.

Thanks to @energystatsuk for the daily figures

The average Agile price per kWh is 17.2p (19/03/2024)

Points to consider;

  • Octopus Agile is capped at £1 per kWh with a daily standing charge of around 47.52p. It could rise very sharply as demand increases in the winter.
  • Octopus Go is 30.52p per kWh with an off-peak rate of 9.0p per kWh. (depending on your geographical location)
  • The intelligent tariff gives 6 hours off-peak at 7.5p per kWh
  • You need an EV to be on Octopus Go or Intelligent tariff.
  • You may get less for exporting your excess solar on either of the EV tariffs.

The Agile price should go up and down in price but it could get stuck at around the £1 per kWh peak price. It is a gamble on the amount of wind and demand on the national grid but prices have recently gone negative. This means customers have been paid to use energy, which includes today 1st of July 2023 when prices have gone negative!

The Go or Intelligent tariff should bring your average price per kWh down if you load shift.  If you can shift a proportion of your energy use off-peak you could absolutely smash the flexible tariff! You just need to get into the habit of turning white goods on late at night or invest in a few cheap timers. Lots of washing machines and dishwashers have timers built in. You have just got to use them!

OCTOPUS GO Tariff OCTOPUS AGILE Tariff. - December V1.⏰ 19/03/2024
30.52p per kWh Daily Average Price 17.2p per kWh
9.0p per kWh - Off-peak 00.30 to 04.30 🚘Min: 9.5p per kWh (04.30)
52.18p per day standing charge.52.17p per day standing charge.

Octopus Tracker Tariff.

Just to add more options to the mix, if you are considering Octopus Go or Octopus Agule you should also consider the Octopus Tracker tariff which requires no load shifting, is a flat rate which lasts for 24 hours and changes each day and is currently hovering around 18p to 20p per kWh for electricity. You can also combine higher rate export rates when on the Octopus tracker tariff compared to Octopus Go.

Octopus will allow 50,000 customers to switch to the Octopus tracker tariff. So if you are considering this over the other smart tariffs you need to move quickly before they revert back to a waiting list.

Here is a quote for Octopus Go on 19th March 2024.  It is a good deal in the current climate for charging off-peak.

To find the most up-to-date Octopus Go rates in your area use this link. (If you decide to sign up come out of the quote and use the referral link. Otherwise, you’ll miss out on the £50 credit)

If you switch away from Octopus Agile you can’t switch back for 30 days but that’s fair enough!

So the winning Octopus Smart tariff is……

I won’t take away the last 2 minutes of your life without giving you my opinion. 😆 It’s all very personal to your needs but with any additional equipment such as solar panels or battery storage, if you want to plug your EV in and forget about it Octopus Go is more likely to be the one for you! However, the intelligent tariff beats this hands down. You just need to have a compatible vehicle or charger.  Load shifting can reduce the average price you pay per kWh quite dramatically.

You need to make the most of the 4 or 6 hours of very cheap energy. if you get the washing machine whizzing and dishwashers running off-peak this will bring down your average price per kWh quite dramatically.

If you just want a flat rate and significantly lower than the Energy Price Cap make sure you look at the Octopus Tracker tariff for both gas and electric!

If you throw in the battery storage and solar panels the answer would depend on the time of year and how much you export to the grid. You can read more on my solar export page.

Trying to be greener with your energy use.

No one can say what’s right for you. Everyone’s home and needs are so unique and some can afford new equipment such as solar panels and battery storage whilst others can’t. The main thing is to just try and use less or shift as much as you can to a time when there is less demand on the national grid.

If you have the luxury of solar panels you can think of switching tariffs twice a year and have a spring/summer and autumn winter tariff. If you have battery storage even better make sure you check out Octopus Flux as you can time your export and make some extra money to reduce your energy bill. The main thing is that with or without additional hardware you just have to manage the times when and how you consume energy and even small changes can make a massive difference to your monthly bill.

In my opinion, Octopus Agile half-hourly pricing is, without a doubt, the way forward to even out our energy consumption and reduce the massive peaks in use on the national grid.  The intelligent tariff also works in the same way but Octopus take control of your EV charging schedule. If you are happy to try this new tariff you will get 6 hours off-peak instead of 4. Smart tariffs have so much to offer if you can be creative with your energy use. This is a good read on half-hourly pricing and net-zero.

Hope I have given you enough to ponder over. It is worth the time to sit down and look through what might be best for you as the saving could be considerable!

Octopus Agile Pricing.

Octopus Agile Tariff.Average price kWhCheapest price 30 minutes.
National Average Price of Energy. Energy Price.Energy Price.
Average price per kWh over 7 days.
Tuesday 19/03/2417.2p per kWh9.5p per kWh (04.30)
Monday 18/03/2417.2p per kWh11.9p per kWh (22.30)
Sunday 17/03/2416.4p per kWh11.2p per kWh (02.00)
Saturday 16/03/2416.3p per kWh.12.1p per kWh.(22.30)
Friday 15/03/2414.9p per kWh8.7p per kWh (01.30)
Thursday 14/03/2415.1p per kWh6.1p per kWh.(22.30)
Wednesday 13/03/2415.3p per kWh8.6p per kWh.(01.30)

 

If you don’t own an EV and are using Octopus Agile as an alternative to a standard Octopus tariff it’s still a great way to focus your mind on shifting your energy.  This tariff is fantastic for helping to make the grid greener.

Whenever you discover this post if you are asking yourself Octopus Go versus Octopus Agile remember you are asking yourself this question as you are not sticking to the norm and going with a standard tariff. Standard tariffs at the moment are ridiculously high! Switching to a smart tariff at least gives you the freedom to try and bring your overall energy bill down. You may be trying to be greener or save money or both but it’s all a learning curve and one we have to do to give the planet a better future!!

Read both my reviews on the Octopus Agile and the Octopus Go . 💕 I’d also suggest you look at Intelligent Octopus which is a beta tariff.

octopus energy rating

 

Octopus Watch App

You can find some great apps and devices using Octopus Energy API.

I would strongly suggest looking at the Octopus Watch app. Watch refers to keeping an eye on something rather than needing a smartwatch to access it!! 😁

I would say this is one of the most useful apps to consider if you are switching to the Octopus Energy Agile tariff. This app allows you to download up to 3 months of historical data.  You can use it to set Agile pricing alerts and interact with Siri. It’s a good app but the fun really starts in the subscription version.

(Find this app at google play)

(find this app in the app store here) (find this app on the Amazon store)

Octopus Watch with Subscription.
(£1.99 + £7.99 per year/£0.99 per month)

This is really if you want to help shift your usage to make energy greener.  You can set alerts so you know when the lowest carbon period is.  It really depends on how much you want to play around with your energy usage and shift. The predictive reports are great too. If you want to plan and work out which day would be best to charge your car or do your weekly wash then the predictive option helps a lot. Of course, these energy prices are just predicted. However, they have shown to be 90% accurate, which is good enough for me.  Here is the smarthound website.


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